Skip to main content

A first snow drive

Image
By
The Saturday after Thanksgiving took a trip in Southern Albany County to check out the recent snowfall and possible photo opportunities.

Route:
NY 85 West, NY 140 West, NY 443 West, NY 85 West, NY 143 East, NY 32 North, US 9W North, I-787 North, I-90 West

Notes:
Although I wasn't able to find anything that sparked my interest photography wise, I was looking for a winter scene for the Christmas cards I send out every year, I did enjoy the rural highlands of Southern Albany County. NY 85 after it climbs the Helderburg Escarpment is rather flat. And after a fresh snow fall of about 3", the isolated rural crossroads make you feel miles from downtown Albany, when you are only about 10-12 miles at most.

Southern Albany County is very different from the rest of the county, it's a counterweight to the urban and suburban scenes to the North. NY 85 leads you through a cross-section of the county. An urban freeway from its start at I-90, it is lined by many first neighborhoods, which were once considered suburbs in itself. Next suburban Albany in Slingerlands. By the time you begin your climb up the mountains, a whole different world awaits you.

Sorry for the diversion, but back to the journey. NY 443 does the same as it goes through the suburb of Delmar and out towards the country. Now back on NY 85, I reminded myself how I need to check out some of the county roads in these parts. The rolling rural terrain looked very inviting.

There was one photo opportunity that I did pass, in Westerlo there was a fine old home. The windows and shutters draped in pine wreathes, and candles already glowing from inside the 8 paneled windows. A great site; however, the owner of the home was still decorating the exterior and that would be awkward to ask if I could take a photo of his home for an X-mas card. It's alright though, I recently got a roll of film back from another trip to Oriental, NC which has a nice sunset scene of the harbor and the bridge there.

Results:
Although I didn't get the photos I was hoping for, I did travel down some new highways. I completed NY 140, added mileage to NY 443, NY 143, and NY 32.
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
That's one good thing about the Albany area, you can generally get to someplace completely different in 15-20 minutes. If I go just a little bit east of here, I can get into some very rural areas, but the hustle and bustle of Albany and its suburbs is just as close.
8:54 PM
Georgia Road Geek said…
Nice blogsite. Welcome to the world of "roadgeek blogging". :)
10:05 PM
Anonymous said…
Beautiful Appalachian plateau scene, yes. Rocky Mountains, no. I've seen enough of the Rockies to tell you that much. The eastern mountains aren't as big, but at least they aren't barren and seemingly devoid of life like out there.
6:53 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Old US Route 60/70 through Hell (Chuckwall Valley Road and Ragsdale Road)

By
Back in 2016 I explored some of the derelict roadways of the Sonoran Desert of Riverside County which were part of US Route 60/70; Chuckwalla Valley Road and Ragsdale Road. US 60 and US 70 were not part of the original run of US Routes in California.  According to USends.com US 60 was extended into California by 1932.  US 60 doesn't appear on the California State Highway Map until the 1934 edition. USends.com on US 60 endpoints 1934 State Highway Map Conversely US 70 was extended into California by 1934, it first appears on the 1936 State Highway Map. USends.com on US 70 endpoints 1936 State Highway Map When US 60 and US 70 were extended into California they both utilized what was Legislative Route Number 64 from the Arizona State Line west to Coachella Valley.  LRN 64 was part of the 1919 Third State Highway Bond Act routes.  The original definition of LRN 64 routed between Mecca in Blythe and wasn't extended to the Arizona State Line until 1931 acc...
3 comments
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Paper Highways; Interstate H-4 through downtown Honolulu

By
The Hawaiian Island of O'ahu is home to four Interstate Highways; H-1, H-2, H-3 and H-201.  Had history gone slightly differently during the 1960s a fifth Interstate corridor on O'ahu could have been constructed through downtown Honolulu and the neighborhood of Waikiki.  The proposed corridor of Interstate H-4 can be seen above as it was presented by the Hawaii Department of Transportation during October 1968 .   This page is part of the Gribblenation O'ahu Highways page.  All Gribblenation and Roadwaywiz media related to the highway system of O'ahu can be found at the link below: https://www.gribblenation.org/p/gribblenation-oahu-highways-page.html The history of proposed Interstate H-4 The corridor of Interstate H-4 was conceived as largely following what is now Hawaii Route 92 on Nimitz Highway and Ala Moana Boulevard.   Prior to the Statehood the first signed highways within Hawaii Territory came into existence during World War II.    Dur...
Post a Comment
Read more