This is our first try at planting letterboxes. We are calling this the
State Symbols Series. And we are starting with Connecticut. There are 5
letterboxes
Hope you like the Series and the Park
Planted: by the Willington gang on September 22, 2001.
Difficulty: Easy to moderate hiking some steep hills. Its about 4.5
miles of trails. It should take 2.5 to 3 hours to do.
Location: The Fenton- Ruby Park and Wildlife Preserve
Burma Road Willington, Connecticut, Tolland County
Directions: From the Junction of Route 44 and Route 74. Take RT 74 west
and look for Moose Meadow Road on your Right. From Route 84 take exit 69
and go east on RT 74 until you come to Moose Meadow Road on your left.
On Moose Meadow Rd. you are looking for Burma Rd its on your right.
Burma is a dead end dirt road. Park to the right in the parking area
that you first see. The trailhead board should have some maps of the
Park.
History: Clarke Ruby and his wife, Margaret, sold the property to the
Town of Willington in 1994 to be maintained as the Fenton-Ruby Park and
Wildlife Preserve. Managed by the Willington Conservation Commission,
it contains about 225 acres of forests, grassy fields, marshes, and
ponds. Wilbert Ruby bought the land in 1908 he was also the owner and
operator of the Ruby Lumber Company, an important part of the town's
economy at the time. This was left to his son Clarke who was born in the
house, which has sense burned down. You can see a bit of the foundation
across from the Parking lot.
Connecticut
The State Flower Letterbox #1
(CT)Willington, Tolland County CT. State Symbols
2 messages in this thread |
Started on 2001-09-22
(CT)Willington, Tolland County CT. State Symbols
From: Phyllis (rel@neca.com) |
Date: 2001-09-22 12:13:16 UTC-04:00
Re: (CT)Willington, Tolland County CT. State Symbols
From: (rgott@gateway.net) |
Date: 2001-10-05 10:26:05 UTC
This past Wednesday we looked for four boxes and found them, no time
for the fifth. It was a perfect and memorable fall day to go out with
friends through this beautiful park. The ponds were surrounded by
color and the scent of autumn was everywhere. Your clues were very
clear, and your hand carved stamps were very well done.
CTpinecone
--- In letterbox-usa@y..., Phyllis wrote:
> This is our first try at planting letterboxes. We are calling this
the
> State Symbols Series. And we are starting with Connecticut. There
are 5
> letterboxes
> Hope you like the Series and the Park
>
> Planted: by the Willington gang on September 22, 2001.
>
> Difficulty: Easy to moderate hiking some steep hills. It's about
4.5
> miles of trails. It should take 2.5 to 3 hours to do.
>
> Location: The Fenton- Ruby Park and Wildlife Preserve
> Burma Road Willington, Connecticut, Tolland County
>
> Directions: From the Junction of Route 44 and Route 74. Take RT 74
west
> and look for Moose Meadow Road on your Right. From Route 84 take
exit 69
> and go east on RT 74 until you come to Moose Meadow Road on your
left.
> On Moose Meadow Rd. you are looking for Burma Rd it's on your right.
> Burma is a dead end dirt road. Park to the right in the parking area
> that you first see. The trailhead board should have some maps of the
> Park.
>
> History: Clarke Ruby and his wife, Margaret, sold the property to
the
> Town of Willington in 1994 to be maintained as the Fenton-Ruby Park
and
> Wildlife Preserve. Managed by the Willington Conservation
Commission,
> it contains about 225 acres of forests, grassy fields, marshes, and
> ponds. Wilbert Ruby bought the land in 1908 he was also the owner
and
> operator of the Ruby Lumber Company, an important part of the town's
> economy at the time. This was left to his son Clarke who was born
in the
> house, which has sense burned down. You can see a bit of the
foundation
> across from the Parking lot.
