6 April 2016 Erie and Cattaraugus Counties

I was headed back home to PA from a New York office in the afternoon. Days are still short in early April despite daylight savings time, but I had time for a few adventures. My first stop was Sprague Brook Park in Erie County. This was my first visit to the park. Like so many New York State Parks, I liked this park and enjoyed the trails. I was also happy to find one of the still-active, 2002 caches placed here.

The park has a section with a large veterans memorial area. This part of the park makes the location seem more like a town park than a county park. The veterans memorial is quite tasteful. It was too cold to sit on the wet benches this afternoon, but this seems a peaceful place to reflect.

After I left the park, I decided to hunt a few more caches for the county's Amish GeoTrail. We completed the first two editions of this trail which were later archived when coins were exhausted. I think we missed another version. The current one has been around for awhile. We haven't looked for the caches because there have been so many opportunities to hike and cache. Chasing this trail is slow, but easy for me since I have business reasons to pass through the county. My first stop was to visit the grave of John Kimball. John Kimball was a soldier in the Revolutionary War so a visit to the grave interested me. This was different since the grave is on private property. The land owner granted permission for cachers to visit the site. The original grave marker was made of sandstone. The front of the stone has flaked off over the years with little remaining of the inscription. A newer marker has been added at the grave site.

I stopped for a few images when driving by the 1913 Ashford signal tower. The tower is no longer active, but it is an interesting piece of railroad history. It was built when Baltimore and Ohio rail traffic passed over these rails. The are still lightly used. The signal tower is on private property, but gave a few images from the distance.

My last stop was to avenge a dnf from earlier in the year. I missed the find, but didn't post a dnf. I noticed the cache had been replaced and wanted to stop for a return visit to the Salamance depot. Salamanca, New York has an interesting railroad history. It is a small town, but was once home to a large roundhouse and works yard for the Erie Railroad. I hoped to visit inside but it has been closed both times I have been at the site.

There is some limited rolling stock behind fencing at the depot/museum including a nice bay window caboose painted in B&O blue and yellow colors, but not carrying the B&O logo or any marking numbers. Maybe if I am here when the museum is open, there will also be access to the rolling stock.

It was a relaxing drive.