How about a Red Headed Woodpecker Monday?

 ok? here you go...

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Commuter Rail vs Hiking Path

 A current debate in Queens NY is reported in today's New York Times.  On one end are the proponents of the QueensWay Project.  They propose:

"Connections + Neighborhoods

The QueensWay is a connector. At its heart is Forest Park. To its south lies Gateway National Park and the Jamaica Bay Gateway Greenway, and to its north is Flushing Meadows-Corona Park." And:

"The QueensWay is a community-led effort to transform a blighted, 3.5 mile stretch of abandoned railway in Central Queens into a family-friendly linear park and cultural greenway."

Sounds pretty good eh?

But the other idea is to restore mass transit for residents and businesses.

Known as the QueensLink, where these advocates hope to 

"The QueensLink is 3.5 mile long transit and park corridor which would connect northern and southern Queens."  This group emphasizes the need for mass transit, but also recognize the need for park space.

NYT story here (behind paywall for non-subscribers).

Which one do you like?

KITESURFING NEARS ITS 2024 OLYMPIC DEBUT

 

Enjoy this new Olympic Sport.

Read the news from Team USA.

Thoreau Spring on Mt Katahdin

 Thoreau Spring, found on Mt Katahdin, is a significant spot on the 2,000 mile AT.

Here is a decayed image from 1974 with Katahdin the the back about a mile away.

and one after using GIMP

Gotta' work on the sky next.  But that might take a while since I need to learn the software.

Now for the topo history of the Spring (and yes, Mt. Katahdin) see the USGS. The first is 1927:

Next we see 1930 printed in 1939:

And then 1949 printed in 1967:

And the same year print in Color:

And the most recent topo from 2021 (and no Abol Trail?):

So the spring changed names in the1930s

For a history see this paper.

Whitcomb, Howard R. (2015) "What Happened to the Thoreau Spring Plaque? The Story of a Maine Landmark's Two Names," Appalachia: Vol. 66 : No. 2 , Article 6. Available at: https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/appalachia/vol66/iss2/6

From another source we see the history:

"Thoreau Spring Plaque

In 1846, Henry David Thoreau ascended from a nearby campsite on the West Branch of the Penobscot toward what is now known as Baxter Peak. Thoreau’s subsequent writings about his experience on Katahdin and in the Maine Woods had a great and lasting effect on people’s view of the region."

" The site of the spring at the junction of the Abol and Hunt Trails was christened “Governor’s Spring” in 1925 and demarcated by an engraving on a rock near the spring. "

"In 1933, Baxter completed the purchase of the first parcel of what would eventually become Baxter State Park. Baxter directed that “Governor’s Spring” be renamed “Thoreau Spring” and that a plaque be installed in a location near the spring. "

Source

another great source is here.

Recreational Cannabis Legal in more states

 After the mid-term elections this week, more states have now made Recreational Cannabis Legal.

See the map from Wikipedia here.  Even our neighboring "Show Me - Red" state has made it legal.

Legality of cannabis in the United States   ( Blue) Legal for recreational use  (Green) Legal for medical use  (Gray)  Illegal  D  Decriminalized Notes: · Reflects law of states and territories, including laws which have not yet gone into effect. Does not reflect federal, tribal, or local laws.