Mount Misery!

We had quite the weekend with Bill having three days off. Two days we went to the same place and did two different trails. I will be posting about those hikes on Thursday as part of National take a hike day.

Sunday I knew I should rest, but I am a glutton for punishment and we went to Mount Misery. It is over the border in Connecticut, so a nice little drive and as we found out, a beautiful place to hike. A lot of the names in Connecticut have strange names, another place close by is called Hell Hollow. Why these names? Because the farmers found out that the land was no good for farming and left the land for more fertile areas. They were very superstitious in those days, so a lot of ill fortune was blamed on the devil.

The park has a wonderful picnic area with lots of parking. The trail starts on an old dirt road and then into the woods and up hills, then a ridge and then a steeper climb, so I got another good workout.

It was well worth it for the views from the top. It was hard to take photos to show how beautiful it was since the trees blocked the views and we could see them, but interferes with camera shots. The nice thing was, I took a different trail down, less steep and it led to another dirt road so easier hiking and plenty of room for Bean to run back and forth.

One thing we found out was, there is a campground there. Most campgrounds in Connecticut do not allow dogs but the national park does. There are only 22 sites but they are large and mostly private, we will definitely have to camp here and there is a private camp right down the road, so we can camp there and ride our bikes in the park.

This site is big enough for a family gathering.

On the way home we stopped at the pond that crosses into both states. There is a short hike and climb and I was hoping to get a view of the foliage from the cliff. Unfortunately it wasn't high enough, but still a nice hike and views.

We got home and Bill ran out to get dinner supplies and then we headed to the dog beach to get views of the moon. I picked the wrong place, the moon rose over the ferry, but it was still amazing to watch it come up.

I did find that it was a nice place to watch the sunset, so as the sun went down, the moon was coming up.

And to top off the day, we had the kids over for dinner. Of course Nick was full of energy and Alex finally warmed up to me and started smiling. It was nice being able to hold him without getting screamed at. A wonderful day but very tiring so today was spent sitting in my chair. I did get another needle felt stocking kit and plan on giving them to the kids.

Weekend Haunts!

This weekend we did a little exploring. On Saturday we went to Connecticut to Hurd State Park. It is a large park with an adjoining park next to it, so a lot of area to explore on the Ct. river. We only did a short hike, about 3 miles but a lot of uphill, so I got a good workout.

Or course Bean loved this park, the minute he saw water as we walked down the trail, he got more determined to pull that way. We let him have some water time before we started our hike. This area is a picnic area, so lots of grassy open spaces on the river.

We climbed up the hill to the rocky ledges, beautiful views of the river.

On the way up, we noticed another park, so we stopped at Machimoodus State park which is just down the road. I looked it up on the internet and saw that it is supposedly haunted, but no weird noises while we hiked, lol. I found it peaceful and with another hike up, over 2 miles total, we got to enjoy views of the Salmon River. You can read more about the park and the legend at Road Trippers.

On Sunday we went apple picking. I used the older apples to make apple crisp and got a fresh bag since I love eating them for a snack. It was crowded and it seems everyone was picking from the bottom of the trees, so I had to have Bill's help to get the apples up top.

On the way back we stopped at the Bee's Buzz. I didn't find any goodies this time but they were having a raffle and I made Bill fill one out, well, he won a basket. They said to come in and it is first come, first pick, so hopefully there is something good in the ones they have left.

We passed a park on the way up and it is an Audubon sanctuary, so no dogs. We left Bean home this time so we decided to check it out. It was another uphill climb and this one was rocky and full of roots, and I wasn't wearing my hiking boots, so we took it slowly.

I didn't want to go to far, but I saw photos of waterfalls. We got to the stream which was dry and I had a feeling there wouldn't be water with our drought season, but up ahead it looked like some interesting rocks and I love rocks. It wasn't just rocks, it was cairns. The sign said there are over 100 of them in that area, and they are not sure how or why they are there.

