Wednesday, October 4th, 2006
I have been holding on to this post for a while. As you may have noticed from some earlier posts, Laura and I like to skirt the border of Connecticut and New York. There are some pretty cool areas along the line. Every time we go there, we see something new. This time, I wanted to head up Lime Rock Park and Lakeville, CT to enjoy the drive.
Now, just to give you a reference point, the Lakeville/Salisbury area is the most Northwest part of Connecticut. If you drive north from Lakeville into Salisbury and look to your left, you will see the Berkshires. Don’t be fooled by these tree-filled looking mountains…there is tons of stuff to do in there. One day, a while back, we drove for about 10 miles down a dirt road on the very top of the Berkshires. We had no idea where we were, but couldn’t turn around because the road was so thin. Good thing another car wasn’t coming in the opposite direction. We passed so many camping areas and a few much hidden resorts. We finally headed down a paved road and popped out right in Salisbury. It’s a very cute town, so that’s why I wanted to go back and visit the area. I am not sure I would be able to find the road back up into the mountains today…that’s how well it was hidden. We visited this area towards the end of the trip.
We started out by heading up Rt.7 in Connecticut…past New Milford, Sherman and Kent, where we stopped for a few minutes at Kent Falls State Park.
I used to visit Kent Falls when I was a kid, but like so many other things we do when we are kids, the memory was a bit blurry. I wanted to visit again. This is a great park to visit with kids. They can run around and create all sorts of havoc in the front field and then everyone can walk to the top of the falls on very woodsy stairs. It’s not a very far hike, but quite scenic. Make sure to bring your camera.
We continued North on Rt.7 and quickly made a visit into Cornwall over the covered bridge, which is very cute.
The great thing about driving through New England is that they take very good care of their covered bridges. This was a very small, but functional town, although it is quite a distance from a major food store or mall. Back on the road, we came across an area that reminded me of why I like this area so much…its beauty.
People travel out West to see the beauty of the landscape and forget about what is right in their backyard.
If you have never been to Lime Rock Park, you should really make it a destination. There is a really cool race track with lots of turns and a straightaway. You can watch motorcycles and many different types of cars racing around the track. There are even days where you can bring your own car or bike there to get timed. It’s pretty exciting. The last time I went, I was with my cousin Joe and we just chilled on the lawn watching the cars all afternoon. The best part is that this park is very casual. You pull in, park and walk to the spot you want to sit yourself for the rest of the day.
A few miles past Lime Rock is the “Lake” in Lakeville. It is called Lake Wononscopomuc. Say that 3 times fast…or once for that matter.
We had to pull in here to check it out. There was no one swimming at the lake today due to the clouds, but we were really interested in how a place this nice gets paid for up here where the population is pretty low. I walked inside the building to talk to someone. A woman inside explained to me that since there were many people from New York City who had summer houses here, there was good tax revenue generated for the town. Also, there are a few private schools in the area that bring in some money. She was actually pretty excited to tell me about how the native residents get all of the good benefits and great schools for their children paid for by out-of-towners. Seemed like a good deal to me. There were some really nice houses up here in this area…
On the way out of the lake area, we noticed a really interesting restaurant called “West Main.”
This really has nothing to do with our trip, but thought it would be cool to show you what you can do with an old school house looking building.
After spending some time in Lakeville, we started to head home taking Rt.41 into Sharon, CT and through Amenia Union, NY on to Rt.22 South.
If you decide to take a trip like this, make sure you bring your camera, plenty of food and a good map. It will most likely take all day, but will be worth the drive!
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Tuesday, September 19th, 2006
As I sat down tonight and began to write, I came very close to making my first sentence, “One of my favorite things to do is…” when I realized that I want to make that my first sentence for all my posts. I guess I have a lot of favorite things. Well, you should understand why what I describe in this little story is one of my favorite things.
Like many other nature lovers out there, I enjoy taking walks in the woods on some of the first warm days of Spring. Well, last Spring, a friend and I met at the Putnam Diner in Patterson, NY to go for a little walk in the woods. We parked our cars in the diner’s parking lot and walked about a half mile north on Rt. 22. It is always shocking to see how fast cars really drive when you are walking about four feet away from them. We came across a small dirt road on the right hand side of the road that leads into a little bridge that spans part of, none other than, the Great Swamp in Patterson.
Now, there is a reason why they call this swamp “Great.” The thing is huge. For decades, people have been using the area for fishing and recreational use, such as boating and kayaking. Here is an encompassing description I found on the web:
“The Great Swamp — covering over 6,000 acres — is one of the largest freshwater wetlands in New York State.
Situated in New York’s eastern Putnam and Dutchess Counties, the Great Swamp and its 63,000-acre watershed stretch 20 miles through the towns of Southeast, Patterson, Pawling and Dover. Located less than 70 miles from New York City, this vast and fragile wetland provides numerous benefits to residents of the Harlem Valley, including drinking water, flood control, recreation, open space and wildlife habitat.
The Great Swamp spans two watersheds, divided at Pawling into a north and south flow. To the north, water travels through the Swamp River and into the Ten Mile River, the Housantonic River, and eventually the Long Island Sound. Meandering south it is the East Branch Croton River flowing into the East Branch to the East Branch Reservoir of New York City’s Croton Reservoir System, making the Great Swamp the important headwaters of New York City’s drinking water supply.
