National Trails Day

 

Saturday was National Trails Day. Did you participate? The Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA) hosted a weekend of events. I did my own thang, but I think it still counts.

Visit #1310, Saturday 5 June 21, 7:15-9:05AM, 2.8 miles, 2.8lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 70's, rising to the 90's, sunny and humid.

Finally, the weather cooperated and I was able to paint over some longstanding graffiti. I packed a gallon of paint, some coveralls, and hiked up to the rock in the early morning so I could work in the cooler temps and less likely be disturbed (any more than I already am!)

I considered painting the entire rock but I also considered the time involved, and thought otherwise.

I cleaned up/packed up, and hiked over to the Halfway House, where I found this Nike logo'd hoodie, which I'll wash and bring to Goodwill.

Elsewhere on the trails, I sadly discovered someone vandalized one of the only months old trail markers installed by the Meriden Parks Department. I thought placing the markers as high on the trees as they did would make them vandal-proof. I believe this was done by a gang of clowns on stilts.

 Back at the park, I continued to up litter. I found one of at least 8 "nip" bottles today, along one particular road.

I mention this because the Connecticut Legislature recently passed an update of Connecticut's Bottle Bill.

But rather than A DEPOSIT on nips, politicians instead added a five cent surcharge (read: tax) on them. When you're getting loopy on hard liquor, I imagine it's difficult to think straight about recycling your empties, so in that light the surcharge seems to make sense, and therefore I'll not likely see fewer of these in Hubbard Park. But will the increase in deposit fees mean I'll find fewer other recyclables? We'll see.

Nearby the nip bottle I found this piece of irony:

Next Saturday, at 10AM at the Hubbard Park bandshell, the Meriden Historical Society will host a walking tour of Hubbard Park, lead by Justin Piccirillo, who recently authored a history of Hubbard Park.

If you can't attend the tour, the next best option is to check out the historical society's youtube page, where you'll find two lengthy videos on Hubbard Park. Grab some popcorn and enjoy!