Long and Winding Road

Waxhaw, NC  2021

 

Quarry Remains

Douglas, MA  2020

The New England area is dotted with a number of abandoned quarries.  This particular area in the Douglas State Forest in Massachusetts was worked between 1893-1906.  The quarry was abandoned when it ran out of high quality granite.

Carolina Thread Trail

Lancaster County, SC  2020

Lancaster County Bench

Lancaster County, SC  2020

Suspension Bridge

North Carolina South Carolina Border,  2020

There's an extensive trail system throughout Waxhaw NC which connects to trails in South Carolina.  This suspension bridge crosses the border and spans the 12 Mile Creek.  It looks like something right out of an Indiana Jones movie. The top two views are looking back into North Carolina. 

Foot Bridge and Tracks

Norwich, CT  2020

I'm pretty sure this is still an active railroad line.  I think it's part of the old Providence and Worcester Railroad, which services this part of Connecticut.

Trail

Bluff Point State Park, Groton, CT  2020

Some really nice, warm weather brought out a lot of hikers, joggers, and bikers along this trail.  I was lucky to get this shot without them.

Trail Home

Niantic, CT  2018

Great River Park Benches

East Hartford, CT  2016

Heritage Trail-Norwich

Norwich, CT  2015

Foot Bridge

Hammonasset State Park, Madison, CT  2015

Moraine Trail

Hammonasset State Park, Madison, CT  2015s

New London Harbor

New London, CT

One sees New London with a whole new perspective from the deck of a ferry.  The Coast Guard Barque Eagle was in port this weekend.  Looking closely you might be able to see the Shore Line East commuter train located in front of the red, brick Union Station.  One can see cars in a nearby parking lot.  I really needed an airplane in this photo so I could show all four modes of transportation, but I had to settle for only three.  

Rock Outcroppings Along the Air Line Trail

Colchester, CT

No hike on any of the trails in Connecticut would be complete without some pictures of the various rock outcroppings and other geological features one can see.  Although other state parks in Connecticut have descriptions of the geology, I can find no such descriptions of the geology along the Air Line Trail State Park.  This could be due to the fact that the trail covers about 50 miles, and probably traverses too many different geologies to be adequately described in a couple of short paragraphs.  Ultimately it was the geology encountered when the Air Line Railroad was built that led to it's failure.  The various hills, valleys, and streams that had to be crossed limited the track that could be laid and prevented the use of larger and faster trains making the longer shoreline route between New Haven and Boston faster and more economically feasible.  

Meet Lulu

As I started my walk along the Air Line Trail on my way towards the Lyman Viaduct, I noticed this cyclist, who started out along the trail about the same time I did.  She took her time riding, fairly slowly, but soon passed me and rode out of sight.  Not too much later, I noticed her coming back towards me, again riding slowly and stopping often.  As I approached her, she asked me to take her picture with her cellphone while on her bike.  I haven't mastered the skill of approaching strangers for a portrait just yet, but if they ask me to take their picture, then I'm very comfortable in asking them if I can take their picture with my camera.  So I used her cellphone for a couple of pictures, and then took a couple with my camera.  As is often the case when these situations arise, I didn't have the most flattering portrait lens on my camera, since I was using a wide angle zoom to photograph the landscapes along the Air Line Trail.  Oh well, one uses what one has and makes do, I guess. 

She introduced herself as Lulu and told me she came to ride along the Air Line Trail to learn how to ride her bike.  She never learned how to ride a bike in her youth, and thought the trail would be a perfect place to perfect her skills without worrying about riding in traffic or running into other pedestrians.   She wanted an additional type of exercise, to complement her running and thought cycling would be fun.  I emailed her my pictures.  I hope she likes them.  As she rode off,  I thought she was doing pretty well in learning to ride.  

Colchester, CT

Lyman Viaduct II

When seeing the Lyman Viaduct today as shown here, it is hard to imagine exactly what is buried beneath the sand and gravel.

Colchester, CT

One can look down the side of the viaduct and see Dickenson Creek 137 feet below, which still flows through the viaduct thanks to some culverts that were installed when the original trestle was buried.  

I was impressed with the size of the "gravel" rocks seen here.  Most of the gravel is at least as big as one's fist if not bigger.  I wonder how they were able to dump so much sand and gravel here and pile it up 137 feet for a distance of over 1100 feet.  I don't think there are any roads nearby or other ways to access this area.  I wonder if trains were used to dump the gravel?  However, if one looks carefully, you can find some hints of what lies buried beneath, like this rusty bolt sticking out of the ground....

Or the rail running in front of this bench.

The Lyman Viaduct

I was on a mission during my recent hike along the Air Line Trail State Park.  Having learned about the trail and the history of the Air Line Railroad I set out to find one of the engineering marvels I had read about, the Lyman Viaduct.  A quick Google search for the viaduct will turn up all sort of images and some history.  Originally built in 1873, the Lyman Viaduct carried a single track across Dickenson Creek supported by a wrought iron post deck truss design. It was over 1100 feet long and rose to height of 137 feet above the creek.  A picture of what it looked like back in the day is shown below and reminds me of the classic train scenes one sees in old western movies.

It must have been a very impressive site to see, and the views afforded along the viaduct to train passengers must have been magnificent.  As the trains became heavier, the structure became unsafe. So to support the heavier loads, the valley was filled in with sand and gravel, burying the entire trestle and preserving it intact.  Even though it is easy to see pictures of what the viaduct looks like today, I needed to see it for myself.  Here's what I found.

Lyman Viaduct, Colchester, CT

I know long time residents of Connecticut know all about this, but I find this fascinating.  More pictures along the viaduct will be posted in the coming days.

River Road Bridge

Colchester, CT

I finally had a chance to do some walking along the Air Line Trail State Park, near Colchester, CT.  The trail follows the right of way of an old railroad line that was the most direct route between New Haven and Boston.  The original railroad began service in 1873 and had a pretty tumultuous history characterized by many mergers and owners.  Eventually it became apparent that the shoreline route to Boston was more economically feasible and the Air Line Railroad ceased to provide passenger service shortly before the start of World War II.  Nevertheless, the construction of this railroad resulted in some great engineering feats some of which exist to this day and can be found along the Air Line Trail.  This brownstone arch bridge was built in 1887, the brownstone blocks coming from a local quarry.  The bridge is 22 feet long and carried the trains 18 feet above the River Road.  

Air Line Trail Spur

Colchester, CT

Now a linear state park and trail, a railroad once carried passengers and freight to Colchester along this path.  This is looking away from Colchester.  Passengers would see the scene below when arriving in Colchester.

One can now walk this trail for a little over 3 miles to where it meets the main Air Line Trail.  On this day however, the trail looked a little treacherous with the ice, so I'll have return sometime when the weather is nicer.

Trail and Coyote Notice

Haley Farm State Park, Groton, CT

Just before I walked the trail in the first picture, I came across the notice about coyotes being spotted in the area. Perhaps due to the old Warner Bros Looney Tunes  cartoons featuring Wile E Coyote and the Road Runner, I've always associated coyotes with the wild west, certainly not southeast Connecticut. I have heard though that they have made quite a comeback in this state despite the fact that to my knowledge, there are no road runners here in Connecticut.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I actually saw one near my condo in an area much more populated than what is shown here.  I did keep my eyes open during my hike this day, but didn't see any coyotes, nor road runners, for that matter.