What’s Left of the Bridge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enfield–Suffield_Covered_Bridge

Yesterday, Wednesday, I took a three-mile walk around the block. One mile of this is along the Connecticut River from Bridge Lane to the boat launch. At the end of Bridge Lane, there is only a house on the east bank of the river (most probably the former railroad Bridge Lane Station), but this is where the old covered bridge used to cross over into Suffield. All that’s left now is some of the pilings in the river that can be seen when the river is not running high. These pilings look like tiny islands with vegetation growing on them. This area is part of the rapids that extend from the Enfield Dam (Enfield/Suffield) almost to East Windsor/Windsor Locks which made the creation of the locks and canal necessary. The Enfield Dam isn't there any more either.

On the west side, is the Windsor Locks/Suffield Canal bike path. When I ride past the place where the bridge used to come across, it’s hard to imagine it being high enough to make it to top of the embankment. 

This is all that's left of the Enfield Dam. The new(er) Suffield Bridge can be seen in the background, which connects Enfield to Suffield. The north side of the bridge also has a new pedestrian/bike path.

Two of the pilings left in the river. Click on picture to enlarge.

This shows the same house. Look how close it is to the river.

The house at the end of Bridge Lane...probably the railroad Bridge Lane Station

Jessica’s Shower

On Sunday, June 24^th, my granddaughter, Jessica, was feted at a bridal shower. Her bridesmaids and her mother worked so hard to make this a huge success.

In the pictures you will see Jess with different members of her family and family-to-be.

Now we are all looking forward to the big day, August 4^th.

The bakery put Jess and Matt's engagement picture on the cake. That's Mason, their Bull Mastiff on the lower left. Cannot have a Jess and Matt without a Mason! :)

Three generations: Kathy (my daughter), Jess (her daughter) and me.

Matt, Jess, Lou (Jess's step-dad) and Kathy (Jess's mom).

Jessica, Matt and Matt's mom, Sherrie.

Jess and Matt

Dumping Facebook

As of today I am no longer a participant in Facebook. My final message will be up for a week and then my entire account will be deleted. My reasons are many and if I were to list them you would think me a very negative person. I know what I want in my life and the content of Facebook doesn’t even come close.

This means I will be spending more time on my on-line journal (blog), which has been neglected since I joined FB. I do have a lot to say and now I can ramble on instead of condensing.

I have pictures of my granddaughter’s shower to share with you as well as pictures I took this morning on my walk. Those will be posted in the next day or so.

To those who are followers of this journal, Welcome if I haven’t already said that to you. Let me know how often you visit and what you like and don’t like about my writing. You can either leave a comment (I think “Comments” has been reactivated) or drop me an email.

Hop River Trail – 06/16/12

Today’s ride started at Bolton Notch Pond.  I got going a half hour later than planned. Finding the parking lot for this location is not easy.

This is what the end of the trail used to look like. Big drop off!
About 10 years ago talks began about putting a covered bridge across the gap in the trail that is Route 316. For 10 years I’ve been waiting. This past spring the bridge was FINALLY installed. Today I will ride over it. I’ve never gone further than the Route 316 drop off. My goal is to ride 10 miles (4  miles beyond the bridge) just to see what the trail is like, then turn around.

The lush woods surround me creating a sun-dappled path. I can hear an occasional bird, the air rushing past my ears and the hiss of my tires on the hard packed dirt and stone dust. All around me is the fragrance of moist earth and, at times, I ride through a band of fragrance coming from unseen flowers.

Roads needing to be crossed: Steeles Crossing, Bailey, Burnap Brook, and Wales. The section I’m riding today starts in Bolton, cuts through a corner of Coventry, and ends in Andover.

The ride thus far, 2.7 mi., has been all down hill and will continue down hill right into Andover. Of course the return trip will be…my favorite…up hill!

At 4.6 mi. I cross Burnap Brook Rd., I can hear the stream below the trail. This is a beautiful spot to stop and cool off on a hot summer day. The stream can’t be seen right away where the trail crosses the road. Following the sound, I carefully descend a moderately steep hill shaded by pine trees. At the bottom, Burnap Brook gushes, gurgles and pops over rocks. 

The barricade that could seriously hurt riders.

At the beginning of this section the trail barricade is unusually high. A rider not paying attention, could get seriously hurt. I couldn’t see any way around either end of the gate, so I went under…walking the bike of course! Had I ridden into it, I would have gotten it right in the throat. Ouch!

When I say the path narrows, I mean the path narrows!

From this point the path narrows considerably and the surface is very rough, with stones and trap rock imbedded in the hard packed soil. This part of the trail has always been bad and it looks like, in the four years since I last rode it, things have not improved. As riders approached from the opposite direction, I chose to stop, pull over, and let them by. I get too nervous if I feel I don’t have sufficient room to navigate.

And, here is a pile of horse manure! I have this thing about horses using a dirt rail trail. Their hooves dig in and create little craters. When I ride over these indentations, it feels like I’m riding a jackhammer. I particularly have a large problem with these piles of manure (I’m trying to be a lady in my description). I want an enjoyable ride without being shaken to pieces and playing Dodge the Piles!

Mile 5.06, just crossed Wales Rd. and the path continues to narrow. As I cross Wales Rd. there is a cacophony of barking dogs…sounds like mostly hunting dogs. The funny part is, they suddenly stopped. Like a switch was thrown. I wonder if it’s motion or sound activated noise to protect property.

As I pass the 12-mile marker (I haven’t gone 12 miles…more like almost 6), I figure it must be about another mile to the bridge.

Where the trail parallels Route 6 in Andover (across from the library) the trail is barely a fat tire wide (I’m riding a hybrid) and very rough. I can’t wait to see what it’s like further down. 

