An Explosive Start... Simsbury Historical Society, Simsbury November 2024 Connecticut museum visit #533. If you're wanting to read about all of the Simsbury Historical Society buildings and exhibits, you've landed on the first of four pages about them, but the ordering doesn't matter. The Simsbury Historical … [Read more...]
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The Fifty-Acre Wood
Winnie the Poo The Fifty-Acre Wood, Woodstock November 2024 After driving through northern Woodstock along Redhead Hill Road, then English Neighborhood Road, you come to Pond Factory Road. You immediately think, "boy, I'm taking this skinny gravel road to Massachusetts, there can't be much up this … [Read more...]
Book Review: Connecticut Cryptids
Tales From the Cryptids Connecticut Cryptids, Patrick Scalisi & Illustrations by Valerie Ruby-Omen (2023) Never judge a book by its cover. And, usually, never judge a book by its Goodreads reviews. But always judge Goodreads reviewers by their idiotic reviews: That has to be one of the least self-aware … [Read more...]
First Steel Mill in US
Hard as Steel... to Write First Steel Mill in US, Simsbury This is the oddest thing. Every now and again, I'd be talking Simsbury history to someone. Y'know, like we all do at parties and such. And I'd hear, "the first steel mill in the country was in Simsbury," and I'd be like, "oh yeah? cool" and file it away for … [Read more...]
Barkhamsted: Complete!
Barkhamsted: Complete! Royal Coachman Tavern at the Old Riverton Inn Here is the CTMQ Guide to Barkhamsted with my list and stories about everything I’ve done there! After a decade of writing CTMQ, I decided to try to “complete” towns. In that decade of traveling and writing, I had already done a lot of … [Read more...]
Eaton/Dix Intersection
Don't Blow It Eaton/Dix Intersection, West Haven November 2024 ***Warning!*** Not the usual CTMQ content. You can guess from the title of the page where it's going. You've been warned. My wife and I used to always take at least one day off from work together to "go do stuff" on or near one of our fall … [Read more...]
Saville Dam, Barkhamsted Center & Hollow
Damn! No, really... Damn! Saville Dam & Barkhamsted Center, Barkhamsted September 2024 The Saville Dam is surely a top 10 Connecticut beauty spot. If it didn't require a walk in order to get the perfect shot, I'm sure it would be top 3. As it is, you still have to wait in line on weekend days in October in order … [Read more...]
Still Brook Open Space
Still There, Still Hikeable, Still Brook Still Brook Open Space, Simsbury November 2024 I've lived in West Hartford since 2001 and in that time, I've seen my town sell every available acre to developers. At the same time, I've seen nearby Simsbury spend town money on protecting open space and woodlands from … [Read more...]
Adjutant William Campbell Memorial
Bloody Hell Adjutant William Campbell Memorial, West Haven November 2024 I've had this memorial on my radar for a while. I always had it in my head as the only memorial in the US honoring an enemy combatant. Which, if true, is both weird and fascinating. But now that I've been to the Adjutant William Campbell … [Read more...]
Tree House Brewing
The Magic (of) Tree House Tree House Brewing, Woodstock November 2024 The first half of this page is a cut and paste from my page about this place when it was just a cidery. Since I separate cideries from breweries, there simply must be two separate pages on CTMQ. I’m at a bit of a loss here. On the one hand, … [Read more...]