The Great Swamp is listed in the New York State Open Space Plan as a priority project in the 2001 Plan that includes 132 projects statewide. Governor Pataki’s recent designation of the Croton Watershed as Critical Resource Waters includes the Great Swamp and provides greater protection. The Army Corps of Engineers is required to conduct a more far-reaching and public review of all projects, rather than their weaker Nationwide Permit Program. Of The Swamp, Governor Pataki has said: I had the opportunity to canoe portions of the Great Swamp and witness first hand what a marvelous resource the Great Swamp presents for the people and communities of this region.”
Now, that pretty much says it all. Here is a satellite photo of just part of it:
The reason that this particular area is of such importance to me is because my Uncle Richard brought me here when I was a very young little man for my first time fishing…ever. I can remember casting out my line and watching it float under the bridge. Through the years, I always wondered where that spot was and when I finally discovered it, I invited my friend to go for a little walk.
There is something special about hiking in early Spring, before there is any foliage. You can see through the woods much more and there is something different in the air. The Great Swamp is particularly inviting…and I recommend a visit when you have some time to spare.
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Sunday, September 17th, 2006
Beautiful Sundays are meant for riding motorcycles…and flying airplanes. Well, that’s just what we did. My friend Craig and I went for a nice bike ride up to Sherman, CT on an exploration mission. We had no goal and that’s the way we like it. We rode our motorcycles…and had them pose for a photo…
I wanted to show Craig a house that I almost purchased the Spring of 2005 located on Green Pond Rd. in Sherman, CT. We rode by it, took a look and agreed that it was too small. Good thing I walked from that deal. Anyway, we continued up the road because I was raving about how the house came with lake access to two private beaches on Candlewood Lake. We went through the gates and started climbing a hill and then rolled down the other side…ooh, an unexpected surprise. A small lake called Green Pond. No one knows about this little pristine treasure, because no one is allowed in unless you live on that road. It was really, really nice. There were a few people sitting on the small beach and the lake was surrounded by the thickest Hemlocks. I love that…totally private.
Enough of that. We rode up and back out towards the main road. I was in back of Craig…when he made a sudden right. I read the partly hidden sign located on the entrance of the small road he just turned into. It read “Candlelight Farms Airport.” Hmmm…what was this? Well, apparently, there is a really cool grass airport located right behind the tree line. This is actually the one that the chopper landed on in the movie “Mr. Deeds.” We continued to ride down the dirt road until we got to the hangar.
There was a bi-plane sitting outside and a guy there who was giving scenic rides. His company is called Preston Aviation and he lives in Florida in the winter and Connecticut in the summer. His plane is a Stearman PT-17, built in 1941. This plane was in awesome condition.
Ok, fine. This sounds like fun. Craig went up first for a half-hour. He came back down and said it was a gorgeous view and I just had to go up. I climbed in to the 2-seater and was pretty excited. This airplane is totally open, so your head sticks out. Great for nice warm days.
Craig was right. It was gorgeous. We flew over Candlewood Lake and parts of Sherman and New Milford. He let me fly a bit and snap lots of photos. Way too many to put in this entry. We also did some lazy eights.
Flying over this lake is a very scenic adventure. I will be sure to come back after I get my license.
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Thursday, September 7th, 2006
Welcome to one of the wonders of the world…well almost. It should be anyway.
Early this Spring, Laura and I decided to take our first motorcycle ride through the ridge. It was one of the first nice warm days of the year, so it was perfect for the type of ride we wanted to take. We decided to ride to Minnewaska State Park. I have heard a lot about the park, but from some reason, I always thought it was this big flat field. I was shocked at what I discovered.
We got there by taking Rt. 55 from New Paltz towards Kerhonkson, NY. It is a really nice ride on a motorcycle. When you get to the bottom of the ridge and start climbing the mountain road, it gets pretty intense. There is a sharp hairpin turn there that will scare the hell out of you if you don’t follow the 5MPH speed limit. We kept riding up the mountain and saw the best view over the Hudson Valley on the left and rock climbers on the right, through the trees. About 5 miles in on the left hand side is the park. There is a dirt road with a small booth run by New York State Parks. I rolled up and gave the lady $6 for the entrance fee. I asked where the waterfall that everyone talks about was (Awosting Falls). She said to follow the dirt road about two miles to the parking area (it was really about 25 feet in on the left. I am surprised she didn’t hear the water falling). Anyway, we followed the dirt road all the way in and arrived at some spectacular views. There were people playing in the field and the most tranquil lake you would ever see, just sitting all the way up at the top of this mountain. I was really impressed by it.
We decided to park the bike and hike to the other side of the lake, where you could see the Catskill Mountains as a backdrop.
We passed a really nice little wooden bridge with the path going underneath it and some quiet picnic areas.
When we got to the top of the area, where we could get the best view, we found a great field for football, baseball or whatever. The breeze was great up there, so you would be fine on even a hot day.
We must have asked about 5 people where the waterfall was. No one knew. They were all probably looking around just like us. We wandered back down the trail to continue our quest for Awosting Falls. With no luck up in that part of the park and with it getting dark, we decided to hop back on the bike and head for the gate. On our way to the gate, we noticed a little trail with a small sign on it: Awosting Falls. Ah ha! We parked the bike and walked down the path for a few hundred feet. The setting sun was so nice glistening off the river water. It is things like that I will remember forever. We finally got to the falls and were pretty excited. They had a very nice drop and reminded me of the falls up in Ithaca, NY
We stayed at the falls for a while and walked back up to the waiting motorcycle while putting our helmets on for the trip home.
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