The Road Genealogist: July 2015

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Some Falls, Peaks, and Two Bridges

Some Falls, Peaks, and Two Bridges Sandapee, NH, Library

    The falls at Overlook Park in Ticonderoga, NY.
    Only saw the stream's name once; believe it was La Flatte -- or something similar. [Actually the river between Lake Champlain and Lake George is named La Chute -- perhaps because of the many falls and rapids such as you see here.]

    [Photos taken from 1 - 21 Sep 2015]

Zooming in....

At a hairpin turn on MA8 I stopped to take a photo of Massachusetts' high point: Mt. Graylock; but I'm not certain I got the right peak.

As you can see looking west there are several prominent peaks on the horizon; check out the first link below.

Because of the private residence in the trees to the right it was difficult to photograph the one remaining bridge on Lake Champlain from Ft. Henry, NY, to Chimney Point, VT.

Here's a slightly better view of more of the bridge as well as some of Lake Champlain to the left.

While I didn't have my camera ready as I drove west over the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, I felt I could make a U-turn and repeat the crossing again. But then I discovered toll booths for eastbound traffic. Check out the 3rd link below.

Links:

Excellent BershireHiking.Com piece on Mt Graylock, MA Hi Pt
Wikipedia article on Lake Champlain
Wikipedia article on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge over the Hudson River from Hudson to Catskill, NY

Routes:

W 30 Sep Actual Route: Bowling Green, OH, W/M - Napoleon, OH, - Defiance, OH, Lowe's - Walmart

Th 1 Oct Actual Route: Defiance, OH, W/M - Bryan, OH, - Edon - Angola, IN, W/M

F 2 Oct Actual Route: Angola W/M - McDs - Angola Lib - Columbia Monument - Angola, IN, W/M

Sa 3 Oct Actual Route: Angola W/M - Indianapolis - 96th St W/M

Su 4 Oct Actual Route: 96th St W/M - Columbus, IN, - Gnaw Bone - Bloomington Lowe's - Walmart

M 5 Oct Actual Route: Bloomington W/M - Lowe's - Bloomington W/M

T 6 Oct Actual Route: Bloomington W/M - Steve Howard Tour - Beford, IN, W/M

W 7 Oct Actual Route: Beford, IN, W/M - Lowe's - Paoli, IN, - New Albany, IN, W/M

Th 8 Oct Actual Route: New Albany, IN, W/M - Louisville, KY, Lowe's - Elizabethtown, KY,W/M

F 9 Oct Actual Route: Elizabethtown, KY,W/M - Lowe's - Lib - Cave City, KY - Mammoth Cave NP CG

Sa 10 Oct Actual Route: Mammoth Cave NP CG - Mammoth Cave - Bowling Green, KY, Franklin, KY, W/M

Finding Campgrounds:

RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
Free campsites website
Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY

Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY Ticonderoga, NY

    Because the trolly (actually a bus) arrived while I was scrambling for coins to pay the $2 for the ride downtown I neglected to insert my memory card in my camera; hence, some of the photos are still on my camera until I'm able to find the camera's USB cable.
    Given the traffic jam near the Hall of Fame, parking at a lot outside of Cooperstown & riding the "trolly" is a wise investment. [Photos taken on 1 Sep 2015]
    BBHF Text for Casey Stengel. His wit overshadowed his wisdom, and he was known as a funny man with great ability to play the outfield and enough hitting talent to compile a lifetime .284 batting average. Casey, who picked up his nickname for the initials of his hometown of Kansas City, played only three seasons with the Giants in his 14-year major league stretch, but he was their chief hitting force in the 1923 World Series when his homers accounted for the only two victories against the Yankees.

BBHF Text for Monte Irvin & Willie Mays. For a team that was rated a pennant contender, the 1951 Giants began miserably, falling into last place with an 11-game losing streak in the first month. Rookie Willie Mays, who was hitting .477 at Minneapolis, was brought up. He started slowly, going 0-for-12 before hitting a home run over the Polo Grounds roof off Warren Spahn of the Boston Braves. Then Willie caught fire and went on to win Rookie of the Year with 20 homers, a .247 batting average, and spectacular play in the outfield. But Monte Irvin was the principal architect of victory in the stretch run. Manager Leo Duroucher said he never saw a player hit so consistently as Irvin did in winning game after game with key kits. He finished with a .312 batting average and a league-leading 121 runs batted in.

