25 March 2022 Tough Return Trip

I stopped over in Wytheville, Virginia as I normally do on a return from North Carolina. After checking in I headed to pick up a pizza from a local restaurant. On my way back to the hotel the air pressure light went on in the interior. I stopped to check and fill the tire, but quickly heard the air leak. I was lucky to reach the hotel and park the vehicle until the morning.

It's been a while since I changed a tire. I had located a dealer in a neighboring county who had the tire in stock and could make the change. With the spare donut, there was no highway driving so I made my way on two-lane. The dealer was super and did replace the tire. It was a late drive home.

22 March 2022 Pirate Burial

I stopped at a historical Thyatira Presbyterian Church Cemetery to complete an Adventure Lab. The cemetery was quite old for the area and was the final resting spot for a number of veterans of the Revolutionary War.

The cemetery also contained markers for four pirates.

The graves seem to be filled with some folklore. They certainly bring a different experience to visiting a quiet historical cemetery.

20 March 2022 Stopping in Marrieta

After a brief stop home on my return from New York, I was on my way North Carolina. I made a stop for a break and a few geocaches in Marietta. An early stop was mound cemetery which has a very pronounced Native American burial ground.

The mound is surrounded by the graves of thirty-nine Revolutionary War veterans who were interestingly given land grants to the land previously held by the Native Americans.

Marietta and river boats almost go hand-in-hand. My geocaching journey brought me the the Ohio River Museum. The museum was closed but the grounds are accessible. The pilot house from the long-ago sunken Tell City Riverboat is a prominent attraction on the way to the river. It likely never looked as good in its working days as it does now.

The W.P. Snyder Jr. was sitting in the water prepped and ready to be visited.

It's a wide, old river with a lot of stories to tell. Time to head for Virginia.

17 March 2022 Sapsucker Woods

I hadn't been to Sapsucker Woods in Ithaca since pre-Covid. It was a beautiful day and I had a window of time for a walk and a few geocaches on my way to Pennsylvania. Any visit here for me includes a stop at the very large cairn placed in the woods.

I was hoping to see skunk cabbage. I was not disappointed.

Technically it wasn't yet spring, but the bright blue skies were out for me to enjoy.

I hoped to see birds, and they were plentiful. For some reason I never maanaged a good image despite many, many chances. I enjoyed my walk, but wish there were a few bird images to share.

16 March 2022 Another Day in Cortland

I like this little quiet area behind the hotel in Cortland. I wish there were something else there once in a while besides cranky geese. This foggy morning it was a peaceful place before I headed to my local office.

I crossed the road today at lunch to visit the main area in Lime Hollow Nature Preserve. As always, I was hoping for some early bird visits. I have been here in the past during tapping time. I noticed they have removed the traditional metal pails for plastic collection bags.

My walk was pleasant, but birdless.

In the early evening, I was treated to a first visit to The Nature Center's von Englin Preserve. Its focal point is Malloryville Bog. I was really happy to find such a great place to visit within the southern tier's short daylight of March. I hope to be able to return and explore some time later in the spring. Once again, Geocaching brought me to an unknown gem on my journey.

15 March 2022 Lunch Time at Chicago Bog

Visiting Chicago Bog at lunch time when in Cortland is a favorite diversion for me. There was still snow and the bog was still frozen, but the walk relaxed my mind. I was treated to a red-tail hawk near the end of the walk.

13 March 2022 A Walk Along the Allegheny

There was snow and fog as we set off on a loop around a section of ANF near our home. We started with the trail along an old railroad grade which this afternoon was a mix of snow and fog.

The long abandoned farm equipment was gathering the last snow of the season as we walked past.

Lizzie walking with Ali in the snow.

I hope we might spot a few ducks on the Allegheny as we passed by. They were there, but hard to capture with the ever-present flakes of snow. A snowy bufflehead

Mergansers usually look fast from any view. Today they just appeared to be cold in the light snow.

6 March 2022 Visiting Allegany State Park

We had spring fever. The dogs had spring fever. ASP seemed a great choice for medicating the fever. The skies were blue and most of the water was free of ice as we hunted for a number of caches in the park.

The trails were icy so the going was really slow at times to avoid a fall. It seemed we weren't tho only people with spring fever as the park was quite busy.

A rare moment of quiet on the covered bridge...

Our visit was a wonderful sneak preview of the spring weather just a few weeks away. After a snowy winter, it was a welcome day out.

5 March 2022 Spring's Early?

I was hoping a snowy winter was finally behind as we made a visit to Pennsylvania. We completed an Adventure Lab and headed off on a rail-trail for the bonus geocache.

With most of the snow gone from the trail we enjoyed a walk to the cache which included a chance for the dogs to see some big dogs (horses) and a chance for us to see a bluebird.

The weather was so mild that we decided on a second walk at a State Game Lands. We were hoping for another bird or two and hopeful that possibly a migrating duck might stop off at the larger pond in the gamelands. There was no luck on the duck, but a mild, sunny day in early March is lucky.

Lizzie is intensely camera shy. There are few pictures of her years with us and our adventures. Today she let me capture her beauty in a few quick images.

2 March 2022 Barcelona (New York)

I was headed east for business travel and decided to stop for a break at Barcelona, New York. The Barcelona lighthouse is still great looking and receives much care from dedicated locals.

I long ago gave up any thoughts of having a boat on the Great Lakes, but if Barcelona had become my home I might not have made the same decision. It has a small old time marina evoking memories of past days in Western Lake Erie.

I wrestled endless trying to capture the distant ducks as the light faded. I thought they were mallards. I was right.

But I wasn't completely correct as there were five redhead ducks sharing the water with the mallards. Never give up a chance for a picture.

20 February 2022 Mill Creek Park

Mill Creek Park has some great landmark buildings still remaining, very nice trails, and an old mill with attractive falls. With sunshine despite colder weather we bundled ourselves and the dogs and were off to the park. The caching was good. Other than some very icy trail areas alongside Mill Creek, the trails were in perfect shape for some long walking.

Persistence paid off as we kept a close eye on water as we passed it hoping to see ducks. Our first sighting was exciting, but there was nowhere to stop. Eventually we had some parfect opportunities to enjoy bufflehead and mergansers as they floated by. They were hunting for food so we enjoyed a few passes as they floated by then flew back to repeat their search.