On the way back I wanted to take a photo of Bill on the bridge. When I got home I looked up the park and they said it is haunted and have gotten high readings in the area. Well, I didn't see any ghosts but when I looked at my photos, I noticed a strange foggy mist at the top of the photo and in that is a blue orb. What do you think, haunted or not?

Another fun thing I enjoyed this weekend was time with the boys. The baby is still leery of me but Nick was ready to explore the house with me and look for the kitties. They went out to do some shopping so Nick and I took Bean out for some play. He is disappointed that the tractor is broken, he loves it when Grandpa gives him a ride.

I hope everyone had a fun weekend. This week will be more rain on and off, so I am working on my blocks for Cheri's free BOM.

Wanderings and Works!

This weekend I made up some new angels to do and finished the second one today, but I still have to make them into pieces. They are both from the North Pole Christmas Craft pages. I think they will keep me busy all year.

I wanted to try some fun and bright angels, one is stitched and the other I colored in with Faber Castell artist pens, then stitched around that.

On Saturday I wanted to go for a walk but not drive too far, so we went to Rome Point which is down the road. I love to walk there, it starts on an old road, goes through the woods along trails and comes out to a long beach.  Once we walk down that beach, we head back up and then go down the other side to the point, then back through another path through the woods. It is a good hike but enjoyable and easy going since we stop and enjoy the views. We were lucky since no one was on that side and we could let Bean run loose and he loved it. He stayed with us, so it is a good place to train him to stay with us and come when called.

I didn't realize that I had pulled the sharpness filter too far, so I reversed it by blurring a bit, so hopefully the photo looks alright and not too bright. The colored angel was bright but once the ink dried, it faded in and the black threads really made it pop without being bright.

On Sunday we had another nice day but the wind was gusting, so we decided on an inland hike. We went to the boy scout camp which has paths, that go around the pond, so we took the easier routes since I didn't want to over do it. We still did a bit of climbing but I had Bean going full gear and pulling me up the hills.

We went half way around the pond and headed back and went up a couple of other paths that led to another pond, on the other side. I was surprised at how many camps there were in each area and the last one led to a spot where you could go out and enjoy the views from the rocks.

Tonight I could not get the photo window to open up and I know a few of you have had that problem with blogger. I have my photos on the desktop and just picked it up and dropped it on the page and it took, so that is an option if you want to use photos, not sure if you can drag and drop on windows, I am on a mac.

Weekend Wanderings!

This weekend was full of emotions, a year has gone by and Danielle's birthday. I wanted to finish her quilt for this birthday, but by the time my joints loosened back up, it was a few days away and when I took it out to look at it, I realized I had sewed on a few blocks, on four different rows, backwards, so I will be doing some seam ripping before I can sew it together. I will finish it and I will decide what I want to do with it someday, when the time is right.

We found some beautiful pink flowers and planted those in front of her gravestone and then we took a walk at one of her favorite spots. It was good for me to do something for her and with her in spirit.

On Sunday it was a beautiful day so we decided to go to the island and walk around at the other forts. I started out with little energy but once I got out in the fresh ocean air I got some of my energy back and we ended up exploring new path ways at the different areas of the fort.

The first stop was the pier in Jamestown. We drive by every time we go there, so this time we stopped and walked along the docks and enjoyed watching the local fishermen and tourists who frequent this area. That is the Newport Bridge in the distance.

This is a panorama from the top of the forts. There are turrets where the gunners would stand watch and underground bunkers below that I have no desire to go into.

At another section of the park, there is a beach and we sat on the rocks to enjoy the views and Bean was people watching as usual.

One area we climbed goes up to a high peak, above where we are sitting, but not much of a pathway, so we just stopped at the top. Bean loves to climb, he is really agile, but also too daring, so we keep him on a short lead, when we are on the cliff areas.

We found a new path that took us up to the highest point on the coves, I think I could just sit here all day.