BBHF Text for the "Say Hey!" kid, Willie Mays. The Giants won a pennant in their fifth season in San Francisco, but it wasn't easy -- they had to down the Dodgers in the third game of a hectic pennant playoff series. [I listened to that game on Armed Forces Radio from the Korea mountain-top of an artillery battery for which the 581st Signal Company provided communications. To this day I can remember the late Giants announcer Russ Hodges yell2,303ing, "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!"]

Two More San Francisco Giants Hall of Fame Members: Juan Marichal. The pride of both the Dominican Republic and the Giants, Marichal won 243 games and lost only 142 over 16 seasons. The high-k icking righthander enjoyed six 20-game seasons and hurled a no-hit game against the Houston Colt 45's in 1963 while being named to ten All-Star teams. Twice he led the National League in complete games and shutouts, finishing 244 contests during his career while fanning 2,303 and compiling a 2.89 ERA.

Willie McCovey. Although playing hurt throughout most of his career, the Giants first baseman with the sweeping swing belted 521 home runs -- tops among National League lefthand hitters and 10th on the all-time list. McCovey's 18 lifetime grand-slams are second only to Lou Gehrig's 23. He led the N.L. in homers three times and RBI's twice. He was the N.L. Rookie of the Year in 1959 and "Comeback Player of the Year" in 1977.

More to follow if I find my camera's USB cable.

Links:

Baseball Hall of Fame website
Wikipedia article on the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY

Routes:

T 15 Sep Actual Route: Rutland W/M - Woodstock - White River Jcn, VT, - Ascutney, VT, - Claremont, NH, - Newport, NH, - Sunapee, NH

W 16 Sep Actual Route: Sunapee, NH - W. Lebanon, NH, - White River Jcn, VT, Sunapee, NH, Lib - I-89 Pk & Ride

Th 24 Sep Actual Route: Lakewood, NY, W/M - Chatauqua, NY, - Westfield, NY, - Erie, PA, W/M

F 25 Sep Actual Route: Erie, PA, W/M - Madison, OH, Lib - I-90E Rest Area

Sa 26 Sep Actual Route: I-90E Rest Area - Cleveland McDs - Chardon, OH, McDs - Rowena, OH, McDs - Canton, OH, W/M

W 30 Sep Actual Route: Bowling Green, OH, W/M - Napoleon, OH, - Defiance, OH, Lowe's - Wa- lmart

Th 1 Oct Actual Route: Defiance, OH, W/M - Bryan, OH, - Edon - Angola, IN, W/M

F 2 Oct Actual Route: Angola W/M - McDs - Angola Lib - Columbia Monument - Angola, IN, W/M

Sa 3 Oct Actual Route: Angola W/M - Indianapolis - 96th St W/M

Su 4 Oct Actual Route: 96th St W/M - Columbus, IN, - Gnaw Bone - Bloomington Lowe's - Walmart

M 5 Oct Actual Route: Bloomington W/M - Lowe's - Bloomington W/M

T 6 Oct Route: Bloomington W/M - Steve Howard Tour - Beford, IN

Finding Campgrounds:

RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
Free campsites website
Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Big Sacandaga Lake

Big Sacandaga Lake Gloversville Library, NY

[6 Sep 2015: Correction Made & Additional Link Added to Finger Lakes Post]

    A large 1930 reservoir which expanded the size of the body of water to 49 miles by 5 miles.Its oulet: the Hudson River.
    While the 1st link below speaks of considerable public access, what I found along NY30 was virtually all private property. The shot was taken near the Sunset Bay RV Park.

    [Photos taken on 5 Sep 2015]

    Zooming in and aiming a bit to the left to omit the RVs in the above photo, one can clearly see that this is a large lake. Notably, it was largely financed by those who would benefit from it rather than with tax revenue from the State of New York. And there may have been a house or an apple orchard here at one time.

