Safely in NY

 
I made it to NY, not as fast as some trips, but no big hold ups. I'm with Elaine tonight.

No pix, maybe tomorrow. The trees were blooming all the way- wild cherry, lilacs, redbud, other fuzzy things I couldn't ID at 60 mph. Caught the Buffalo skyline in the afternoon sun- hope one of those pictures turns out. Saw a shooting star. Drove past the house where I grew up.

Tired, but all is good.

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I Was in Control! (Briefly)

 
Do you remember this picture? It's the main control panel at the newspaper stuffing machine.



I got to be the one who operated it for a while today! It didn't last long. The machine was running horribly. I was there for less than an hour, and I got shuffled to watch the papers on the moving table and clear the belts when they jam. That was ok too. Now that I know how to run the control panel, I know they might let me step in there from time to time.

I leave for New York tomorrow morning. Am I ready? No. Am I too tired to care tonight? Yes. I think I have to go to bed early and get up early.

Now that the blog networks that rewarded daily posts are gone, I won't be going out of my way to schedule posts ahead of time. If I am able to make a post on the road occasionally, I will. Otherwise... just be confident I'm having a good time, and I'll update you when I can. I expect you'll see something tomorrow and Sunday, but after that... who knows?

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Two Briar Hills- It's So Confusing!

 

I've been meaning to show you this for a couple of weeks. Talk about confusing. Remember that Ellen and I climbed the highest hill in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and it is named Briar Hill? There is another Briar Hill just a couple of miles north of the other one!

First, some pictures, then I'll explain... although the explanation doesn't solve the confusion.

I was driving SE on M-115 and saw a single pointy peak in the distance. It's odd, because it's all alone. It didn't look the right shape for Briar Hill (the one we climbed).



Just a couple of miles farther on the road, and this range of hills came into view. This looks more the right shape for the Briar Hill high point.



When I got home and looked at the map they are both named Briar Hill. Hmmm. Had to do a little more research. First of all, let's be clear. The one we climbed is higher. Quite a bit higher. It's 1706 feet, and the pointy peak is only 1300.

On this map, you can see the two hills. The arrows that match the colors of the Xs are the approximate locations where the pictures were taken. You can enlarge the map.



Here's what I found out. The pointy peak is the location of a former commercial enterprise called Briar Hill Ski Jump. Now things make sense. Someone just decided that was a good name for the ski runs. But it's still really confusing to look at the map and see two peaks named Briar Hill.

	See Briar Hill- Highest Point in the LP
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Packing!

 
Guess what I'm going to be doing next week. It's the May hike with Marie. We'll be in the Catskill Mountains of New York. I have way too much to do in order to be able to leave here on Saturday, but I'm on a mission.

Today, one of the jobs was to check in the camping equipment and make sure it's in good condition.

	See Trail Work Day
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Tenacity

 
I was out doing assignments today, and saw several interesting things, but I think this one wins for tonight. I came around a corner on a dirt road and was facing this line of trees. Red pines.

The traffic and the wind are working hard to create a blowout on that corner. The trees are holding hands and digging in their heels to hang on despite the difficulties.



Unless, perhaps, they are simply woody can-can dancers poised in mid-step.

	See Choirs of Trees
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