Quarryview - Yeah!!

It was a ridiculously hot and humid day so what better to do than go outside for a hike - Hah! I ventured south to Portland and had a wonderful visit to a very special place: Quarryview!

I sheepishly ventured on in to this area and had the good fortune of meeting the owners Dean and Darlene who graciously gave me a guided tour of their wonderful property.

The views were fantastic!

And there were dinosaur footprints in a few of the stones

Connecticut now has its own Stonehenge! :-) 

There are a few strategically placed viewing areas to see the water sports activities in the Waterpark area.

Yep - quite a collection of tools were found...

The short hike on the periphery of the abandoned quarry was awesome!

Water depth varies between 35 ft to over 90 ft!

Dean pointed out the 1891 engraved date on the quarry wall:

Tuesdays and Saturdays they hold a drum circle here - I'll soon be joining this!!  :-)

 The random cool/cwaziess continued!

Another relic!

Yep  - kinda like "Old Man of the Mountain"in New Hampshire!

A mini waterfall with Dean providing perspective

Dinosaurs footprints...

Chill to the Peaceful Sounding "Wall of Water"

A fitting tribute :-)

Further Info

• Portland’s Quarry View showcasing brownstone legacy one block at a time
• Portland's historic Quarry View now home to spiritual retreats, campers and drum circles

A Snake (Trumbull Late Afternoon)

Didn't get out to the park until after 2 pm but I still had a nice ride. The weather was a typical cool sunny autumn day and the park was pretty empty (most folks go in the morning when the light is better).

I went in from Daniels Farm (south end) for a change and rode the Blue/White.  Just north of the Serengeti--by the climb up to the "old overlook"--I saw a snake.

I  rode on and at the North Bridge I stopped to take a photo - she looked beautiful in the late afternoon sun.:-)

I continued my ride along the river and went up to the Playground passing the old rusty car chassis. From the Playground, I took the Red and once past Copper Creek, the back trails of the Central Maze swinging over to the Yellow once I came to the circle at LFR. I saw a couple of large white-tailed deer on the next stretch -the Yellow to the Red at the FireRoad.

Riding down the Red to the bottom of the chute was a blast--I forget how much of a descent it really was. Here I veered off towards the Yellow by taking the trail that parallels the FireRoad. I then stayed on the Yellow the whole way back, shamelessly walking most of Mulholland Drive (I am getting old!)

It was a nice ride and so good to take a route I seldom go!

Quickie in the Valley

I did a quickie loop of the valley today, trying to get some well-needed recreational exercise before the heat wave set in.

Starting from Whitney, I rode south on the White until the Dam and came back via the Blue. I was having some clothing issues* and decided to quit earlier just as the temperature went up quite a bit.

Its been ages since I visited this spot. It nice to see folks have built up a stone walkway across the river here. My son and I used to come bombing down the hill from the rail trail across the river and try to make it across on our bikes. We never succeeded making it all the way across and ended up with wet feet!

 These classic spots looked nice in the mid morning sun

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* the dirty details: underwear slippage!

A much needed respite at Mianus River...

I spent the entire day at the DMV--5  hours in CT then--after a much needed Pizza and Beer (a 3 pm Lunch!)--I had to go to White Plains to finish up. Whew... it was after 5pm and I needed a bit of nature to cool me down.  A short hike a Mianus was just what the doctor ordered!

High Fashion Chairs!

I hiked to a section I rarely go to (not a bike trail). It's a nice rocky and rugged section!

New Trail Map Almost Ready..

What is it with the weather? Saturday was crappy and overcast and as expected, the trails in local parks were soggy and slippery.

Mr. Map Maven

Although I was itchin' to ride - I was fortunate in one way as I returned to Trumbull to hike and GPS the side trails for the map project I have been a bit obsessed with. Stop and go at every intersection would have been a bummer on the bike but this is how I needed to collect the GPS data so hiking in the morbid weather was actually productive!

I walked in from Whitney and tried to GPS every worthwhile side trail. I think I ended up with 50 or so mini "workouts" as Map My Ride calls them and was there for about 5 hours!

There were a few brief moments of sunshine but the park was empty--although I  saw a family of 5 deer in the Serengeti and (of course) squirrels galore!

Despite the gloomy weather I was able to capture a few good photos...

Lover's Lane :-) 

Snake Tree - Right off the trail in the Serengeti 

Maybe it should be renamed the Jungle -
"Serengeti" implies grasslands not dense understory and small tree growth!

Recycling at Work...

Around every corner in the Valley a new massive outcropping awaits! 

North Bridge view of the Pequonnock River 

The Rail Trail in the Autumn - tis beautiful..

GPS Trail Map

The map is almost ready - there a just a couple of trails I need to add.  As mentioned, it will eventually replace the FCNEMBA map found here >. The interactive legend will be made available on a large version on a second page.

For those of you who are curious, the map in development can be viewed here > 

This a a temporary link only.

More Trumbull GPSing...

It was crappy weather wise on Sat but I went in late afternoon and hiked while GPS-ing, starting from the south to north this time. Strangely there were some serious connectivity issues at the south end but once I finally got that settled, I trekked the White Trail and returned on the Blue Trail.  By carefully doing each subsection as a separate GPS for a more precision in the Data Sets, I ended up compiling 30 Plus GPSs! I am using a cheapo Verizon tablet and Map My Ride and it is working out very well  - surprisingly!

Here are the results of the Google Composite Map so far (screenshot).

It was nearly dark at the last stretch of the Blue and my plans for doing more of the Secondary Trails didn't happen. My main concern were the trails just north of the Serengeti and the Central Maze trails, Once I get the majority of them on this map, I will post it on the FCNEMBA site and add some details on utilizing the built in interactive features...

GPSing pValley - ...Carriage Road Remnants

Today--considering the monsoon we had yesterday--I went out to Trumbull (Pequonnock Valley) to hike and GPS trails instead of biking. 

I intend on remapping the FCNEMBA Google map of the Park but doing each blazed trail one at a time. Eventually I will GPS the side trails as well. Very tightly organized data sets separated for each trail will give me more precise control over all the data points. So I hiked in from Whitney and started GPSing (1) the Red Trail going south.

As I was traversing the Red, I finally photographed the faintly discernible remnant of an old carriage road, off of the red trail. It is down the hill after you cross the fire road going south. 

(the view here is looking southeasterly)

After I reached where the Red ends at the White, I (2) returned north on the Yellow. I ran into Kevin and his dogs right before the big climb up to the central maze and he joined me for the trek from there. Sadly something crapped out before the last stretch of the Yellow but I can GPS that next time when I will go in and do the White And Blue.

A screenshot of the map so far:

 it will-when completed- replace this map >

Huntington Park - Fun Loop

Stratocaster, South Park, South Pond and back on Stratocaster - A rigorous hour of fun :-) Enuf said...

Huntingotn Park - South Loop