Not a Cairn in the World... Globe Hollow, Manchester January 22, 2017 Hoo boy, get ready to have your mind blown. The official town trail description says that the “Globe Hollow Trail” is 1.7 miles long, but there are many more miles of trails here. I couldn’t then – and still can’t now – quite make out … [Read more...]
Golden Hill Paugussett Reservation
Chief Concerns Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Reservation Trumbull (and Colchester) One quick thing off the bat here, before this page BLOWS YOUR MIND: There is a LOT to the story of this tribe; way more than I'll get to, so follow some of the links. (I used to have a link to the tribe's on site here, but it's … [Read more...]
AT in CT Section 1
Section 1 Hoyt Road to Route 341, 11.5 miles November 2011 and May 2012 Quick - what town do northbound AT hikers enter when they first encounter Connecticut? I'll give you a second. What's your answer? Most likely, you're wrong. The AT enters the Nutmeg State in Sherman. Sherman! I must admit that … [Read more...]
Churaevka (Russian Village)
Ahhh-Churaevka! Gesundheit! Russian Village, Southbury April 2, 2011 I should be used to this by now. Finding out about something mildly interesting in Connecticut, going there, and learning it’s ten times cooler than I’d ever thought it would be. In the case of Churaevka, once I read up on the place after … [Read more...]
URR Trail: Enfield
Shaker Village Shaker Road This area was once occupied by the only Shaker settlement in Connecticut. Dissenting from many activities of American society, the Shakers were associated with reform movements, including feminism, pacifism, and abolitionism. The diary of one member records the visits of fugitive … [Read more...]
NHL: Coltsville Historic District
Coltsville Historic District CT National Historic Landmark 80 Wethersfield Avenue (Armsmear) and Colt areas to the east 2017 Update: Coltsville is now Coltsville National Historic Park! It joins Weir Farm National Historic Site as the only National Parklike things in the state. It took 20 years to get that … [Read more...]
Pygmy Village
More Than a Little Stupid Pygmy Village, New Britain/Plainville You know it's a good page when there's an... Introduction I love junk like this. Every state has ‘em, really no more than another. I had them around me in northern Delaware/southeastern Pennsylvania – Satan Road (where the trees “grow … [Read more...]
Gay City State Park
“We Built This Gay City… We Built This Gay City on Rocks and Roll(ing Hills)!” Bolton, Glastonbury & Hebron, about 11 miles total June 17 and 24, 2009 It is always challenging for me to logically and concisely present these "trail networks" for easy consumption. I put a lot of effort into planning for and hiking … [Read more...]
Shade Swamp Sanctuary
Rage in a Cage Shade Swamp Nature Trails, Farmington September 10, 2009 As I poke around the state and find more trailed properties that aren't part of the CFPA Blue Trail network, I'm finding lots of cool hikes. And then there are others that are cool AND historically interesting AND perhaps just a little weird. … [Read more...]
Christmas Town: Bethlehem
O (My) Little Town of Bethlehem A visit to Christmas Town December 2009 Crazy. Plum crazy I says. I had heard about Bethlehem from a trusted source who used to write for a local paper out this way that Bethlehem was a “very conservative, very unique” place. I had read that they celebrate their name through … [Read more...]