Tag: autumn

McLean Game Refuge

Connecticut, Day Trips, Hikes, Kids

Sometimes the best finds are the ones you find by mistake!  A few weeks ago we headed to Simsbury, CT, where I spent my early years, hoping to climb Talcott Mountain.  Unfortunately, I didn’t research in advance, and found we couldn’t get anywhere near the mountain because there was a huge event, and cars were parked up and down the road!  On to Plan B.  I remembered going to McLean Game Refuge when I was in girl scouts, so we headed there.  Wow, what a gorgeous location, especially with the peak autumn colors!!  So glad for Plan B.

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The Infamous Walden Pond

Day Trips, Hikes, Massachusetts, Uncategorized

Now, I have been to Walden Pond in the past.  In fact I swam across it on a few occasions to prepare for triathlons.  However, I was not prepared for the modernization of Walden Pond!!  It is like a city, with massive parking lots and crowds you’d expect to see on a street in NYC!  You can even shop at Walden Pond now!!  I feel like Thoreau would run fast and furious from this, dare I say it, “tourist trap”.  We literally had to endure pedestrian traffic jams, with people dragging strollers through the wooded paths and take photos on 12 inch iPads.  Seriously, who hikes with large iPads?  However, the pond was pretty, but with the recent changes I’m not likely to return, it has lost it’s appeal!  The huge neon sign directing traffic should have tipped me off!

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