Good to be back
Posted on October 14th, 2009 –
Maybe there was something in the air up there because I was in bed before ten almost every night! *yawner*
Maybe it was the journey there. Bo-o-o-ring.
Thank goodness for the tinted windows inside the car. It made the unsightly earth bulges a bit more bearable.
Maybe what did me in was the trip I took with a gentleman who I think has the capacity to create death rays or teleporters in his spare time, my brother-in-law’s brother. The brobro. Very interesting individual. It’s a rare treat that one gets to discuss the impending attack of zombies and how one might protect oneself from said attack. He has excellent theories, and because they’re so excellent, I’m not sharing.
I must also say that his idea for this year’s Halloween costume is probably one of the best ones I’ve heard of in years. He really thought outside the box on this one. Well, he’s ordering it online, but what a great find! I sure hope I get a few snaps of it but until the day it’s revealed, it’s another top-secret project.
Basically, it was a genuine pleasure to hike and chat with him.
When we could talk, that is. Nature saw to it that that sole pleasure was interrupted as often as possible.
The trail had some warmup rock climbing and then hours of trudging through the goddam forest:
The narrow footpath wasn’t always well-marked, so it was easy to wander into some ghetto hoods:
What is that, moss? Isn’t that a fungus? Gross.
Eventually we regained our bearings and continued on to some more tolerable places. But still freakin’ cold!
So even that sucked. I bet during the two weeks they get summer up there it’s quite nice. My dad’s biggest announcement during my visit was one of pride for his new motorized snow-blower; just to provide you with some perspective.
Can’t blame him. The few photos I took were between snow showers. And it’s only October!
The horror.
The point of the jaunty five-hour stroll through the countryside was to find an abandoned mine. We found it alright:
What a shithole:
Bunch of old machinery, from only God knows when. Rusting mine equipment. Dilapidated mini rail line. Reminded me of my horrible UrbEx days. Something I’d rather sooner forget.
And you’d think we’d at least see some wildlife along the way, wouldn’t you? See if you can spot it:
Nice, huh? And the little rat even sounded pissed off that we were there.
So by now you’re probably asking why I’m being so negative. Was it really that bad? Did donkey balls get the sucking of a lifetime? The simple answer is, it was easier to describe the place this way than to try to do it justice. Laziness, I believe is the word. Maybe it was the air up there.
But still, it’s good to be back :D
... with pictures
... with sounds
... with videos
... with opinions
... that's shorter
... that's longer
October 15th, 2009 8:25 am
My son (he's 6) wants me to someone turn him into an eyeball for Halloween. Let me tell you this should be interesting. I'll definitely be back after Halloween to see what this top secret costume was!
October 15th, 2009 8:41 am
Oooh! An eyeball's a pretty darn good idea! Will we see photos online, Bruce? I bet it'd be a riot :D
October 15th, 2009 4:26 pm
You had me laughing because I had the same Zombie conversation when I took my son to Buffalo over the weekend. They really do offer an interesting point of view don't they?!?
October 16th, 2009 8:23 am
Haha! yes they do, Mom. But not entirely fantastic, however. I recall reading a news story about researchers using zombie models to predict the spread of avian/swine influenza. And besides that, some daily encounters lead me to believe that zombies are already among us. They're part of the inspiration behind the Urban Insolence series!
October 15th, 2009 5:49 pm
Wow, that is some pretty earth.
thanks for the gorgeous views,
once again.
October 16th, 2009 8:20 am
My pleasure, BadGal.
October 16th, 2009 8:02 am
Patrick,
Sadly not unless we know each other offline. I have a paranoia about my kids information and/or pictures being online.
October 16th, 2009 8:20 am
That's entirely understandable, Bruce. In fact, I'm always a little surprised at how much people reveal about not only themselves, but also about their families.