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Heidi's Journal

heidi
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07/22/2009 15:13 #49354

a tour of Pine Creek
Category: tourism
The most amusing sight on my way home last week was this pair of signs - First you see "Will the road you're on get you to my place?" and you next see "Adult Outlet". It's much harder to see the little "GOD" signature, implying that Adult Outlet is not the intended destination.

I think the truck owners object to having an adult video store nearby.

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The next two are views from the Pennsylvania welcome center on US Rt 15 S, south of Tioga, Pa., overlooking the Tioga reservoir . The welcome center is also very beautiful. The site includes a map of the Tioga River watershed and which tributaries are most polluted and which are living streams. Tioga County Concerned Citizens Committee created the map. They've been working to remediate the Tioga watershed, educate about AMD, and prevent other environmental harms such as dumps in our area. Our current environmental concern is natural gas drilling and what impact that will have. Two centuries of natural resource extraction has left a lot of scars on Tioga County - logging, iron mining, coal mining - strip and shaft.

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Backyard fireworks

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After we stopped in Wellsboro for some lunch at The Native Bagel and a new pair of hiking boots at Wild Asaph Outfitters (thanks Liz & Katie), we headed down to English Center, Pa. (for whole route on gmaps: ) where you can go across the creaking old steel bridge

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or cross through the river, Little Pine Creek. (We did both.)
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This woman used alternate transportation.
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Nisha likes adventures.
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We almost ran out of gas - there aren't many gas stations along the route. We should have filled up in Wellsboro. We made it to Waterville (barely).
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We took a little detour on Truman Run Road
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where I took these shots and we ate blackberries. (Actually, they're probably black cap raspberries )

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And we continued up Rt. 414 through Cammal, Slate Run, Cedar Run and Blackwell. The rail-trail runs along Pine Creek - 65 miles from Wellsboro Junction to Jersey Shore, Pa., along Pine Creek gorge/the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. (WIKIPEDIA - Pine Creek Rail Trail)

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Another bridge across Pine Creek near Hilborn - this one is considerably more solid.
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Landrus Road between Arnot and Morris - one of our favorite no-maintenance roads. An acquaintance of mine is fascinated by the ghost town of Landrus, the site of the first electrified mining operation. Landrus only existed for about 22 years.

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And then on the other end of the Landrus Road in Arnot, I found a sign with Landrus spelled wrong. I just posted it to FB, so hopefully some Arnot residents can tell me how it got misspelled...

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Maybe next week we'll check out World's End State Park



heidi - 07/23/09 17:25
(e:theecarey) - oops- you meant the adult outlet & god signs and i rambled on on about Arnot & Landrus. Yeah, those signs amuse me. I passed them a couple times before I decided I had to grab a picture. They're on I-390 S or Rt. 15/86.
heidi - 07/23/09 13:55
(e:tinypliny) - that's so funny! highway robbers! They'd be very poor - there's not enough traffic on the road to rob anyone. No nukes, either. The most dangerous substance would be acid mine drainage or other mining byproducts. It's just an old road that doesn't get maintenance.
heidi - 07/23/09 13:52
(e:tinypliny) - they're all in Tioga and Lycoming counties of Pennsylvania. Thank you for the compliments!

(e:theecarey) - Yeah, my dog really does love adventuring. She's an ATP - all terrain poodle. According to my FB crowd, the misspelled Landrus sign has been there for a while. My cousin suggested they spelled it like it sounds, but if that was true, Arnot would have been spelled "Arnit," the way we actually say it. My other aunt complained that I didn't visit her while I was in Arnot.

Tioga County -is- beautiful. Dearest Uncle Dudley lets me bring home guests. There's also a bed & breakfast just down the street from her - Mountain Laurel Bed & Breakfast* :::link::: Wellsboro, 17 miles away from Blossburg, is the real tourist town with lots of B&Bs, a couple of hotels, and gas-light lined streets. The Tioga County Visitors Bureau: :::link::: More expensive guided ecotour things at Nature Quest: :::link:::

  • There used to be three houses of this style in Blossburg. This is the large one. The medium one burnt down in the 1980s. My parents owned the small one for 17 years before they built a house up on the mountain side.
tinypliny - 07/23/09 13:43
Or maybe the forest is infested with robbers that loot and plunder the belongings of unsuspecting wayfarers...
tinypliny - 07/23/09 13:42
"Travel at your own risk."

Is that a nuclear dump site?
tinypliny - 07/23/09 13:41
Ah. Its not in upstate NY. (Tells you a lot about how thoroughly I read over stuff, doesn't it?! heh)



tinypliny - 07/23/09 13:39
I like the picture of the bridge - there is something very very cool about it.
tinypliny - 07/23/09 13:35
And you said you don't feel good enough as the rest of the shoot-crowd?

These pictures have unbelievable colours. :D Is this all in Upstate NY? Someday I must tell you about my whole fall-summer-winter cycle thoughts about the countryside in NY. :)
theecarey - 07/23/09 11:49
bhahahahaha, the placement of those two signs is priceless; glad you captured those.

