We placed three "Celtic Miniature" letterboxes today in
Edgewood Park. The walk is very easy and child-friendly, about
30 minutes excluding stamping time.

Edgewood Park features nature walks and a duck pond, tennis
and basketball courts, skateboarding ramps, and soccer and
Little League fields. Near the playground at the east end of the
park, the ranger station houses wildlife displays. There are
bocce courts and an enormous sundial that doubles as a
sprinkler for children in the summer. The Holocaust memorial
and Spanish American War monument are also here.

To get to the park, take exit 59 from the Merritt Parkway. Head
towards New Haven from the exit ramp. (If you're coming from
New Haven, head out Whalley Avenue towards Westville.) Turn
south onto West Rock Avenue. There is a parking lot near the
intersection of Whalley and West Rock. Leave your car there,
near the tennis and basketball courts.

On the paved path, walk past the tennis courts until you see a
footbridge. Cross the bridge, which spans the West River. At the
end of the bridge bear 140 degrees on the main path. You will
pass Coogan Pavilion (you can skateboard for a while if you like)
and go through the red gates. Turn left immediately and cross
the small bridge to a trail.

You will quickly come to a Y in the trail. Turn right and go about
25 paces. Look on your left for two trees growing together. The
front tree forms a V, the back one has a large canker or bole. Box
#1 awaits you on the east side of this pair.

After stamping in, return to the main path and continue until you
see another footbridge, this time to the right. Cross the bridge
and follow the main trail, not letting yourself be led astray by side
trails. When you reach the edge of a clearing, take a bearing of
270 degrees and turn that way.

Your new trail is a nature trail, although some of the plaques are
missing. Persevere on this trail until you reach the shagbark
hickory plaque (which is not missing). Standing in front of this
plaque, look for a tree with a hollow center at 300 degrees. This
tree is sheltering box #2 within it. Be sure to cover the box
carefully after stamping in. Continue south on this trail to reach a
deck overlooking the marsh, where you may be able to see
some turtles. Then retrace your steps to the clearing,

Look across the clearing to find the three Christmas trees.
Beyond these three trees, at 85 degrees from the rightmost tree,
is a tree that looks like crossed fingers. Go to this tree, being
careful of brambles. You'll probably collect a lot of sticky seeds
on your clothing. Near the base of the crossed fingers, look
through the opening between the fingers from north to south. Box
#3 is nestling under a small pile of rocks about ten paces away.

After stamping in to this final box, return to the trail through the
clearing and head generally north, which will soon bring you
back to the parking lot. Take a moment to be amazed at the
possibilities of letterboxing in such an urban environment.