Another beautiful day for a bike ride.

I've been spending my days off on my bicycle touring the hilly Pennsylvania countryside. Delightful. My boss, Bob, is a big bike rider as well and has recently changed my life. He taught me how to clean (the fact that I should clean) the chain and other drive parts of my bike! Amazing! There are parts that are silver that I had thought were black all this time! I don't even know how my chain was staying on with all that gunk build up! Crazy I know that a girl like me who can re-seal a diesel fuel injection pump etc doesn't know much about her bicycle. I had assumed that when I take my bike into a shop they take care of that kind of stuff or would at least let me know it needs done. But alas I have proven once again where assuming gets me and that I need to learn more about bike maintenance and repair so I can treat my black beauty right!

The season here is half over. Five weeks left. Still no clue what is in store next.

These last two weeks of work consisted of some of the most beautiful weather on earth. We dominated Buzzard Rock on the Virginia - West Virginia boarder with a beautiful rock staircase. Next up, the engineered marvel of Bear Mountain, NY.

Fall has come?

We have finished our first two week project of the season. Challenging, technical, and loads of fun. We crushed a lot of rock. We had a lot of laughs. We put in a lot of stairs. We did some beautiful work and a lot of it. We braved a few intense storms and hot humid days. The storms left a chill in the air and a rustle in the leaves and it feels like fall.
I spent my days off on a whirlwind tour of New York City. 22.5 hours in the city was all I could swing with the small amount of time I have off between hitches plus travel (walk 2.2 miles to a bus stop, take a commuter bus to Harrisburg, walk to the Amtrak station, spend 3 hours on a train). The small amount of time in the city was definitely worth it. I was able to visit three friends and walk around a lot of Manhattan, the East Village, and Brooklyn. I visited ground zero since that seemed to be the proper thing to do on September 11th. I walked down Wall Street. I toured many a park. I soaked up the city with not a lot to show for it but a lighter pocket book, a tummy full of good food, and loads of good feelings. (I really should buy a new camera.) What a wonderful place. I love being able to walk everywhere and hop on subways. I love the hustle and bustle and people watching and street sitting and possibility for endless adventure and exploration. If I could find a way to live in the city and do field work in the middle of nowhere, that would be heavenly.
Back to work realizing I did not escape the carpet of poison ivy at our last work site and resisting the itch of scads of tiny bumps on my arms, legs, and belly. Lots of rock stairs to build in the next couple weeks.