Camping Trip #3

[swizzle]

Planning a camping trip right now. Just me and my son and 20 some other cub scouts and their parents on an island. I guess its quite an island, I can't wait to check it out. I've also heard they have great amenities. 4 outhouses to choose from and a lake full of bath water. Maybe I'll finally get some of the rusty crusty dump diggings worked out of my skin for a few days. [][] I'll be taking my camera with me as well. So lots of pics and videos should be coming up. I can't wait. I'll see you all on Sunday afternoon or Monday after work. Until then have a great weekend. Swiz

 

[towhead]

Looking forward to the pix! -Julie P.S. Watch out for Grizzley's!

 

[swizzle]

No Grizzlies on the island but I do have some awesomeness coming up. I still have a bunch of cropping and touching up to do but I promise a display of sweetness coming up. Its definitely something you don't see every day and when and if you do its usually from a great distance. This is indeed a close up of a critter that I'm sure you'd all love to see up as close and personal as we did this weekend. Be prepared to be dazzled and amazed and maybe a little bit swizzled as well. [][][][] I'll be back. We have to go out for a few things first. Swiz

 

[Wheelah23]

?

 

[swizzle]

How'd ya get a pic of me with my shirt off??? Hey Rick, How about a photoshop job on that pic? [][][]

 

[swizzle]

Well as a few of you my know I've been on a camping trip with my son and his cub scout troop for a lovely 3 day weekend. Where better to have a camping trip then on an island named Scout Island. Some of the following pics were taken by my son with his own kids camera so the pic quality may not be up to par.

Friday afternoon we arrived on the island via pontoon boat. We unloaded and set up camp and started the meet and greet. There were about 12 families in all and some new blood in the troop that I didn't know but my son set out to make friends and play games. Bless his lil soul he seemed he was right in his element with all the kids.

We went swimming, on a nature hike around the island, ate to much food, played games, and sat around the campfire. I shared a bit of knowledge about wild edibles with some of the kids and talked about our upcoming camping trip to another lake. This time in a cabin. Well enough letters, time for a few pics.

Here's a little panorama of one of the beaches. This is named Horse Shoe Bay.

Looked for arrowheads in vein.

My son got some pics of these flowers. Ain't they perty.

A strange pic my son took of the campfire.

We found some Eagle feathers and took some pics of them. We also practiced Leave No Trace this weekend so we put these feathers back. Besides its illegal to possess Eagle feathers.

Then we found this tragic scene. Its a duck that was feeding its babies and lost her footing. She got here head stuck and ended up dying what must have been a horrible death. The circle of life works in strange and unexpected ways some times.

Here's a psychedelic tree that I found in the water. If it doesn't looks psychedelic to you then you should have seen it with the gentle waves and the soothing sounds of the morning beach. Simply awesome in my opinion.

Here is one of the many stone walls on this island. It use to be quite the hub before they flooded the valley and put many homes and properties beneath the abyss of the Sacandaga.

Found this rock in the stone wall. Gotta be some decent fossils in there. Well I'm about to time out so here's part 1. Swiz

 

[swizzle]

Now onto the critter. We weren't the only scouts on the island. A Boy Scout troop was on the other end. They were actually on the trail and found this little guy just the other side of a stone wall. Poor thing looked rather confused. Every see one of these guys up close?

I was about 10 feet away when these pics were taken.

If you haven't guess what kind of critter this is yet then how about a pic of Momma.

Yup its a baby bald eagle and big brother was still kickin' around in the nest up above. My son was also lucky enough to get a close pic of it. The only downfall was his cameras poor pic quality.

This little guy wasn't moving for nothing. With 2 troops being as quiet as possible we took some pics and videos and then moved on. A couple of the guys went back later to check on him and said he wasn't moving right so Encon was called in. An Encon Officer and a woman who was obviously well versed in managing big birds were on the scene in about an hour.

When they arrived we headed over to the nest and found the guys still there watching the bird to make sure he didn't move to much and try to keep him within sight. After a quick discussion we had our game plan and the Encon Officer had his big fishing net and got into position. 2 guys with a sleeping bag and me were walking along the stone wall to corral the little guy within striking distance of the Encon Officer. Within a minute the bird was pinned and the Encon Officer was less the a foot away from rubbing noses with this guy. I was simply amazed that the eagle didn't take the officer's nose off. He simply reached around the back of his head and grabbed him by the neck. After a little maneuvering he pulled out the eagle and the woman helped to put a hood on him. They carefully gave him a field exam and the woman said it appeared that he had some swelling and needed to be taken in for a better look. All in all it was pretty exciting. Well that's my critter story. I hope you all enjoyed it. Just another story to share the next time we sit around the ol' campfire.

 

[JOETHECROW]

Looks like a cool place Swiz....What year did they flood that place? Really cool eagle pics.

 

[swizzle]

They cleared out over 10 towns. Knocked down, burned and relocated buildings and relocated "most"of the cemeteries and then flooded the entire valley in 1930. In the days and weeks to come the caskets were popping up out of the waterlogged ground. There's a lot of stories of the valley flooding. What was once a great river is now a 26 mile long lake. Swiz

 

[JOETHECROW]

I feel your pain Swiz....This is about our version! (91 miles around it)...[]

Native Americans
Further information: John F. Kennedy#Native American relations and Seneca nation#Kinzua Dam[/align]Construction of the dam legally condemned 10,000 acres of the Allegheny Reservation granted in the Treaty of Canandaigua (signed by President Washington),[5] forcing relocation of 600 Seneca. In 1961, citing the immediate need for flood control, President John F. Kennedy denied a request by the Seneca to halt construction.[6] The Seneca lost a 1964 appeal over the relocation of a four lane highway through the remaining portion of the reservation.[7]
A Pennsylvania land grant to the Seneca leader Cornplanter was also condemned. His descendants had already moved to Salamanca, New York, near the northern shore of the Allegheny Reservoir.[8]
In 1964, the American country singer Johnny Cash recorded the song "As Long as the Grass Shall Grow" (composed by the Native American folk singer Peter La Farge) about the Senecas' plight; the Seneca nation's owned-and-operated radio station, WGWE, plays the song at least once a week in remembrance. The folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie also mentions the Kinzua Dam in her songs "Now That the Buffalo's Gone" (recorded in 1964) and "My Country 'Tis of Thy People You're Dying" (recorded in 1966).
[edit] Elimination of Corydon and Kinzua
The construction of the dam and the filling of the Allegheny Reservoir also necessitated the elimination of the small village of Corydon (1960 population: 165), which was located at the confluence of Willow Creek with the Allegheny River, the small village of Kinzua (1960 population: 458), which was located at the confluence of Kinzua Creek with the Allegheny River, and the hamlet of Onoville (in South Valley, New York, 1960 population unknown), among a few other small villages and hamlets. All residents were forced out through eminent domain and required to relocate.[9]
The creation of the dam also forced the displacement of Camp Olmsted, owned by the Chief Cornplanter Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The campsite had been located on bottomland along the Allegheny River but dam construction forced it to be moved up the hillside.

P.S. This also contains the area alleged to expose a pontil dump at super low water levels...[]