I'm a Few Days Behind...

We went upstate this past weekend and brought the kids to Howe Caverns. I've never been there either, so it was almost as much fun for me as it was for the boys. And considering that it was arctic up there, I really appreciated the fact that the caverns were an even 50 degrees. Heck, I was ready to move in down there until Spring. The caverns are wild - so amazing, that water and time created them.

When we came back up to the surface, we looked out over at the mountains. The view is stunning. And cold. Very, very, cold.

Yes, it was as cold as it looks.

My inner Al Gore/Jim Hightower was briefly ignited as I looked at this breathtaking sight and thought for some reason about MTR (mountaintop removal) - how can anyone, I don't care what your profession is, look out at a scene like this and say, "Hey - betcha if we blow off the top of that mountain, we can mine it out quicker. Let's go for it!" I didn't want to tarnish the moment by sharing this, so I took some pictures and enjoyed living in the moment. But I think I'll keep it in the back of my head to remind the boys one day.

Sadly, the amazing little country bakery I fell in love with only a few months ago is gone, like so many other small businesses up there. It's becoming so depressing, seeing this little Small Town America just wasting away. I guess I still harbor this little hope that we could move up there and help breathe some new life - and cash - into that struggling economy. One of these days, maybe I will have my little yarn shop/eclectic bookstore. Until then...