Tug Hill 4 Wheeling & and a mini lesson on energy

So, the page about 4 Wheeling won out over the wedding! How surprising! No, not really, I didn't feel quite up to bling yesterday. Wanted to share also with you some photos of the wind farm we encountered during our 4 Wheeling journey. And, of course, add a little disclaimer here in regards to our activities.

So, basically Lewis County NY is in the middle of nowhere. Worse than where I live, where we at least have four colleges to offset some of the joblessness, etc. They have capitalized on the large snowfall and logging roads by offering up ATV opportunities. These are very rare. VERY rare. We used to have to drive down to Potter County PA at our last house to find enough trails to really get a good day in with the 4 Wheelers. Now, keep in mind, I am deep down very environmental. We act very responsibly, stay on the trails, bring our garbage out with us, etc. I enjoy taking to the hills on a 4 Wheeler because it is almost like the difference between riding on a lake on a boat to riding in a canoe. You just see more.

I've been riding in the Tug Hill area for several years now. Have watched this wind project unfold just a bit. It's pretty much over now, as far as I can tell. The windmills are in, the roads are rocked and gated, and the electrical lines are reseeded with grass. We stopped at Flat Rock Inn for a burger around lunch time and I wanted to show you their view. It's pretty impressive. I asked the barmaid her impressions of the windmills for my own amusement. Keep in mind, I also work in the energy field. It's love hate kind of thing for most people. They love heat, but hate having to give anything up to get it.

She was no exception and told some interesting tales of corruption, trips to Bermuda offered to the local officials, parts from Taiwan that fell apart, and how the Dept. of Environmental Conservation has ignored issues associated with these windmills. I do know for instance that she was wrong on the last part as the windmills are not regulated by the DEC but the Public Service Commission in NY which does keep a good eyeball on things. Or, at least they do in the industry I am involved with. In the interest of being fair, here is a website that has some interesting facts on The Maple Ridge Wind Farm.

My only two comments from the day are the same I'd say to a landowner getting involved with a natural gas well....check your lease with the energy company over VERY well and talk to a lawyer that specializes in that kind of thing. It is your land. And, I wish they would work on their burgers at Flat Rock! Although, they were really flat in keeping with their name!

Back to scrapping! So, spotted this sketch on someone's blog. Mieke's to be exact. And then went and checked out Little Shop of Sketches to see their blog. It's pretty cool and I'm glad I played along with their sketch. I love her take on it too, so check out her pretty birthday page.

I LOVE my background paper. It was a photo I took on our travels. LOVE the little wild blue flags in the photo. And, that sketch inspired me to cut out a banner for my page! I was running short on my letters so opted to draw them in for a sketchy kind of look. And outline my banner too with my black pen. So much fun. Kinda draws you in with it, I think!

Now, I used some pretty little bling on this page. I am planning ahead! I have a wedding page to do which will go next to this page. They cannot be matchy-matchy since it just won't make sense..but I thought maybe a gems might get me in the mood for wedding.

Anyhow, this post is long enough! Happy Tuesday AND here is to a short work week! YAH!

Mitra