#6: [21-Nov-15]

#5: [25-Apr-11]

#4: [28-May-09]

#2: [16-Jul-00]

#1: [24-Jun-00]

21-Dec-2004 -- This is the second of four confluences that are roughly equidistant from my mother's home in Oxford, New York (located at approximately 42.4N, 75.6W). When I visited my mother last August, we went to the first one, 42N75W. We would visit the other two, 43N75W and 43N76W, on New Year's Day 2005. This point is the closest of the four to Oxford, about a 45-mile drive. Today was a beautiful winter day, clear and seasonably cold, although much warmer than yesterday when it remained below 10 degrees F all day.

The confluence is easily approached by taking NY Route 26 south (or PA Route 267 north) to the NY/PA state line. Although this portion of the border between New York and Pennsylvania is supposed to coincide with the 42nd parallel, the state line is actually about 100 meters south of it, so the confluence is on the New York side. Along the 42nd parallel, the confluence is only about 100 meters east of NY Route 26. Just a few meters into Pennsylvania, there is a gas station and welcome sign for entering the state. We parked the car there, about 140 meters from the confluence, and walked north on NY 26 until we reached 42N. The parallel runs through the back yard behind a rustic-looking brown house. Inside the house, a large dog was standing near a window and barking, so we figured we would need to ask permission to walk through the yard. We knocked at the door, and a man appeared and graciously allowed us to explore the area in back of his house.

The walk to the confluence was up a moderate incline, past a large doghouse and into a spruce grove. The interior of the grove was not particularly suitable for taking pictures, especially with daylight beginning to wane (it was about 2:45 in the afternoon), so we continued into a clearing where some kind of stove had been discarded, along with a milk crate. These are also visible in pictures from two visits in the summer of 2000. After taking the rest of the pictures, we departed, not wishing to linger on the owner's property for too long. We took a couple more pictures, then headed back to the car, eager to get warm again.