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Showing posts from March 12, 2006

Wyoming and Idaho

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We are back from a quick vacation. I managed to score three (actually several more) bucket list items in 4 days. 1.) Long Snowmobile Trip. 2.) Yellowstone Park and 3.) Wyoming. I reached my 50th State --Wyoming! And we took a 90 mile snowmobile trip in Yellowstone National Park. We went to the "Craters of the Moon--National Monument and Preserve" in Idaho and also stopped at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) where I got to see (with my own eyes) the very cool nuclear powered twin turbojet engine. It was a successful experiment in the 1950s and 1960s. https://whatisnuclear.com/safety-minutes/htre-3-meltdown.html Of course, I had my Radiacode scintillation detector with me and yes, the apparatus is "Hot". The screenshot of the readings from my three walk-arounds the artifact. I swear you could smell the radiation. There was a very un-natural burnt smell something reminiscent of burned bakelite. Although, I am quite certain the emitted radition was not the source...
I am in Florida this week. It is good to see my Brother and Sister since they both live in Florida. The traffic seems to be an issue here as the state experiences such high growth in development. I compare my role on the county planning board in NY to what planners have to do in Florida and there (believe it or not) some comparisons. There are great leasons to apply back in NY, anticipating growth (or not) and applying the values of what the community wants and does not want. The weather is nice in Tampa in March compared to back home. I often think that people up north mistakening think that it is "Summer" all year round. It gets hot down here, really hot. I don't mind the cold too much. Occasionally, it is a nuscience when you are scraping the car and you have a cold and you aren't dressed right, but overall it is ok. I will be canoeing sometime in the next couple of days.
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It appears to becoming spring on the farm. Yesterday it must have been in the 60s. Today (early) it is 40. I got a jeep load of wood yesterday. I disassembled and carried a fallen ash up the embankment in the woods. It was a good workout. What I like to do it cut the tree in about 6 foot sections (shorter or longer depending on diameter) and then tip it up on my shoulder and back. I can effectively carry quite a bit of wood that way. In a word; It was fantastic. There is nothing quite like the woods. I saw some nice sized turkey tracks. Dennis is coming down May 1st. We are going to bag some. Sound is important for the movies. The first pic is one of many springs on the property. It is not flowing a lot at the moment, but it will. It is sort of like a peat bog. I heard a story of someone getting trapped in a peat bog and they couldn't find him. But the next spring there was peculiar spot that looked like it was warmer than the rest of the bog. Click pic for video Click pic...