>
> Connecticut
> "The State Flower" Letterbox #1
> From the parking lot take a right onto Burma Road you will see the
> trailhead on the right for Ridge trail. This is the White trail it
is
> .93 miles and has steep places along the way. Follow the trail up
the
> hill and on your right there is a large rotted tree that was cut
down
> and landed precariously on to its stump. The trail bends to the
left and
> to the right continuing up the hill thru the dense mountain laurel
> gradually turning back and forth over dead trees. You will twist and
> turn going up and down working your way to the top of the hill. As
you
> rise to your right you will see some ledge out of the hill and to
the
> left is an oasis of Mountain Laurel. It gets steeper here. When you
are
> about to reach the top on your left there is a tree with a large
waste
> line. As you continue, you will come to a steep knoll and to your
right
> there is a drop off down into the valley. You will go down off that
> knoll. Keep going until you start walking thru ledge out cropping
on
> top of the ridge. On your right you look over the valley. On your
left
> look for the under side of a fallen tree, with stones in and around
the
> roots, go around the left side to find what you seek. Continue down
off
> the ridge, there will be a large out cropping of ledge on your left.
> Follow around it and you will now get a glimpse of Taylor Pond on
your
> right. You are really going down off the mountain now twisting and
> turning until you reach the road. You can go right to Letterbox #2
or go
> left back to your car.
>
> "The State Tree" Letterbox #2
> From the parking lot take a right onto Burma Road, you will see on
the
> left the trail head for Taylor pond which is the Yellow trail it
is .73
> miles long. Take this trail and as you go you will come to a very
nice
> wooden bridge made by the boy scouts. From the bridge you can see
Taylor
> pond, continue following the ponds edge. When you come out of the
white
> pine grove there will be a bench with a view of the pond, what a
great
> place for a drink and a snack. Continue on and look for a white
pine on
> your right that looks like it was hit by lighting. You'll come to an
> open field with a glimpse of the pond on your right the trail will
turn
> left and enter the woods again. Here you will see a three sister
pine
> where the trail bares right stay on the yellow trail and follow the
> stonewall. The trail leaves the stonewall and you enter a grove of
Iron
> wood trees. Start looking for a very old White Oak on you're left
and
> behind this is what you seek. Now continue through the grove you
will
> come out to a small field moving toward the pond for another look.
> Follow the trail away from the pond and back into the woods where
you
> will walk between two white pines and along a stonewall, that is on
your
> left. Watch your head for the low overpass. You'll now cross over
two
> sets of plank bridges. Then cross over a stonewall and keep going
until
> you reach an intersection with a sign that says "Connector to Ruby
> trail" take a right and continue on. You will cross a dry stream
and a
> pair of wood bridges. The trail turns right and then you will go up
a
> small hill and thru a stonewall opening. As you go you will see a
marker
> that shows you an Ironwood tree (carpinus caroliniana) and then
after
> that there is a marker for a Black Cherry tree (Prunus serotina)
also on
> the right. Continue on over another stonewall and wood bridge and
back
> to the dirt road. Take a right to return to your car or go left to
do
> the next letterbox.
>
> "The State Animal" Letterbox #3
> Take a right out of the Parking lot on to the dirt road. Go past
white
> and yellow trails in and out's. Stay on the dirt road looking for
the
> Ruby trail which is the red trail on your left it's a little over a
1
> mile long and has steep places. Enter at the very large Maple go
until
> you come to an intersection take a right here. You will walk
between 2
> glacial erratics and work your way up the hill. Then you will
descend
> down and pass more glacial rocks. You will enter a grove of Ironwood
> trees. Keep going you will be gradually climbing the hill. When you
> reach the very top look for a medium size 2 sister pine on your left
> it's very, very close to the trail. Off in the distance there is a
very
> large 3 sister pine on your right. Start looking on your right for a
> large rock which looks to me like the mouth of a whale here is box
# 3.
> Continue on, you will now go down thru some Mountain Laurel. (This
area
> is very icy in the early spring). The trail bends left, and then
you
> will cross over the stonewall. On your left is a very large rock.