Links:

Wikipedia article on Great Sacandaga Lake
Trip Advisor Photos of Great Sacandaga

Routes:

M 7 Sep Actual Route: Runnings Store Pk Lot bd - Walmart - Gloverville Lib - Arterial Shop Ctr - Walmart

T 8 Sep Actual Route: Runnings Store Pk Lot bd - Walmart - Gloverville Lib - I-87 Rest Area

W 9 Sep Actual Route: I-87 Rest Area - Queensbury Ford - Schenectady Lowe's

Th 10 Sep Actual Route: Schenectady Lowe's - Albany VA Hosp Pharm - Rensselaer W/M

F 11 Sep Actual Route: Rensselaer W/M - Troy - Schylerville - Ft Edward - Glens Falls - I-87 Rest Area

Sa 12 Sep Actual Route: I-87 Rest Area - Warrensburg P.O. - Ticonderoga - Ft Ticonderoga - Walmart

Su 13 Sep Actual Route: Ticonderoga W/M - McDs - Walmart

M 14 Sep Actual Route: Ticonderoga W/M - near Mt Marcy, NY - Port Henry, NY, - Middlebury, VT - Rutland, VT, Mall

T 15 Sep Actual Route: Rutland W/M - Woodstock - White River Jcn, VT, - Ascutney, VT, - Claremont, NH, - Newport, NH, - Sunapee, NH

W 16 Sep Actual Route: Sunapee, NH - W. Lebanon, NH, - White River Jcn, VT, Sunapee, NH, Lib - I-89 Pk & Ride

Finding Campgrounds:

RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
Free campsites website
Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

The Gettysburg Address

The Gettysburg Address Gloversville Library, NY

[6 Sep 2015: Correction Made & Additional Link Added to Finger Lakes Post]

While the Battle of Gettysburg turned the tide in favor of the Union the address by President Lincoln on 19 Oct 1863 was one of the more memorable by any president.

[Photos taken on 17 & 18 Aug 2015]

Another outstanding speaker once wrote, "I wrote a long speech -- because I didn't have time to write a short one." The speaker: Winston Churchill.

The speaker prior to Lincoln spoke for two hours; Lincoln spoke for two minutes.

While staying at the home of the lawyer whom the Pennsylvania governor selected to buy the property for the National Cemetery, Lincoln obeyed Churchill's advice -- well before it was ever written.

The layout of the Gettysburg National Cemetery.

Soldier's National Monument on the site where Lincoln delivered The Gettysburg Address [which follows].

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Links:

National Park Service website for Gettysburg National Military Park
Wikipedia article on The Gettysburg Address

Routes:

F 28 Aug Actual Route: Geneva, NY, W/M - Waterloo - Seneca Falls Lib - Watkins Glen, NY, NY14 bd

Sa 29 Aug Actual Route: NY14 bd - Montour Falls Lib - Watkins Glen Lib - Ithaca Best Buy - Walmart

Su 30 Aug Actual Route: Ithaca, NY, W/M - Lowe's - Robert Treman NY State Park

M 31 Aug Actual Route: Robert Treman NY SP - Lowe's - Cortland Lib - I-81 Rest Area

T 1 Sep Actual Route: I-81 Rest Area - Cazenovia McDs - Richfield Sprs - Cooperstown - BBall Hall of Fame - Oneonta W/M

W 2 Sep Actual Route: Oneonta W/M - Lowe's - Cobleskill, NY, McDs - Amsterdam W/M

Th 3 Sep Actual Route: Amsterdam W/M - Hm Depot - Gloversville, NY, Lib - Walmart - Runnings Store Pk Lot bd

F 4 Sep Actual Route: Runnings Store Pk Lot bd - Gloverville Lib - Barber Shop - Runnings Store Pk Lot bd

Sa 5 Sep Actual Route: Runnings Store Pk Lot bd - Walmart - Gloverville Lib - Runnings Store Pk Lot bd

Su 6 Sep Actual Route: Runnings Store Pk Lot bd - Walmart - Gloverville Lib - Runnings Store Pk Lot bd

M 7 Sep Route: Runnings Store Pk Lot bd - Walmart - Gloverville Lib - Arterial Shop Ctr - Walmart

Finding Campgrounds:

RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
Free campsites website
Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

Friday, July 10, 2015

New York's Finger Lakes

New York's Finger Lakes Cortland Library, NY [6 Aug 2015: Correction Made & Additional Link Added]

    While the first link below lists 12 finger lakes, I'll stick with the 5 largest -- in other words: 5 fingers.
    A sign in Geneva, NY, along the northern end of Seneca Lake, the deepest of the 5 middle finger lakes; There's a link below to memories of the Sampson Naval Training Center.
    [Photos taken on 27-29 Aug 2015]

Looking to the SW one can barely make out much of Seneca Lake's western shore.

