Adventures

The last day of 2021 was all fog, from sunrise to sunset. We were lucky to capture the fog at the Ballston Lake public dock.

A muddy and beautiful descent to Barberville Falls.

A moody, muddy morning.

To celebrate my birthday (and to mitigate cabin fever), J and I headed to the Grand Canyon.

We spent (a relaxing) two days in a tiny house in the woods. We read books, napped, hiked, made pancakes, and had two campfires.

My mom and I attended the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshop again, this year at Greek Peak outside of Cortland, New York.

My Mapbox squad threw me a bachelorette party in the woods. We relaxed, hiked, ate, drank, and danced.

Today we hiked Bozen Kill Preserve in Altamont. It was muddy, icy, and even muddy-icy combo, but it’s a lovely trail.

We took a three-night drive through New England with help from Hotel Tonight.

This weekend my mom and I had the pleasure of attending the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshop at Silver Bay. BOW is an international program that focuses on educating and helping women become self-sufficient through outdoors-related skills. It’s a beautiful program with experienced instructors (who donate their time), enthusiastic volunteers, and amazing women from across the country.

Yesterday morning mom and I woke up at 4:45 to catch the morning launch.

Today we visited Olivia’s Overlook and then hiked the South Yokun Ridge in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

We crossed trail #9 of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve off the list .

We visited the Normanskill Farm Bridge, also known as the Whipple Cast and Wrought Iron Bowstring Truss Bridge and took the yellow brick road.

We spent 10 amazing days in Iceland, here’s our journey.

Mom and I did the 1.3 mile hike around Thunder Mountain in Greenwich today.

I worked out of the SF Mapbox office last week and then hung around for the weekend. Adventure was had (along with cocktails, sunburns, and getting 10,000 steps).

I was in Burlingame and San Francisco this past week for FOSS4G NA. Slides and video to come, but for now:

The best way down the hill is on your belly, like a penguin.

The trail was a sheet of ice, but a pretty sheet of ice.

Or, how we beat cabin fever by fleeing cold New York for cold Massachusetts for one night.

A morning hike at the Papscanee Island Nature Preserve.

I spent last week working out of the Mapbox San Francisco office.

Took the 6:15 AM train to Penn Station with a friend. Walked around, saw the Christmas show, had a delicious dinner, and then took the 5:15 PM train back to Albany.

A very fall hike with an old friend on trailhead 8 (Great Dune) of the Albany Pine Bush.

Today we hiked up to Vroman’s Nose.

A college roommates weekend in Elizabethtown. A weekend way over due.

We spent last weekend in Newport and the start of the week in Providence, Rhode Island.

Wake up at 3:45 am. Drive to Glens Falls. Take the 5:10 city bus to the airport. Arrive at airport at 5:30. Find the coffee vendor. Stand, talk, shiver; make mental note to bring a scarf next year. Speculate if it’s too windy for flight. Rejoice as the sun rises and balloons roll out. Take pictures while trying to avoid the crowd. Take bus back to downtown. Eat breakfast at the Peppermill.

This weekend we visited our families, ate a ton a food, and hiked to Kaaterskill Falls in the Catskills.

This weekend we explored Five Rivers in Delmar.

Yesterday morning we work up early and drove out to North Adams to explore Cascade Falls once again.

Yesterday we visited the Pine Hollow Arboretum in Slingerlands. We saw the sign for the arboretum during one of our drives out to Rensselaerville.

This weekend we stayed with friends in Lewis. On Saturday we woke up early to catch the town-wide garage sales in Elizabethtown in the spirit of E-town Day. Our haul included: 1 over-sized sweater, 2 books, and 3 hats.

I spent the past week visiting my sister in Asheville. That place never gets old.

We took a ride out to Rensselaerville and explored the Huyck Preserve again. We took the trail around Lake Myosotis.

This morning we went to the Papscanee Island Nature Preserve in Rensselaer. We started at the north entrance of the preserve, giving us a driving tour of the Port of Rensselaer’s oil yard. We didn’t think we were in the right place, until we noticed a trail head at the end of a dead end road.

I spent an awesome week in DC.

This weekend we celebrated my birthday in a cabin in Wells, NY.

Today my folks and I explored the Dean Farm Heritage Trail in Stony Creek. The trail was fairly easy to navigate as it was marked with wooden poles. We were impressed by all the beautiful bridges, benches, and overlook points.

Saturday morning we visited the Albany Pine Bush at Karner Barrens East & West. We took the blue trail to the yellow. Despite the chill, it was a really nice 2.6 mile hike and it only took us about an hour.

Saturday night I had an all out snack attack. Right before heading to the store to pick-up rice krispies treat supplies, my boyfriend asked for pretzels. So I added yeast to my list.

Tea

On Sunday, mom drove down for part of the day. We grabbed lunch at the Pump Station and then explored the Albany Rural Cemetery. I got the idea to check out the cemetery from All Over Albany.

On Saturday, I woke up early and drove down to Greenwich, CT. A good friend of mine moved down there earlier this year with her husband. She showed me their new place and around town. We ordered sushi to-go and enjoyed it on the beach. It was a really great day.

Mount Baker

Saturday

We woke up early and drove out to Mount Greylock in Mass. It was a gorgeous morning!

Balloon Festival

This weekend I had the privilege of decorating a friend’s wedding at the Wilburton Inn in Manchester, Vermont. As payment, my boyfriend and I got to stay all weekend at the Inn. It was an excellent trade!

Beautiful morning.

Mom and I went on a Washington County/Vermont adventure today.

We woke up early and drove up to Moreau Lake State Park for a hike.

A nice after work drive to shoot star photos, but the moon was too bright.

This weekend I visited my college roommate in Lake Placid. We walked around Mirror Lake once a day, ate delicious food, and people watched. It was refreshing!

Lake Placid

Awesome 2.7 mile hike to the Snow Hole in the Taconic Mountains. No snow in the hole, but we had a good time exploring inside and enjoying the temperature difference.

This weekend we woke up early and drove out to North Adams, Massachusetts. We took a 20-minute muddy hike through the woods and ended up at a waterfall.

I had the distinct honor of being in two weddings this month.

Rensselaerville

My sister moved to North Carolina a few years ago. Since then my folks and I make an annual trip down to visit.

We drove out for the day for some exploring. I scored this neat shot of Albany through a coin-operated binocular.

Traveled up to Lake Placid for the weekend with a college roommate, to visit our other college roommate. She had a nice birthday surprise waiting for me!

My friend was wrapping up her Masters in Dublin, so I visited, along with another friend for two weeks. We hopped over to Spain for some quick sightseeing.

At Siena, I took a business and ancient Greece course. At the end of the semester we visited Turkey and Greece.

At Siena, I took a course called The Risorgimento. We studied Italian unification and then visited the sites during the semester.

At Siena, I took a course called Roman Britain, where we studied the Romanization of Britain. At the end of the semester we visited the sites.

One of the perks of being a Girl Scout is the senior Bermuda trip.