Looks like you have had some fun exploration on your PA trek. I'm down with that!--especially given any road that insists, "travel at your own risk". Is Nisha normally such an adventure enthusiast? She looks enthralled!

The country store photo and the perspective of the unmarked road dividing the trees are my faves of the bunch.
terry - 07/22/09 20:29
I want to go! So beautiful.
dcoffee - 07/22/09 20:03
Fun Stuff! you got good pictures. I'd definitely like to check out some of these places.
metalpeter - 07/22/09 19:52
Nice Pictures

07/21/2009 21:18 #49346

e:enknot & MS
Your video's continued Firefox crashing problem isn't saying much about the capabilities of your WinOS phone!!! <giggle>


heidi - 07/22/09 12:20
Thanks for the explanation, (e:paul).
paul - 07/21/09 23:59
Its not exactly his fault. The type of video he uploaded has an unusual audio track that estrip could not convert so it just displayed the video as a data string which worked in safari but not in firefox. Its all fixed now so when he uploads more windows mobile video in the future it will work.

07/20/2009 11:04 #49337

graphic design work?
Category: design
Hello, (e:peeps)!

I'm looking for someone to do a logo or type treatment and lay out a flyer/brochure for my consulting work. I got a quote from - I really like their work but the quote was about 2x what I'm willing to spend on a part-time consulting thing that's only going to exist until I pass the bar in two years. As usual, I'm willing to trade QuickBooks consulting (install, set up, training, troubleshooting, payroll...).

Any suggestions?




heidi - 07/22/09 12:21
And thanks for fixing the link. :-)

Thanks for everyone's help in finding someone! I really appreciate it.
paul - 07/22/09 00:00
You were missing the . in www.blockclubonline.com I fixed it for you and the link works now.
jenks - 07/20/09 16:30
David Moore does amazing work, but I have no idea what he charges...
mrmike - 07/20/09 12:53
i know somebody who could do that and could use the work
drew - 07/20/09 12:08
Call me. I know some cheaper options, BUT you get what you pay for.

07/14/2009 00:48 #49284

Poodle princess luxury


nisha is happily snuggled in the pillows of my bed.
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07/18/2009 18:36 #49325

A backlog of photos
Category: tourism
My pictures from the Buffalo city fireworks at Erie Canal Harbor Central Wharf weren't as cool as the ones I took at Riverside - the event wasn't as cool either. The music at Riverside was better - Speedy Parker Blues Band - the space was friendlier and much larger, the fireworks lasted longer (although were not as intense) and we were closer to the origin point.

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The next day, A, (e:tinypliny) and I went to Niagara Falls and to the Niagara Power Plant Vista which was almost deserted despite no admission charge, free parking, beautiful views, and interesting interactive museum. It has a surprisingly fascinating documentary of the construction of the power plant. (Of course (e:matthew,49299) posted absolutely gorgeous photos of NF just days after we went... Matt, are you doing HDR?)


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You can take a tour of the Niagara River Whirlpool on these boats, and go right between the US & Canadian power plants.

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The power plant museum as a very cool 3-D map of the project with LEDs to highlight the area the voice tour is talking about.

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A shot to prove to (e:tinypliny)'s mom that she was at Niagara Falls.

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The whole reason I was in Buffalo that weekend (instead of being in Tioga County enjoying my friend Jennie's birthday party...) was that A's bratty little brother had booked his return flight from California for Buffalo. He took us out to dinner and then we went to Nietzsche's where there was a really good jazz band that played until after 1am.

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I joined the Buffalo Photography Meetup Group so I could focus more on improving (or regaining) my skills and talk to other photogs. On 7/6, the group went to the Frank Lloyd Wright Boathouse to shoot the Peace Bridge lights. Folks posted their pix afterward and I felt my pix were unpracticed, inexperienced, and boring in comparison. Oh well...it takes time. I got a couple neat ones... I didn't have the patience, lens or tripod that would have made the wait for the Peace Bridge lights worthwhile, but other folks got some really amazing shots. I found the crew teams using the boathouse really interesting. (West Side Rowing Club )


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The ceiling lights of the boathouse.

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tinypliny - 07/19/09 01:03
Thanks! :) She really thought I was fibbing because it took me 2 years to finally make it there. She knows what an abysmally lazy lump I can be. hahaha.
I need to post my set but well... I am getting around to it.

Those fireworks look so pretty! I don't remember them being so gorgeous. Heh

Photo groups are little pretentious so I vote you stick to your style and do your own thing. :D
theecarey - 07/19/09 00:44
The Niagara Power Plant is an interesting place to visit. There are a lot of neat things to look at and there is, as you have shown us, a great view. Also, love the Oars and fireworks-water shots.
jenks - 07/18/09 21:45
haha, I know what you mean... when you think you have some great shots, and then see everyone else's, and are like "oh, lame." But keep working at it... I really like the one with the oars. And one of the falls where the colors really pop. Have fun with it. I haven't taken any non-snapshot pix in years, I used to love it.
metalpeter - 07/18/09 18:47
Nice Photos