You
> will now be walking along side a stonewall. Start looking for a
rock on
> your left and here is box # 4 "The State Bird" it's behind it. You
will
> wish you brought your camera for this one. Black and White would be
> best. Continue on down a hill and be careful you are going to need
sure
> footing. There will be a wood bridge to cross then go up and turn
to the
> right. Follow along side the stonewall until it disappears. On your
> right there will be a grouping of glacial rocks, the trail turns
left
> away from them. You will come to a wood bridge with a
sign "Connector to
> Taylor Pond" this is a blue trail. Don't go over if you need to get
> back. (If you're ready for Box # 5 go over the bridge and follow
the Box
> # 5 direction from this point.) Ok, to get back you will go by a
tree
> marker on your left for a White Oak (quercus alaba). On your right
> another tree marker for Red Oak (quercus rubra) and then on your
right
> again another tree marker for White Ash. The trail bends to the
right
> and you will come to the end of a stonewall turn left after you
pass it
> and now you are walking between two stonewalls. As you follow these
> walls you come to the intersection where you started. Take a right
on
> the dirt road back to your car.
>
> "The State Insect" Letterbox # 5
> Take a right out of the Parking lot on to the dirt road. Go past
white
> and yellow trails in and out's. Stay on the dirt road looking for
the
> Ruby trail, which is the red trail on your left. Enter at the very
large
> Maple go straight thru the intersection (don't take the right) you
will
> be walking between two stonewalls, the wall to the right will end
and
> the trail will turn to the right. Continue on, the trail will bend
to
> the left and you will see a tree marker for White ash on your left.
The
> next tree with a marker will also be on your left it's a Red Oak.
There
> will be one more marker for a White Oak it's on your right. A little
> further there will be a bridge on your left with a sign "Connector
to
> Taylor Pond trail" it's a blue trail. (If you continued on from box
# 4
> here is where you pick up the directions) Go over the bridge go up
the
> embankment turn right it's like walking on a dike. You will go up
> another embankment where it levels off and you will see a tree
marker on
> your left for a Black Oak tree (quercus velotina). You are at the
> beginning of a large stonewall. On your right will be a tree
marker
> for a White Pine (pinus strobus). On your right you will be looking
for
> a tree with 5 fingers reaching up to the sky. This is where Box # 5
is.
> The trail goes down and then bends to the right continue on until
you
> come to an intersection and take the left. You will cross a dry
stream
> and a pair of wood bridges. The trail turns right and then you will
go
> up a small hill and thru an opening in a stonewall. As you go you
will
> see a marker that shows you an Ironwood tree (carpinus caroliniana)
and
> then after that there is another marker for a Black Cherry tree
(Prunus
> serotina) also on the right. Continue on over the stonewall and wood
> bridge and back to the dirt road. Take a right to return to your
car.
for the fifth. It was a perfect and memorable fall day to go out with
friends through this beautiful park. The ponds were surrounded by
color and the scent of autumn was everywhere. Your clues were very
clear, and your hand carved stamps were very well done.
CTpinecone
--- In letterbox-usa@y..., Phyllis
> This is our first try at planting letterboxes. We are calling this
the
> State Symbols Series. And we are starting with Connecticut. There
are 5
> letterboxes
> Hope you like the Series and the Park
>
> Planted: by the Willington gang on September 22, 2001.
>
> Difficulty: Easy to moderate hiking some steep hills. It's about
4.5
> miles of trails. It should take 2.5 to 3 hours to do.
>
> Location: The Fenton- Ruby Park and Wildlife Preserve
> Burma Road Willington, Connecticut, Tolland County
>
> Directions: From the Junction of Route 44 and Route 74. Take RT 74
west
> and look for Moose Meadow Road on your Right. From Route 84 take
exit 69
> and go east on RT 74 until you come to Moose Meadow Road on your
left.
