More Solo Time

October 11 - 15, 2016
Willington, Connecticut

I forgot the pretty covered bridge we saw crossing into New Hampshire our last day. Like the Fall foliage, I never tire of these bridges. This is the first we've seen with the x-cross pattern. 

The "fine" has gone up!

Crosses the river of the same name.

Initially our stop near Hartford, Connecticut was to see an old friend from high school who works at UofC. We planned to be here for four or five days.

But once the discussion of moving his mom to Fresno, California started, it quickly moved from possibility to reality. His cousin and aunt found her a nice home and made things happen on the receiving end. Bill "just" had to fly to Roswell to make them happen there, then fly Mom to California.

Wilderness Lake Campground is in a good location for both the airport and visiting our friend so I made reservations for two weeks. Again, our introduction isn't great as there's no sewer hookup. Turns out that there are no sites with sewer, so for them the "full hook-ups" I reserved is water and electric. I'm very unhappy and thinking I should immediately find a different place. After a few deep breaths I talk with the young owner who explains that gray tanks are drained to the dirt behind the site and a honey wagon will dump once a week without charge. Since the other parks nearby are nearly twice as much, I think we'll make this work. Not a fan of the gray tank dumping, but it's how they do it. This will always be the "You're not from around here, are you?" location, as that's what the honey wagon guy told Bill when he questioned the practice.

Otherwise, the site is level, satellite connects, cell phone service is strong, water pressure is fair, and it is a clean and safe-feeling location. The trees and little lake are very pretty. He gives us two sites so there's plenty of space.

Wednesday we just relax, and Bill packs to be gone for nine days. I drop him off at the airport around 5 PM, getting back home before dark.

Some of the little towns have Scarecrow Contests that add a fun note to walking on Main Street. Tessa and I spend a few hours Thursday checking out the creativity.

"Iron Maiden" bwahahaha

A stretch as a scare crow, but it's pretty cute.

I really like this natural entry

Hay Bob Bucket Pants

The little girls going in for dance lessons call her Stella.

It rains lightly overnight and Friday it stays under 60 degrees all day. Tessa and I take a drive on back roads, heading north to Southbridge, Massachusetts.

Tall tree stump as flower pot

Low hand-stacked walls run through the forests all over this area.

When I graduated from college in 1977 I was working for an industrial glass company as their administrative assistant. The boss often flew to headquarters which was (is) in Southbridge and told me how pretty the area was. I said someday I'd go see it. Can't decide what's more surprising, that I actually do visit, or that it took me until age 60 to do so!

The town has seen better days, but most businesses are open and only a few homes are boarded up. Life goes on. As does the business, which a banner tells me is celebrating 100 years - wow.

Historic buildings line downtown

They're still here

The cooling trend continues and when I get up Saturday morning it's 29 degrees! I can't believe I still have running water.

The sun warms things up and Tessa and I go looking for a nice place to take a walk. We find Gay City State Park in nearby Hebron. Other than a tiny lake and some picnic tables, there is nothing here but the forest trail. I figure we'll take a short stroll, but it's so pretty, and the trail just challenging enough to be fun, that when we eventually get back to the parking lot we've spent 3 hours covering about 2.5 miles.

The forest glows

The rocks and roots aren't as challenging as the hundreds of loose acorns on the trail.

A small foot bridge covers the creek

More rock fences along the trail

A few large rocks to scramble. 

Still-life on the forest floor.

Tessa glows

Water color water

Since Bill is across the country I splurge for a late lunch of very yummy sushi. He's not a fan.

It's been so long!

This beautiful plant in front of the restaurant looks black although very close up it's a deep red. Stunning.

The trees along the highway are vivid, distracting, fabulous. What really makes me smile though, are the hillsides. They look like potted mums, tucked snugly together in such an artistic arrangement. Nature never disappoints.

:-))))))