For a change of pace, I decided to seek out some Scranton benchmarks this morning. I initially thought that recovering the MINOOKA tri-station and associated reference marks was going to require climbing over a wire fence, but I got a lucky break this time. There is a convenient opening cut in the fence directly behind one of the powerline poles, and I was able to walk right through.
My new GPSr took me to within 2 feet of the station mark, and it was easy to spot because the rock outcropping was clear of snow and debris. The outcropping into which RM 1 was set was similarly simple to find, but I was disappointed to see that the disk was vandalized and only the shank remains. (I did not realize until later in the evening that RM 1 has its own datasheet, which does note the destruction.) Locating RM 4 proved to be a challenge. I took measurements from the end of the east-west paved road and from powerline pole 56906 N44818 in order to pinpoint the spot. The measurements brought me directly to the mark, which was found after removing some litter and mud packed around the mark. This mark too has been vandalized, with only the shank remaining; this is noted on its datasheet. There was no sign of a witness post as mentioned in the 1976 description.
After finding MINOOKA RESET in Scranton’s south side, I drove to Green Ridge, turned down Race Street into the Plot section, and then, from a block away, spotted the 1904 truss bridge in which B 56 is set. The station has been in recent use; it is circled with fluorescent orange paint and orange markings have been made on the bridge as well.
