Connecticut College Arboretum

Established in 1931 750-acre Connecticut College Arboretum includes their 25-acre Native Plant Collection located in the larger Bolleswood Natural Area.  The Native Plant Collection trail is broken down into 9 main stations with a few additions. The main trail is roughly 2 miles long and can be completed in 1 hour at a leisurely pace.

As we headed down the hill we entered Stage 1, described as a typical forested wetland which has water present at or near the surface for most of the year.  The ground definitely looked like it would normally be swampy but with our current drought the ground was,at best,damp. The Marsh Marigold with its buttercup-like flowers were flourishing.  

As we continued along the marked trail, we entered the second stage filled with various types of  magnolia's. Here two stoic 79yo tulip trees planted in 1936 have grown tall.  The fast growing tulip tree grows perfectly straight and love moist wet forested areas. Around the base of these impressive trees are the Roseshell Azaleas planted in the 40's.

Stage 3 takes us to the conifers. The Gries Memorial Native Conifer Collection was established more recently in 1988 then the majority of the collection.  It's relatively young age is a result of the previous grove of red pines secumming to an insect infestation in the early 80's. The refreshed conifer collection now includes red and white spruce, hemlocks, cedar trees and various pines. 

Along the large Pond is the fourth stage, a dam responsible for the 3' deep pond. The dam built in 1934 allowed the seepage fed pond to devlop its own natural ecosystem and is host to many creatures like crayfish and tadpoles. 

As we continue along the dam we reached Stage 5 filled with many deciduous trees and herbaceous species like oaks, birches, maples, dogwood and mountain laurel. Typically you would also find Eastern Hemlocks but the Asian Hemlock Wooly Adelgid insect has decimated the trees. 

It was here we had an option, we could continue along the main path or deviate and follow the bog path. We decided to check out the bog and took the path to Stage 5a. A bog is a fairly uncommon feature found in Southern Connecticut.  Bogs develop when glacial depressions fill with water and over time plant material accumulated and formed deposits of peat as thick as 3'. Shrubs like cranberry, highbush blueberry, and leatherleaf can be found along the bog edges. The bog was fairly dry thanks to the current drought. 

The sixth stage includes native nut trees like the Hickory Tree. Their hard shell fruits are edible and provide food for many of the local wildlife. Here you could also appreciate the rocky out croppings from which much of the granite buildings on campus are built from. 

As we made our way along the path we reached the one man made  structure. Stage 7 was a gift by the Buck family in 1937 and is known as Buck Lodge. It's used by the college for recreational gatherings and meetings. 

The eighth stage puts you under a massive White Pine planted in 1940 to replace the loss of another large pine in 1938. It sits on the edge of the outdoor theater once used by Connecticut a College for Comomencement exercises. As we admired the open area we discussed the possibility that my Grandmother who was an alum of Connecticut College may have received her diploma in that very spot. 

The final stage, stage 9 is the home to the arboretum's native Holly collection. With both male and female trees I have never seen such big holly trees. The female trees have red berries where the male trees do not. 

That wrapped up our self-guided tour of this impressive collection of native plants on this beautiful late summer early fall day.

Farmington River Tubing

After a roughly 1.5 hour ride from home we finally arrived at our destination. Named for the river we would be rafting down Farmington River Tubing is located in the town of New Hartford in a small wooded state parked called Satan's Kingdom State Recreation area. After parking amongst the trees we stepped up to ticket booth where we signed waivers and paid the small $20 rental fee. 

The rental includes a river tube, life jacket, a shuttle bus ride back to Satan's Kingdom from the take-out point as well as lifeguards at the 2nd set of rapids. They also require a deposit to ensure you return the equipment and they accept car keys which worked out well since you don't want them getting wet. 

For our river rafting adventure the river was running smoothly with a water flow of 370cfs and an average water temp of 56-degrees.  Given the mid 90-degree temperature and sunny skies the  refreshing water was a perfect way too cool down. It would be considered a Class I River since the cfs was below 800.

After collecting a life jacket and river tube from the mountain or tubes in the pile we made our way down a small hill to the rivers edge where we one at a time entered the water. from the rocky shoreline. Refreshing it certainly was. Once we were all in our tubes we allowed the river current to pull us down river. It wasn't long before we reached the first of the rapids which was just before the Route 44 bridge. 

