2021-03-31 41 -73

Location

On a gravel road right off of Route 9W in Newburgh, New York.

Participants

Plans

Expedition

My first expedition in two weeks came about when I did my daily check of the coordinates and discovered that today's location was really, really close to the border of the graticule, which of course was true today for anyone west of the 30W line. I did the math, and the chances of having a longitude decimal value of .99969 or greater is 1 in 3,225. In other words, with all possible decimals given equal probability of occurring, one would expect to see a longitude in your graticule of .99969 just under once every nine years. Well, I wouldn't dream of turning down an opportunity like this, especially since I already work in the .9 centicule that's near the graticule border. So, I was going to go.

I knew the spot would be right on the side of the road, but I wasn't sure if it would be all that accessible or if it would just be in a clump of woods that constricts the busy Route 9W. Heading up the road, I found the parking lot I had been looking for, which seemed to belong a possibly abandoned dentistry practice. No one was there, anyway, so I only had to have the slightest worry that a cop would see me futzing around on the side of a road and have a question or three. The toughest part of reaching the geohash, without a doubt, was crossing the road. There was no crosswalk, and the first couple times that it seemed like the traffic had momentarily eased up, a straggler would come flying by from a side road and would make me wait another three minutes. Eventually, I got across to the gravel road that turned into a lot of some sort with a couple electrical trucks parked in the back. I was really lucky though, because not only was the geohash not in any woods, it was at the very beginning of the gravel road, meaning that I had only had to cross the road to step foot onto the spot. I had done it!

Just to cover all bases, I walked a bit on the side of the road going south, having thought momentarily that the spot was actually there. While I was meandering, I almost stepped right in a partially decayed deer carcass. It had been reduced to some fur and a spine a couple feet from the skin that had once surrounded it. Poor guy. And he was so close to the Coffin Potato achievement too. Ah well. I also noted that in the direction of the dead deer, about 85 feet down the road and before it turned around a corner, was the border of my beloved 41 -73 graticule. Being able to see the spot where I would cross into the mysterious, uncharted 41 -74 graticule was eerie. I still vow to complete an expedition there someday. For now, I'm happy doing my first successful expedition west of the Hudson, and unless there's a once-in-nine-years coincidence again, my next sojourn into the West will be on the other side of that fateful line.

Photos

A neat old police cruiser right next to my parking spot. Luckily, not occupied.
The view from my parking spot, looking across 9W at the gravel road.
Here's the actual spot. Really glad it was right off the road.
Some proof I made it. I've started using Google Maps, it seems to work pretty well.
A little more proof. I like to be thorough, what can I say.