Graffiti Weekend

Visit #962, Saturday 11 July 15, 3:30-6:25PM, 5.6 miles.
Temps in the mid-80's, sunny and humid.

After the July 4th fireworks,  it's good to check on the Halfway House where the fireworks are launched to inspect the cleanup. Neither the Meriden Parks Department nor the fireworks vendor ever clean up after the event and they do the same for the Daffodil Festival fireworks.

I gave the parks department a full week after the event to prove me wrong. Didn't happen. How difficult would it be to bring a bagging mower up there to clean up?

Good thing I brought my rake. It's not as effective as a regular leaf rake but I made do.
Not only did they not clean up the remnants of the fireworks, they left over 100 feet of caution tape as well. If they're not going to clean up after the event, then maybe they should consider not launching fireworks from the Halfway House.

 I gathered up the tape and raked the area as best as I could.

I put the debris in a leaf bag and left it at the Halfway House. I'll contact the Meriden Parks Department to pick it up.

I had another task on my agenda of no less importance. I'd been told someone wrote in magic marker on the historical marker at Castle Craig. I would try to remove the graffiti.

If I have my way, Nay/NA4 and Yazmin won't be so immortalized in stone.

Well, I tried water, nail polish remover, and paint thinner, with little success. I tried a wire brush-no good. Then I covered over it by blocking it out with more black magic marker and vowed to return and try again.

Back at the park, I deposited my trash for the day.

After I dropped off my trash for the week, I got a drink at the water fountain by the playscape. Historically, this water fountain is a trickle at best. Hats off to the parks department however, for the water was flowing well and it was cold. Just the thing that's needed this time of year.

I returned via bike on Sunday morning and brought a different tool set, which included spray on graffiti remover, and sandpaper. The graffiti remover didn't touch it.

60 and 80 grit sandpaper gave the best results.

Sad to say, this wasn't the only graffiti I found. While riding up to Castle Craig on Sunday, I found some new graffiti painted on the spillway, over graffiti I previously covered up with paint.

This was an encore performance because the text was previously found on the wall in the background, and covered by me in April of 2014.

I guess you know where I'm working next week. Til' then...maintain.