The Trees LbNA #3092 (ARCHIVED)

The Trees Letterboxes (4)

(Fall River, Massachusetts)

The campus of Bristol Community College is a beautiful place to visit if you enjoy seeing a little bit of unspoiled nature in an otherwise suburban setting. The main part of the campus on Elsbree St is planted with a number of ornamental trees and shrubs. In addition, there are several acres of Nature trails on campus, where a number of interesting natural botanical specimens can be found.As environmentally conscious members of the BCC community, we decided to invite you to come see our campus, and learn a little about its natural beauty. The only drawback to this relatively short nature walk is the ever present sound of traffic on nearby Route 24. The four letterboxes are located within an easy walk of one another. Therefore, this series may be good for families with small children who can't or don't want to walk too far.

The theme of our 4 linked letterboxes is "Trees". A rudimentary knowledge of tree species, or a nature guide that helps you to identify trees in winter (by branching patterns and bark) or in summer (by leaf shape and size) may be helpful, but is probably not essential to complete the quest. We have included a guide to locally common oak species at the end of this letterbox description.

BCC is a busy campus, and consequently the parking lots tend to fill up in the early morning, and remain fairly full until mid to late afternoon. Your best bet for parking is the lot at the end of Elsbree St near the tennis courts. Because this lot often has empty spaces, we will start you on your quest at that location.

Note: Acorn is out of service at the present time, but will be returned soon.

Begin your journey by entering the paved path at the SE corner of the parking lot. From here it is 65 paces to a sign describing the Transatlantic Bluebird Trail. (Note: the sign is small, and is not on the paved path.) From the TBT sign turn towards the tennis courts, and follow the grass to the northeastern corner. Stop at the pine tree with a Virginia rose bush underneath. Head northeast, and walk 50 paces to the entrance of a dirt path that winds under some more rose bushes and into a swamp. Stepping stones will assist your progress through this muddy area when it has recently rained. Soon you will enter a meadow where the trail splits. Go left, then continue back into the woods. Shortly after passing a small pond on the right side (may be a dry depression during part of the year), you will walk over a flat rock in the center of the trail. To your left is a very large beech tree with the remnants of a sign that identified its species as Fagus grandifolia attached at a height of about 6'. Winter Giant letterbox is hidden in the jumble of rocks to your left, near the red oak tree that appears to grow out of the rocks.

After finding Winter Giant, continue down the trial keeping the streambed to your left (the trail gets vague in here). Pass a large boulder on your left with a smaller one beside it. Now you are entering a more upland area. Here the path passes closer to Route 24 on your left. When you pass a flat puddingstone on your right, it is 37 paces to a sharp right bend. After the bend, go 42 paces, then stop. You should see twin split beech trees to your right. Former Splendor letterbox is hidden nearby in the vicinity of a low rock wall. Look carefully, or you'll miss it's suspenseful hiding place!

After visiting Former Splendor, continue down the trail through the rock wall. Some ways on, you'll walk over a puddingstone (sedimentary rock that looks like a hunk of concrete with various smaller rocks imbedded in it). Take the next left fork, traverse a fence, walk over a rock, and continue heading towards the traffic noise at the next intersection. As you cross the next stone wall, look right and you will see two upright birch branches growing from a fallen trunk. The Acorn letterbox is nestled in this wall. To find it, continue 20 paces down the path past the wall , then stop. Face Route 24, and you should see an oak tree to the left of a pine tree. With your back to that oak tree while facing northeast, you will see a "pointing" puddingstone in the eastern end of the wall. Acorn letterbox is hidden here.

There are quite a few briars in the woods around this end of the wall, as well as a nice small grove of "princess pine". Another interesting botanical specimen is a very large, old maple tree whose trunk is joined with some younger birches. Don't let young children stray too far in this area, as there is no fence separating this part of the woods from the busy traffic on Route 24 South.

After finding Acorn, return to the trail and it will lead you out of the woods. As you emerge onto the grass, there is a large sign with a picture of the hiking trails (but no trail maps are currently available). To find the last letterbox in the series, take the path to the left, and emerge onto the paved road at the "circle". Walk along the back of parking lot #12, and enter the footpath in the woods at the other end. The path begins just to the left of a large lichen - encrusted boulder. When you see a 2 - 3' high puddingstone on your left, turn and face the rock. Head past the puddingstone towards a double - mounded hill. Climb up the path through the middle of the hill, and look towards the brook (sometimes just a ditch). You should see a small patch of evergreen needles. Hidden in those needles, which belong to a native juniper bush, lies the New Beginnings Letterbox.

Hope you enjoy our short but interesting journey!
The Science Nerds