Farmington Canal Heritage Trail Massachusetts border (Suffield) to New Haven The summer of 2020 - the pandemic summer of 2020 - sort of forced my son Calvin and I to begin riding Connecticut's rails-to-trails in earnest. Nothing was open for visits in any normal way, so why not ride our bikes. Unfortunately, Calvin … [Read more...]
Plainville: Complete!
Plainville: Complete! J. Timothy's Taverne Here is the CTMQ Guide to Plainville with my list and stories about everything I’ve done there! After a decade of writing CTMQ, I decided to try to “complete” towns. In that decade of traveling and writing, I had already done a lot of stuff in many of our towns … [Read more...]
Tomasso Nature Park
You Say Tomasso, I Say This Place Makes Me Cynical Tomasso Nature Park, Plainville July 2018 Let me start off by saying that there are some wonderful hikes in Plainville. You may not think so, but there are. And the Tomasso Nature Park is a lovely place to walk. It is. But there's just something off about it to … [Read more...]
Historic Plainville Campgrounds
A Methodist to the Madness Historic Plainville Campgrounds July 2018 Here's the deal. I had half a day to "complete" Plainville. It was then or... never. Okay, not never never, but since one of my remaining things to do in town is only open on weekdays, it would have been a while. And so I set out in a … [Read more...]
Ledge Road Connector Trail
Oh Boy. Ledge Road Connector Trail & Boy Rock/Great Stone Face Sunset Rock State Park, Plainville July 2018 Cutting to the chase - the purpose of this page's existence really has nothing to do with the trail of the title. I've hiked this trail before, way back in 2007 with Hoang. When I edited that page in … [Read more...]
J. Timothy’s Dirt Wings
I Like This Kind of Dirt Nap Dirt Wings at J. Timothy’s Taverne, Plainville Many Multiple Times I have often written on this here website that I find food writing difficult. I’ve certainly never been able to do it with any clarity, originality, or vision. But as CTMQ has grown and branched into many different … [Read more...]
Worst I-84 East Transition
Plainville's Death Trap Plainville There are seemingly hundreds of horribly designed highway interchanges, onramps, and off-ramps in Connecticut. The 84/91 interchange is pretty much the poster child for terrible highway design. (Well done on the new 91/95 New Haven interchange, by the way!) Connecticut's odd … [Read more...]
CTMQ’s Guide to Plainville
Everything Plainville I’ve been exploring and writing about Connecticut since 2006. After a decade, I began compiling CTMQ guides for each town in the state. I plan on “completing” Plainville CTMQ-style... as well as the other 168 towns, cities, and boroughs in Connecticut. That is the ultimate goal of CTMQ. … [Read more...]
Plainville’s Town Trails
Plainville’s Town Trails I question why I bother with introductory pages for towns with only one trail. Then I remember that it satisfies my quirky list-making OCD and I go on my merry way. Of course, Plainville is home to a wonderful section of the Metacomet Trail, so just because the town itself only oversees one … [Read more...]
Pinnacle Rock
Acme Missiles Along the Metacomet Trail, Plainville/Farmington October 6, 2007 My title is a stretch, sure... but “acme” is defined as “the highest point” and Wile E. Coyote was always sourcing his weaponry from Acme and this outcropping, above Plainville and Farmington, used to be a Nike Missile base. Ahem. … [Read more...]