Aerie Report, March 23, 2010My Turn

I'll be heading up to the Bolt Hole tomorrow morning. I need to see if any snow remains in the yard and if I can get the trailer out of the barn. If the answers are "none" and "yes" then I'll drive over to Alpin Camping World (I think that's it's name) in Amsterdam to see if I can bring the trailer in for a checkup and a lube job. I know the water system needs to be flushed, the heating and AC units checked out, and a few other things done before our Big Trip. Hopefully the tires are in good enough shape--they've only been to Colorado Spring (twice) and Atlanta (once) since I bought the trailer. I'll need to price a spare tire and rim for the trailer anyway.

If the answer turns out to be "too much" and "no" then I'll just have to clean the inside of the trailer as best I can and get it ready for its run to the shop. From the latest pictures that Mark sent, however, I do not think that will be a problem.

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It was a foggy, foggy day today at the Aerie. Cloud ceiling was somewhere below 2000 feet and the winds were nonexistent, so we were in the clouds almost all day. Occasionally we would get rain but it was mostly drizzle and mist, mist and drizzle all day long right up to 5:30 PM when the northern wind kicked it up a notch or two and blew the clouds up the hillside and high into the air. It's still not clear, but the clouds are now above us where they belong.

It IS supposed to be getting clear and sunny for the next three or four days both here and up at the Bolt Hole. While it will be comfortable during the day (40s and 50s) it might get down right chilly at night up north with a low on Thursday night in the mid to low teens predicted.

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Fishing season is right around the corner. In NYS it starts on April 1 regardless of what the weatherman says. Often it's during a snow storm. Might be this year too. Snow is predicted for the 30th and 31st of March. Only an inch or two but still...

In PA the trout season starts on April 17th in the Northern Tier. (There's a split starting date that lets some southern counties open on April 3rd. Must read the regs.) Hopefully it won't be snowing then. Last year it wasn't snowing but there was some still on the ground.

I mention this because, although my tackle boxes are here at the Aerie, the poles are in the back room of the Bolt Hole. Neither is very good without the other. I do have one light backpacking pole and small pocket tackle box up north for use on the local streams and a similar set up could be cobbled together from what I have in the Aerie...but there's a lot of gear up there that should be here or visa-versa. (Must remember to bring pieces together!)