Frackheads and gasholes. Part one.

The whole of upstate New York has a lot to compete with considering it's reputable attraction to the south.  I'd imagine most people not from the state automatically assume all New Yorkers are from the city, and therefore those folks from upstate find themselves resenting the assumption.  In response to the seemingly infinite praise from upstaters and outsiders of beautiful upstate New York, we decided to take a look.

As per usual, our naivety left us just outside the city and unexpectedly climbing steep grades instead of casually strolling through lush, rolling farmland--what I'd imagined the entire upstate to be.  Weaving along the Upper Delaware, we found our true taste of the Appalachian Mountains.  Our path moving east must have been a lucky one, because this time around, the terrain rivaled anything the Ozarks or the Rockies could throw a us.

Once far enough north to stay in New York and head west, we turned left and rode bicycle route 17 out of the beautiful Upper Delaware River valley. Route 17 proved to be comfortable riding with an occasional rolling climb to the view of lush countryside. We rode route 17 to Waverly. Our decision to spend the night in this town turned out to be a contentious one; for in Waverly we had ourselves a clusterfuck of a night. It started in a city park, where we're technically not allowed after sunset.  This hasn't been an issue the other few times we've done it; maybe because we haven't been caught, or maybe because we're obviously moving on.  However one looks at it, sometimes there just isn't a campground within a reasonable distance.  In Waverly, after learning from the polite local police what we already knew-- no camping nearby--we were too beat to try and find another place outside town. Instead, we sought the Best Western just across the border in Pennsylvania, where we learned the going rate is $150.00 per night.  The unusually high rate for a hotel in this small community is due to a recent increase in demand from the contracted fracking labor.  The girl at the Best Western counter kindly directed me to the Palmer House, an extremely nice and budget friendly bed and breakfast. The kind folks there provided us with the comfort of a shower, a bed, and an amazing breakfast spread.  

While I was inside the Best Western, Dan was talking to a journalist from the local paper, Morning Times.  It was because of this chance encounter that we have now received another badge in cycle touring; the coveted newspaper article.

After such a night, I'd typically assume the complicated tale would be enough to satisfy one week's worth of traveling, but it's not.  I'll leave the following days in northern Pennsylvania for part two.

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My approach to this adventure has been to seek the beauty in this country, and thus discover a new dimension of patriotism within myself.  Therefore I typically try to keep my shared observations as close to mere articles of positive experience, without crossing into any stratospheres of a bad attitude. To my benefit, this hasn't been a challenge because this adventure has been full of exemplary human experience.  I have most certainly found my patriotic sense, and am enjoying my homeland with the proud eyes I have always wanted.

Though I now enjoy harnessing a positive outlook on the future of this great land, I can't help but look around the rosy lenses and see some potential for improvement.

In the days following our experience in Waverly, I've considered the conversations we had with the police and a few folks at the bed and breakfast, about the economies of fracking.  For those unwise to the term, fracking is a method of extracting natural gas stores from rock thousands of feet underground.  Environmental uncertainties aside, the fracking economy has been a boon to the small economies wherever it's recently become prolific.  Those holding property above the gas stores are striking it rich. Contractors from around the country are coming to towns like Sayre, Pennsylvania and driving hotels to charge astronomical rates.  All the direct and indirect financial impacts of fracking are beneficial to the towns and states where it is allowed--which is not in New York state, yet.

Coming from an economy recently revitalized after timber industry's exodus from Oregon, I wonder what will the state, regional, and local governments in these communities do to protect their children's economy when the gas has all been fracked?

Immediate consequences in sight; what is happening to prevent a gentrification of local residents, since the cost of housing, temporary and long term, are and will increase as more people relocate for the higher paying opportunies?  As this new industry flourishes at the expense of the local community, I hope a visionary will insist on using then new revenue to address an increase in homelessness, advance the infrastructure, and find long term economic sustainability beyond the finite resource of natural gas.

This is my soapbox, thanks for listening.