And on the way home, we stopped so I could take a photo of the windmill. Yes we have a windmill in Rhode Island, at least one. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and if you didn't, I hope that you can get out and find the hidden treasures in your area.

The Good and the Bad!

The good news is, the team came today and repaired the line and our water is back. The bad is, it was the whole water line so they had to dig all the way out and the town had requirements for new things that we add to put in, as well, so the cost tripled.

 The bad news, Moki escaped a few times today, but all the noise scared him back in. In other news, Moki is in water heaven, how he missed his running water.

We also had a good day for hiking and I picked a spot that I had been wanting to visit. It is in the same area as our previous walk, but another path and pond, also the site where they filmed the kids on a rock, camping out.

The bad news, the hike was constant, up and down hills and rocks.

The good news, I made it to the rock and couldn't wait to get on top and get some shots of the lake below us. The bad news, I found out, there are no paths around it and I couldn't get past one ledge before I froze, so I had to concede to defeat.

Even with the harder hike, it was well worth a visit. It was such a beautiful area and a nice challenge for me. Hopefully by the end of the week, I will be able to move again, lol. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and prayers for all of you who are being effected by the tornados

Sunday Hike!

Yesterday was another beautiful day and I decided to go to a place, that I have never been and so glad I did. The hike was along varied paths and large pond all around the area. It is also the area where they filmed a lot of the movie, Moonrise Kingdom. They also filmed the movie on Jamestown Island and my SIL has a short part where Bruce Willis knocks on her door, looking for the missing kids. I am so jealous, lol.

Some photos are taken with my canon and some with my sony, pocket camera.

We weren't sure were to park, so we drove along a dirt road until we saw a sign for a trail. We happened to find the trail that led to Hidden Lake, so we decided to check it out.

There is a path that goes around the pond, but we just went to the other side since we had the main trail to do, which was on the other side of the road. Gorgeous place to just sit and relax, there are picnic tables here, as well.

We left here and headed down the main trail that goes around Yawgoog pond, this area belongs to the boy scouts so you can't hike a lot of the areas in the summer.

A lot of the trails were a bit wet, so they had ties to walk across.

Other areas went through marshy trees where you walked across tree roots and no sign of a path, good thing they marked the trails well, we would never know which direction to go in.

But well worth the effort to get to the areas with views of the pond.

We took a wrong path and ended up heading in the wrong direction, but we also found the rhododendron trail. It is about a half mile long and like walking through a tunnel, would love to come back when they are in bloom.

So, we turned around and went back to where we took the wrong turn and got back on track. I was getting hot and tired so we quickened our pace and finally got to the boys camp. This was a perfect spot to sit and relax and have a snack.

It was an easy walk on this side so it gave me a break, then we hit the main trail again and lots of cliff areas, so we had to climb up a few rocks. Great places to stop and enjoy the views. There wasn't enough room for me to get a shot of the surrounding area, lol.

And another advantage of being so high is that you see things that are hidden in the tree tops, what a great way to end our hike.

Saturday Stroll!

Well, I don't know if I would call it a stroll, it was more of a hike. I wanted to try a trail that goes along a pond and up to a ledge with a view of the pond. I am out of shape, and I had to slow down and climb slowly, but it was well worth it and a beautiful day to be out.

The trail goes up and down, rocky paths and a lot of trees and branches from the recent storms. Most of the trail on this side, follows the pond with lots of areas to stop and enjoy the view, but I am not sure if we were on a real path at this point, lol.

The photo came out dark because of the bright sun in the wrong spot, so lightening it up, made it look like Bill is superimposed on the rock, lol.

The path goes up and around a high cliff area. I was out of breath on this one, need to do more uphill exercises.

But, it was worth it when we got to the top, views of the pond and the surrounding forest. Connecticut is on the other side of the lake. We walked along the path for a bit, I really wanted to walk into Connecticut but then I realized I didn't know if it was hunting season on that side or the rules, so we walked back, the way we came in.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, filled with the blessings that surround us.