Red,
white, and blue two
18
January 03: Red faces, white water (AKA snow), and
blue-to-die-for sky -- the
Reverend and I went for a ride down to the
Southern Tier to the Erie County Forestry Park, which is near
Arcade and a few miles west of State Route 16. This was the
first time that we have used our new snowshoes on a sunny day.
We stayed out about an hour and did a bit of climbing, and the
snow was deeper than we have experienced so far, too -- 18 inches
to 2 feet. A lot of folks were out, in snowmobiles, on skies,
and on snowshoes.
We
took a hike on the same trail a few years ago, before we started
working out and all, and I remember being just as tired then,
from a summertime hke as I was today after an hour climbing
the same slope in snowshoes. That's progress, I believe.
We
ended the day with dinner and pie at Earl's, a homey diner of
general admiration on Route 16 just south of the turnoff for
the Forestry Park. Earl's has homemade pie, cowboy-booted table
legs, and an interesting mix of dairy farmers, snowmobilers,
and preppie types up from Saint Bonaventure University in Allegany
on the Allegheny River.
| The
brilliant sun made the outing a blessing for our winter-weary
hearts. It's been cold lately, too, with highs in the teens
and 20s. Today was a scorcher with a high of about 25 degrees
F. |
 |
| I
like the contrasting textures of snow, bark, sunlight, and
snow-as-flocking on the tree. |
 |
| Near
and far, in the woods, on a sunny day in winter. |
 |
| Another
contrast of textures -- bark, light, and snow. |
 |
| Stopping
at Earl's for pie is a Buffalo thing of
long standing and wide observance. Earl's is about 45 minutes
south of the city on Route 16. |
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