We enjoyed the serenity of the river for a little while before reaching the second set of rapids They are the largest and everyone should expect to get wet going through this section of river. Given the more aggressive nature of this set of rapids they have a couple life guards stationed to help any rafters who might get into any trouble. 

Once past the second set you casually float along the river for a while  floating along with many other rafters dotting the river.  As we made our way we passed a rocky out cropping where a small group had set up camp and where having what appeared to be a BBQ. They were launching themselves off the rocks into the cool refreshing waters and clearly having a great time. 

They didn't appear to have Farmington River Tubes and it appears that you can lunch a tube on your own should you want to. As we continued on we took a break along the rocky shore to take a few photos with the beautiful scenery behind us.

A short distance farther down river was the third set up rapids. The river was wider then the last two sets of rapids but appeared shallower and as a result the rapids slightly more rough. I nearly flipped when I passed over one rock and came down into a wave it was a blast.

As we wrapped up the third set up rapids we traveled along the river to a fork where you could go left or right. We decided to go left since a large group of rowdy kids where going right. The water level here was very shallow and we could feel the rocks below us rubbing. Once we joined back together we could tell that our side was a shorter distance since we had increased the distance between us and the other group.

The water here was moving fairly slow and you could just lean back and enjoy the sun and scenery. about a third of a mile father down was our take-out location denoted with a red inner tube suspended in a tree. We also found ourselves trying to come ashore with a large flock of swans who seemed less interested in us then we were in them.

Once ashore we made our way to one of the dark blue busses and loaded both ourselves and our tubes neatly inside. Seats on the left and the right for the tubes to line up. It was a short ride back to Satan's Kingdom where we turned in our rafts and retrieved our car keys. After a quick dry off we were on our way.

The experience is advertised as 2.5 mile ride down the wild and scenic Farmington River with three sets of rapids. I really enjoyed the relaxing nature of the river most it was a nice way to de-stress and cool off on a hot summers day. The rapids added a bit of excitement that made the entire experience a blast. I would recommend Farmington River Rafting to anyone looking to have fun outdoors on a hot summer day.  Suitable for ages 10+ and those comfortable in the water since you are mostly on your own. The water depth stays fairly shallow and occasionally you do rub along the river bed. (no white swim trunks). 

 

 

NYC High Line

The HighLine was built by the New York City Railroad between 1929 and 1934 to eliminate the dangers of street level city rail traffic.  The elevated trains carried meats, produce and dairy to warehouses and factories at the third floor level and the route became known as the "Life Line of New York".

In 1999 a group of community residents rallied to safe the decaying structure. Today the HighLine is an urban oasis along Manhattan's West Side. The elevated track is now a city park winding its way through the trendy Chelsea and Meat Packing District where apartments go for between 2 and 20 million USD. It's tracks still remain but are now part of a mixed surface of wood, concrete and stone walk ways surrounded by lush green areas filled with grass, flowers, fountains, art installations and viewing platforms allowing visitors great views down many of the cities streets. 

We started at W 34th street. The path looped along the Henry Hudson Parkway until it went up W 30th St. We followed it all the way to the end at Gansevoort Street where we had a delicious lunch in the Gansevoort Market before making the track back to W 34th street.  Its a great venue to relax and enjoy on a summer day.

Meigs Point Nature Center Canoe Trip @ Hammonasset State Park

Named after Johnathon Meigs a American Revolutionary hero and recipient of a congressional sword for the Battle of Sag Harbour, Meigs Point Nature Center offers a weekly 2-hour guided tour of the Hammonasett River. The tour is by reservation

Dan and I brought our own kayaks for the tour while my parents reserved a canoe. The cost of the tour was $5 and departed at 12:30 from the Nature Center. After a brief drive down a trail we arrived at the launch zone. We were almost immediately uninvited by mosquito's and horse flys. Dan and I unloaded the Kayaks while tour leader Mike and his helper unloaded 9 canoes and related life jackets and paddles. As they reviewed safety rules Dan and I launched the kayaks to escape the attacking insects. 

Once on the water we were thankfully left alone and the first canoe to launch was my parents. Having canoe'd before they had no problem and we made our way out the small canal towards the Hammonasset River. As the remaining tour participants joined us we crossed the channel and followed the salt marshes with our tour guide Mike pointing out the various birds and other wildlife we encountered.  We traveled roughly 1.3 miles up river to the bridge at route 1. There Mike told us a story about the history of the area before we began the paddle back to the launch spot. 