The half-bowl wash out.

As the trial enters woods again, Route 6 is to the left and houses on the right. At one point, right above a gas station, there is a huge half-bowl wash out that has been there ever since I first rode this trail. It takes up half the path. If a rider doesn’t know it’s there, or forgets, they likely will end up at the bottom…in pain. I can’t understand why this hasn’t ever been fixed!

The new bridge. Finally!

Finally, as I live and breath, there is THE BRIDGE…6 miles from where I started…just as I thought. It’s nothing spectacular, but, just riding over it is a rush. It’s plenty wide enough. The riding surface is slightly humped for some reason…maybe water run-off. The sides are open, though screen covered. The drip edge of the roof has the wonderful gutters the HAD to be put on, that caused so much arguing, and so much DELAY!  So…over I go.

I am standing at the 13 mi. marker, having gone 6.7 miles. The surface of the trail is so bad I have to turn around and head back. A couple passed me riding with skinny street tires on their bikes. Good luck to them! I hope they know how to change a flat. My cell phone, chain lube and pepper spray in the side pockets my handlebar bag are jumping around so much, I have to stop and put everything inside the bag before I litter the trail with my belongings.

After a 6.7-mile uphill ride back to my car, I finished with 13.47 miles total. You won’t have to remind me to not ride this section again until the trail surface is improved.

Around the Block in 1:22:54

I took a bike ride around the block this morning. In addition to enjoying some exercise and beautiful weather, I was on a mission…southern peaches, west coast Bing cherries, and broccoli crowns at Geissler’s super market. All on sale, of course.

From there I headed over the bridge to Windsor Locks and the canal bike path. Once on the path I was alert for suicidal chipmunks…and there were quite a few that safely darted across my path. There used to be a lot of rabbits, but I think the coyotes got ‘em all.

I took some pictures of the eagle nest (see above). It seems to be intact, but for some reason the nest failed. I don’t know if it was the eggs that failed to hatch or the babies failed to survive. If I find out, I'll post it.

As I was taking the pictures, I heard a train coming and I knew it was a freight by the way it started slowing down right after the engine cleared Windsor Locks. (The tracks run along the west side of the canal before they cross the river into Enfield.) I raced lickety split (if you can call 15 mph likety split) to the trestle where I could watch the cars. This freight had to be a mile or more long!

Once the train was gone I continued my ride until I met a couple looking at something out on the river with binoculars. Then I heard what they had been watching. It had to be one very large fish jumping and splashing down. I didn’t see it, but it had to be either a very large bass, or, more likely a catfish. I’ve seen huge catfish trapped in backwaters after floods. Apparently we grow them very big here in Connecticut!

Almost to the end, and I spot a bug trap in a tree. (see picture above) Mosquitoes I assume. A man walking by said it had been there for a couple years. Really? How come I hadn’t seen it before? Huh.


(Note: I have since learned that these are emerald ash borer traps.)

At the Suffield end of the canal, the path takes a left, over the canal, and continues with a sharp right up a short hill into the parking lot area. Today I rode up the hill without stalling out and falling over. Remember the guy on Laugh In? He rode that little trike across the stage and would tip over? He always got a laugh. I didn’t!  What happened was I started from a dead stop…in high gears…and it was up a hill for Pete’s sake. It was the first time I’ve fallen with the bike (or with anything for that matter) since I started bike riding as an adult. When I was a kid I remember scraping the tarred roads more than once. The black and blue marks will disappear eventually…it’s only been a week.

Once back up onto Route 5, I headed for the farm store to buy my farm-fresh cherry yogurt before going home.

Ah, home. And thus ended my 13.5 mile ride around the block with panniers full of fruits, veggies and yogurt. No need to take the car.

Grandmother of the Bride!

My granddaughter, Jessica, is getting married August 4^th to Matt (who we all love!). Amid all the excitement there is angst…and I’m not talking about what the bride is going through. I’m talking about me.

I do not own any fancy clothes. I never was a social butterfly and in retirement I cast off all my work clothes (which consisted of dresses, skirts and dress pants). Now I have good jeans, not so good jeans, and workout tights.

I hate shopping

Because I need to be dressed properly for the wedding (and rehearsal dinner) I actually went into the malls in search of… I put my foot down at wearing a dress, so it was an elegant pantsuit that I was looking for. I found a jacket and top in taupe with design and sparkly stuff on them. Brought them home and began the search for pants to match/complement. Ended with three pair of pants along with a pair of shoes and clutch. They hung on the closet door (along with the jacket and top) for about a week. Returned everything…EVERYTHING…and started all over.

I finally settled on a Wedgwood blue jacket and top with sparkly things (same style as the taupe set). Even though I vowed I would not wear black, the only pants that pair with the tops…are black chiffon. I bit the bullet. This is a late afternoon wedding, so it should be fine. Also found silver shoes with sparkly stones all over them. I still need a silver clutch bag, but I may be able to borrow one.

So far, so good. Now, how about the rehearsal dinner? I bought two articles of clothing and returned both of them (sound familiar?). Finally pieced together a summery outfit with contrasting accessories. I’m being vague, because I’m keeping this outfit as a surprise. If any of my family reads this, that alone should make them quiver! (OMG, what IS she going to wear?)

As a nice touch, I’m wearing a pendant for the dinner and a necklace for the wedding that belonged to my late mother. It will be nice thinking that my mom is there and sharing in the joy.

All this has been very traumatic for me, but, because I started early, it’s all behind me and I can relax.

I expect I will have pictures to share so everyone will be able to see how stunning (sparkly) I was at the wedding.