Comeback trail

After a lengthy hiatus, and equipped with a fresh pair of shoes, I returned to this location for a jog —

 
  • feet: a-okay
  • knees: usual minor aches and pains
  • legs: no complaints
  • heart and lungs: good
  • mind: elated to be back with it!

Dorr Mountain

The Tarn Trail, the Ladder Trail and the east face slope and a cold wet fall day. Light but constant rain fail made for some beautiful water falls but slippery rocks.

I’ve done this hike twice and it has been memorable each time. Well maintained but not touristy. some photos that I’ve made public.

finding the falls

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We have entered a less traveled remote area of Lake George in the Adirondacks. We were somewhat intimidated; there were authentically costumed role players armed with hatchets, muskets and gear. Halloween was weeks away. We had to ask

There are no trail-head identifiers or trail markings. This is by design: The Shelving Rock Falls, when arriving at the top, have a somewhat treacherous descent to their base. i.e. slippery rocks and pine straw footings. The park land authorities must be concerned that advertising directions, let alone promoting the location might invite liability as sightseers in numbers attempt them. A helpful ‘point us in the right direction’ get started from exiting hikers was necessary. So with local knowledge (and a satellite photo 😉 we ventured on for a nice little lake side hike [ GPX ].

Saunders Monticello Trail

Kemper Park and Secluded Farm 2 mile loop

filling in a blank

c/n 133

Stumbling upon a photo set from the Castle Air Force Museum my attention was captured by a static display of an old Convair 240. In reading the descriptive caption I realized that I was looking at some aviation history that I had been close to. Further searching revealed documented early days of this Convair 240-11, c/n 133:

1949 – delivered new to Swissair and registered as HB-IRT
1956 – purchased by Mohawk Airlines and leased in the short term to Transocean Air Lines as N1018C
1957 – operated by Mohawk as the Air Chief PEQUOT in scheduled service for the next 10 years
1966 – purchased by Fairchild Hiller
1968 – purchase by Southwestern Skyways re-sold to Permian Skyways and re-registered N280P
1969 – bank repossession stored and mothballed
1975 – seized by the Sheriff of Salt Lake County

From this Museum find, the end of the story is now complete. But as with most accountings there is usually a gap from when a machine becomes unprofitable, aged and rejected until it is scrapped or rescued. In the instance of this old plane however, I can complete the story.

1977 – ‘The Spirit of Modesto’ an adventure, by my account: continue reading about c/n 133 and the Great Valley Travel Club… (Camberley Associates Inc ?)

1978 – Occurrence Date 20 JUN BOTH ENGINES STOPPED, PILOTS UNABLE TO START. LEFT TANK EMPTY, 200 GAL IN RIGHT. RIGHT BOOST PUMP INOP. forced landing in a California cornfield (estimated 3.7 miles short of Modesto (KMOD) airport runway 28R where is was moribund for almost 2 decades

1997 – dismantled by volunteers and extracted by a house mover and hauled down Santa Fe Avenue to Atwater, CA

2000 – displayed to current day at the museum with tribute Coast Guard HC-131 Samaritan transport livery.

37.368861, -120.579012

pilgrimage

We went to see the cars on display at the show and, as it happened, this 3rd Annual 2009 Historic Occoneechee-Orange Speedway “Celebration of the Automobile” Car Show & Racers Reunion took place at a location that NASCAR devotees revere as holy ground.The old speedway site features an oval dirt track which traces its beginnings back to the inaugural 1949 race season for the franchise and is now, in fact, considered to be a historical preservation. The dirt track by now is only partially visible because the infield (and outfields) are completely overgrown with tall pines and woods. There was a crumbling concession stand that they lingered over. Only a broken foundation and a rusty pop cooler were visible in the remains. A section of cement grandstand remains in decay and it was amusing to see the a fore mentioned race fans taking a moment to sit down on them contemplative, solemn and introspect seeing and hearing in their imagination the cars roaring round and round.

Aeropuerto Internacional Las Americas

This old ship has not had the fortune to be rescued but at least it has not been destroyed for scrap (yet). I was able to photograph what remains of HI-393 at its final resting place were it would appear that a hurricane or two may have had its way. Nature and the elements are trying hard to reclaim what’s left.This was a C-121, the military version of the Lockheed Constellation. There is a time line history reference for HI-383 VC-121A 48-611.