> On Moose Meadow Rd. you are looking for Burma Rd it's on your right.
> Burma is a dead end dirt road. Park to the right in the parking area
> that you first see. The trailhead board should have some maps of the
> Park.
>
> History: Clarke Ruby and his wife, Margaret, sold the property to
the
> Town of Willington in 1994 to be maintained as the Fenton-Ruby Park
and
> Wildlife Preserve. Managed by the Willington Conservation
Commission,
> it contains about 225 acres of forests, grassy fields, marshes, and
> ponds. Wilbert Ruby bought the land in 1908 he was also the owner
and
> operator of the Ruby Lumber Company, an important part of the town's
> economy at the time. This was left to his son Clarke who was born
in the
> house, which has sense burned down. You can see a bit of the
foundation
> across from the Parking lot.
>
> Connecticut
> "The State Flower" Letterbox #1
> From the parking lot take a right onto Burma Road you will see the
> trailhead on the right for Ridge trail. This is the White trail it
is
> .93 miles and has steep places along the way. Follow the trail up
the
> hill and on your right there is a large rotted tree that was cut
down
> and landed precariously on to its stump. The trail bends to the
left and
> to the right continuing up the hill thru the dense mountain laurel
> gradually turning back and forth over dead trees. You will twist and
> turn going up and down working your way to the top of the hill. As
you
> rise to your right you will see some ledge out of the hill and to
the
> left is an oasis of Mountain Laurel. It gets steeper here. When you
are
> about to reach the top on your left there is a tree with a large
waste
> line. As you continue, you will come to a steep knoll and to your
right
> there is a drop off down into the valley. You will go down off that
> knoll. Keep going until you start walking thru ledge out cropping
on
> top of the ridge. On your right you look over the valley. On your
left
> look for the under side of a fallen tree, with stones in and around
the
> roots, go around the left side to find what you seek. Continue down
off
> the ridge, there will be a large out cropping of ledge on your left.
> Follow around it and you will now get a glimpse of Taylor Pond on
your
> right. You are really going down off the mountain now twisting and
> turning until you reach the road. You can go right to Letterbox #2
or go
> left back to your car.
>
> "The State Tree" Letterbox #2
> From the parking lot take a right onto Burma Road, you will see on
the
> left the trail head for Taylor pond which is the Yellow trail it
is .73
> miles long. Take this trail and as you go you will come to a very
nice
> wooden bridge made by the boy scouts. From the bridge you can see
Taylor
> pond, continue following the ponds edge. When you come out of the
white
> pine grove there will be a bench with a view of the pond, what a
great
> place for a drink and a snack. Continue on and look for a white
pine on
> your right that looks like it was hit by lighting. You'll come to an
> open field with a glimpse of the pond on your right the trail will
turn
> left and enter the woods again. Here you will see a three sister
pine
> where the trail bares right stay on the yellow trail and follow the
> stonewall. The trail leaves the stonewall and you enter a grove of
Iron
> wood trees. Start looking for a very old White Oak on you're left
and
> behind this is what you seek. Now continue through the grove you
will
> come out to a small field moving toward the pond for another look.
> Follow the trail away from the pond and back into the woods where
you
> will walk between two white pines and along a stonewall, that is on
your
> left. Watch your head for the low overpass. You'll now cross over
two
> sets of plank bridges. Then cross over a stonewall and keep going
until
> you reach an intersection with a sign that says "Connector to Ruby
> trail" take a right and continue on. You will cross a dry stream
and a
> pair of wood bridges. The trail turns right and then you will go up
a
> small hill and thru a stonewall opening. As you go you will see a
marker
> that shows you an Ironwood tree (carpinus caroliniana) and then
after
> that there is a marker for a Black Cherry tree (Prunus serotina)
also on
> the right. Continue on over another stonewall and wood bridge and
back
> to the dirt road. Take a right to return to your car or go left to
do
> the next letterbox.