It was a beautiful day on the water. When we reached the laugh ramp we quickly got the kayaks out of the water and on the roof rack.  We moved quick as the mosquitos and horseflies were still hanging out.   We thanked Mike the tour guide for the experience and headed out. 

2014 Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular @ Roger Williams Park Zoo

This year I returned yet again to visit and enjoy the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at the Roger Williams Park Zoo. I decided to go on a Thursday night rather than the weekend to avoid the crowds I had experienced in years past. That was a smart move. There were virtually no lines at all and parking was a breeze. I think it also helped that all day it had be on the verge of rain or sprinkling.

Anyhow it was a perfect night to go. This year the theme of the show was called A to Z. It arranged scenes in alphabetical order and included highlights from history and pop culture. There was also a section honoring inspirational figures past and present. The display includes over 5,000 illuminated jack-o-lanterns with 125 of them skillfully carved. All of the carved pumpkins are surrounded by dozens of other smaller jack-o-lanterns. Each with their own unique personality and quirky look.

The intricately carved pumpkin started with the typical Halloween style scary pumpkins. I particularly enjoyed the limbs that appear to show people trying to climb out of a whole that formed a face. It was creepy and awesome all at the same time.

Next we saw some famous artists like Norman Rockwell. It was one of his iconic self-portraits and makes me want to visit his museum in Stockbridge, MA.

As we proceeded we encountered the dinosaurs. The skillfully carved triceratops and t-Rex were amazing but the dinosaur eye really was awesome. It felt like it was looking right at me.

In keeping with the dinosaurs the next batch were what they called exotic pumpkins. They included the fantastic plumage of the peacock, the delicacy of the tree frog and the mystery of the mermaid. Others along the winding path included the world of fantasy with cartoon characters and mythical creatures like the unicorn.

Impressions are everything and the impressionist collection of carved pumpkins included Monet’s water lily’s and Degas’s dancers.

The Jungle included the likes of Tarzan swinging from the vines while avoiding crocodiles, a masterfully carved leopard, a lion, gorilla, and a tiger.

 

The Knights second brought us back to medieval times with dragons, castles and full suits of armor.

In keeping with legends we moved towards a more musical kind. Including the likes of Elvis and Aretha Franklin. Each pictured belting out one of their greatest hits.

Mythology took us next into a dangerous world of werewolves and gods with Poseidon yielding his trident and medusas snakes gazing out at us. My favorite his was the Cyclops with his menacing face and single eye.

 

Many of those creatures of mythology can be found in novels and that leads us to the likes of Gulliver’s Travels, 20000 Leagues Under The Sea and Moby Dick all featured with scenes from the book that are unmistakable.

Next we were caught by the words of famous poet Robert frost carved into 7 pumpkins. “The words are lovely dark and deep but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep”.

While he maybe a king of the literary world he is no match for the next group of notable figures. Many of these women ruled the world like Queen Nefertiti, and others are remnants of monarchy’s that were once more than just figural however Queen Elizabeth II is still a highly regarded leader. Others only hold their power at the casino’s and are featured on playing cards.

Saying good bye is hard and in the remembrance section we got a last chance to say goodbye to Robin Williams, Joan Crawford, Shirley Temple and other famous actors, and comedians. 

Following is the Seashore and with summer past it too is like a remembrance to see the surfboards and other sea life like the giant turtle.

Each of them made you think Like Rodin’s “the thinker”

Even pop culture made an appearance with True Blood’s Snookie Stackhouse, Willy Wonka themed pumpkins, and Star Wars characters showing us the way.

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite part of the whole spectacle is the final display called the Laughing Tree. It includes hundreds of glowing jack-o-lanterns spread out on the ground and in the trees all surrounding several carved giant pumpkins that weigh in over 1,000lbs with spooky music and fog which creates a dramatic finale to the amazing display. It was a great evening and a pleasurable experience and now I know to come during the week to avoid the crowds for future visits.

 

The final few pumpkins were designed to inspire us to carve a pumpkin of our own and called on some inspirational people to help carry the message to do something great in our lives.