Panning left just the upper end of Seneca Lake is the size of a medium-sized lake.

From the outskirts of Watkins Glen, which is at the southern end of Seneca Lake. If you look closely, you'll see a large speedboat headed from right to left.

    Note the small waves caused by the wake of the above-mentioned speedboat.
    The 5 biggest Finger Lakes, from east to west, are Skaneateles, Owasco, Cayuga, Seneca, and Canandaigua.

The next town to the south of Watkins Glen is Montour Falls, which are directly above the white building at the end of the street.

Zooming in one can see the She-Qua-Ga Falls, as the Indians call it, above the white building. New York has a great number of falls, and all of them which I've seen so far have the same pattern: gradual cascades over what appear to be limestone ledges.

[Return to the top of the page]
Links:

Wikipedia article on New York's Finger Lakes
NASA photo from the Space Station of New York's Finger Lakes
Memories of the Sampson Naval Training Center
Rich & Sue Freeman's NY Falls Guide

Routes:

T 25 Aug Actual Route: I-86 Rest Area - Bath, NY, VA Hosp Pharm - Geneseo, NY, Lib - Walmart

W 26 Aug Actual Route: Geneseo, NY, W/M - McDs - Livonia Lib - Geneseo W/M

Th 27 Aug Actual Route: Geneseo, NY, W/M - Livonia Lib - Canandaigua - Geneva, NY, McDs - Geneva W/M

F 28 Aug Actual Route: Geneva, NY, W/M - Waterloo - Seneca Falls Lib - Watkins Glen, NY, NY14 bd

Sa 29 Aug Actual Route: NY14 bd - Montour Falls Lib - Watkins Glen Lib - Ithaca Best Buy - Walmart

Su 30 Aug Actual Route: Ithaca, NY, W/M - Lowe's - Robert Treman NY State Park

M 31 Aug Actual Route: Robert Treman NY SP - Lowe's - Cortland Lib - I-81 Rest Area

T 1 Sep Actual Route: I-81 Rest Area - Cazenovia McDs - Richfield Sprs - Cooperstown - BBall Hall of Fame - Oneonta W/M

W 2 Sep Actual Route: Oneonta W/M - Lowe's - Cobleskill, NY, McDs - Amsterdam W/M

Th 3 Sep Route: Amsterdam W/M - Hm Depot - Gloversville, NY, Lib - Walmart

Finding Campgrounds:

RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
Free campsites website
Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

"Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania"

Fort Necessity, Pennsylvania Mansfield Public Library, PA

A first view of the Pine Creek Gorge (aka "Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania") from a viewing point past the Visitor Ctr & Gift Store at the Leonard Harrison State Park.
[Photos taken on 23 Aug 2015]

The Pine Creek Gorge is approximately 4,000' from rim to rim.

Shooting yet lower from the same view point, where the canyon is approximatly 800' deep, one finally catches a glimpse of Pine Creek.

And looking to the right (up-canyon) one gets a better view of the Pine Creek Gorge.

Zooming in....

Looking to the left (ie., down-canyon)....

Zooming in one can see a road on the left side of Pine Creek.

Looking up-canyon again one can see the road on the right side of Pine Creek.

[Return to the top of the page]
Links:

Wikipedia article on the Pine Creek Gorge
PA Dept of Conservation & Natural Resources Leonard Harrison State Park website

Routes:

Su 23 Aug Actual Route: Mansfield, PA, W/M - Lowe's - Leonard Harrison State Park - Mansfield Lib - Walmart

M 24 Aug Actual Route: Mansfield, PA, W/M - Lowe's - P.O. - Corning, NY - I-86 Rest Area