>
> "The State Animal" Letterbox #3
> Take a right out of the Parking lot on to the dirt road. Go past
white
> and yellow trails in and out's. Stay on the dirt road looking for
the
> Ruby trail which is the red trail on your left it's a little over a
1
> mile long and has steep places. Enter at the very large Maple go
until
> you come to an intersection take a right here. You will walk
between 2
> glacial erratics and work your way up the hill. Then you will
descend
> down and pass more glacial rocks. You will enter a grove of Ironwood
> trees. Keep going you will be gradually climbing the hill. When you
> reach the very top look for a medium size 2 sister pine on your left
> it's very, very close to the trail. Off in the distance there is a
very
> large 3 sister pine on your right. Start looking on your right for a
> large rock which looks to me like the mouth of a whale here is box
# 3.
> Continue on, you will now go down thru some Mountain Laurel. (This
area
> is very icy in the early spring). The trail bends left, and then
you
> will cross over the stonewall. On your left is a very large rock.
You
> will now be walking along side a stonewall. Start looking for a
rock on
> your left and here is box # 4 "The State Bird" it's behind it. You
will
> wish you brought your camera for this one. Black and White would be
> best. Continue on down a hill and be careful you are going to need
sure
> footing. There will be a wood bridge to cross then go up and turn
to the
> right. Follow along side the stonewall until it disappears. On your
> right there will be a grouping of glacial rocks, the trail turns
left
> away from them. You will come to a wood bridge with a
sign "Connector to
> Taylor Pond" this is a blue trail. Don't go over if you need to get
> back. (If you're ready for Box # 5 go over the bridge and follow
the Box
> # 5 direction from this point.) Ok, to get back you will go by a
tree
> marker on your left for a White Oak (quercus alaba). On your right
> another tree marker for Red Oak (quercus rubra) and then on your
right
> again another tree marker for White Ash. The trail bends to the
right
> and you will come to the end of a stonewall turn left after you
pass it
> and now you are walking between two stonewalls. As you follow these
> walls you come to the intersection where you started. Take a right
on
> the dirt road back to your car.
>
> "The State Insect" Letterbox # 5
> Take a right out of the Parking lot on to the dirt road. Go past
white
> and yellow trails in and out's. Stay on the dirt road looking for
the
> Ruby trail, which is the red trail on your left. Enter at the very
large
> Maple go straight thru the intersection (don't take the right) you
will
> be walking between two stonewalls, the wall to the right will end
and
> the trail will turn to the right. Continue on, the trail will bend
to
> the left and you will see a tree marker for White ash on your left.
The
> next tree with a marker will also be on your left it's a Red Oak.
There
> will be one more marker for a White Oak it's on your right. A little
> further there will be a bridge on your left with a sign "Connector
to
> Taylor Pond trail" it's a blue trail. (If you continued on from box
# 4
> here is where you pick up the directions) Go over the bridge go up
the
> embankment turn right it's like walking on a dike. You will go up
> another embankment where it levels off and you will see a tree
marker on
> your left for a Black Oak tree (quercus velotina). You are at the
> beginning of a large stonewall. On your right will be a tree
marker
> for a White Pine (pinus strobus). On your right you will be looking
for
> a tree with 5 fingers reaching up to the sky. This is where Box # 5
is.
> The trail goes down and then bends to the right continue on until
you
> come to an intersection and take the left. You will cross a dry
stream
> and a pair of wood bridges. The trail turns right and then you will
go
> up a small hill and thru an opening in a stonewall. As you go you
will
> see a marker that shows you an Ironwood tree (carpinus caroliniana)
and
> then after that there is another marker for a Black Cherry tree
(Prunus
> serotina) also on the right. Continue on over the stonewall and wood
> bridge and back to the dirt road. Take a right to return to your
car.