Leading The Race

 I got there first-did I win?

Visit #1476, Sunday 28 April 24, 6:00-8:05AM, 4.5 miles, 8.6 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 50s, cloudy.

 With the Daffodil Festival going on, parking is a dicey proposition. To guarantee parking availability I would have to arrive early in the A.M., which I did but the road was still closed. I managed to find the parking lot at the skate house open with "plenty of free parking" 😊.

The festival is being held late this year because in past years weather wouldn't cooperate. Of course, that would mean the daffodils would be past their peak, and in fact, they are. But the Meriden Parks Department has a solution for that. Smart people at the Parks Department, I tell ya'.

Another reason I chose an early start was the Daffodil 5k race which was being held this morning. I thought I'd do something nice and make sure the route was litter-free. I would hike the course in reverse and pick up trash. But in order to do that I had to get there, first.

Hiking over I-691 I found some graffiti on the walkbridge. I hoped removing the graffiti wouldn't take long to ensure I would finish my hike before the race began.

I lucked out as it took merely seconds to clean up.

Our park's current serial trail vandal continues their work. I will continue mine as I remove or cover over what I can.

The vandal's reference here is to the underlying gray paint, which I used to cover over the "Chipi" graffiti I found last week.

Gee; I wonder who they mean?

I reached the road to Castle Craig and followed it down to the reservoir.

Thank goodness for quality stickers; they're easy to remove.

I finally arrived at the 5k turnaround, still early and peaceful. I could enjoy staffing a table like that, just give me a good book.

Ah, so this person carries more than one sticker.

I don't know what it is supposed to mean and internet searching didn't reveal anything. However, if you can't read the caption, it says "Warm Beer & Cold Women". I'm sure the person who stuck the sticker is highly unsophisticated otherwise they wouldn't be plastering stickers in city parks. But if you, dear reader, are of a more sophisticated leaning and have great musical taste, you will enjoy this rendering of the phrase.

I've included the intro separately because well, it's Tom Waits!

Nearing the park, I checked on the water department's progress installing a drainage pipe.

I'm not sure why the retention pond is drained. It sure looks like IT could use a beer.

Perhaps it was intentional; the area where the work was performed is shared by the White Trail (note the trail marker in the background). In past years this area could be very wet.  This looks like a beautiful job with a dry trail in the future.

Adding the brownstone header to the drain pipe inlet gives it that "been there forever" look. Nice touch that blends in with the park, even considering the gravel.

I found someone's shopping list. It's always interesting to see what people are buying...and how they spell.

I beat the runners and the race, by almost an hour. Mission accomplished.