National Parks...National Treasures (part 2) LbNA #16077
Map
Nearby Boxes
Add Note
Add Location| Owner: | Bungalow Boxer  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jun 26, 2005 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Glastonbury |
| County: | Hartford |
| State: | Connecticut |
| Boxes: | 3 |
| Found by: | enjoinder (3) |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Dec 3, 2008 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF |
| Last edited: | Jun 26, 2005 |
NOTE: This is a 2 1/2 mile scenic hike at Buckingham Reservoir. The trails are generally easy to walk, with some gentle hills here and there.
From the intersection of routes 83 and 94 in Glastonbury, drive east on rte 94 (Hebron Avenue) for 0.7 miles. Turn left on Old Hebron Road. Drive past a stone house and park where the road ends.
Walk through the log gate and walk along the paved road. Soon you will pass a vine covered building on the right. Stay on the road. As the road begins to go gradually uphill, notice a stone wall on the left. At this point, keep your eyes open for an old chimney. When you are almost even with it, turn left onto a short path that leads to an old stone foundation. Standing at the southwest corner, notice the lone stone post about 10 steps away at roughly 240 degrees. As you stroll toward it, spot a flat stone on your right a couple of yards away. Look under it for "New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park" Letterbox.
NEW BEDFORD WHALING NATIONAL PARK (New Bedford, MA)
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park commemorates the heritage of the world's preeminent whaling port during the 19th century. The historic buildings, museum collections, and archives preserve this history and recall the stories of a remarkable era. Whaling, an important 19th century business, contributed to America's economic and political vitality.
This park, created in 1996, encompasses 34 acres spread over 13 city blocks and includes a visitor center, the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the Seamen's Bethel, the schooner Ernestina, and the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum. In addition, the park maintains a connection with the Inupiat Heritage Center in Barrow, Alaska, to commemorate the more than 2,000 whaling voyages from New Bedford to the Western Arctic. It's a fascinating place to visit and learn about our region's heritage.
Return to the paved road. Continue on. Almost immediately the pavement ends but your adventure is just beginning! Walk for about 10 minutes until up ahead you can see a field and a stone building perched on a small hill. Actually, you are very close to the reservoir. As you leave the forest you'll pass a trail merging from the right. Shortly after that, the trail forks. Turn right here and pass a cement slab on the right. Continue along as you head back into the forest. Pass a pile of ground-up pavement on the right as the trail begins to climb a bit. At the top of the hill the trail bends left. STOP when you can see a curious cement construction with an iron railing ahead. Before going downhill to investigate, look for a pile of large stones on the right, about 20 steps away. Make your way to the stone block closest to the trail. Look behind it for "White Sands National Monument."
WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT (Holloman Air Force Base, NM)
At the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a mountain ringed valley called the Tularosa Basin. Rising from the heart of this basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and have created the world's largest gypsum dune field! It is amazing to see. The brilliant white dunes are ever changing: growing, cresting, then slumping, but always advancing. Driven by strong southwest winds the snow-colored sand covers everything in its path. Within the extremely harsh environment of the dune field, even plants and animals adapted to desert conditions struggle to survive. Only a few species of plants grow rapidly enough to survive burial by moving dunes, but several types of small animals have evolved a white coloration that camouflages them in the gypsum sand.
Due to missile testing on the nearby White Sands Missile Range, it is occasionally necessary, for visitor safety, to close the Dunes Drive for periods of up to three hours. U.S. Highway 70 between Alamogordo and Las Cruces is also closed during times of missile testing. Also, on a historical note... "Trinity", the site of the first atomic bomb test, is roughly 70 miles to the north. It is open to the public on very rare occasions.
Return to the trail. Walk downhill to explore the reservoir. It's cool!!! Anyway, once you are ready to continue, with your back to the iron railing, take 20 steps to a narrow unmarked trail on the right. Pass through the pines and walk along the path, keeping the reservoir to your right. Eventually, you leave the shade of the forest. Walk across the dam, passing the stone building on your left. Once you have reached the other side of the dam you will come to an interesting 4-way intersection. Ahead of you, behind a 5-sister tree, is a gravel pit. The trail you want is on the right. Follow the pines as you continue to hike parallel to the shore. Soon, pass what appears to be a small beach on the right. (sorry...no swimming here) In a short while you come to a fork in the trail. Go left uphill. At the top, you will arrive at a 4-way intersection. Just before it, notice a flat stone on the left. Look under it for the "Cabrillo National Monument." NOTE: Please rehide very carefully. This is a popular spot.
CABRILLO NATIONAL MONUMENT (San Diego, CA)
On September 28, 1542, the Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo landed at San Diego Bay. This marked the first time that a European expedition had set foot on what later became the west coast of the United States. His accomplishments were memorialized on October 14, 1913 with the establishment of this park.
Cabrillo National Monument offers a great view of San Diego’s harbor. At the highest point of the park stands the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, which was built in 1854. A statue and museum in the Visitor Center commemorate Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo's exploration of California. In a former army building an exhibit tells the story of the coast artillery on Point Loma. In the winter, migrating gray whales can be seen off the coast. They are amazing to see.
Go to the intersection. Turn left on the trail at a bearing of roughly 200 degrees. Soon, after walking downhill, you'll see the gravel pit again. (from a different angle) Can you see the reservoir again? Walk towards it until you come to a 5-sister tree (deja vu!!!) STOP! At the intersection here, turn right and follow the wide trail past a couple of cedar trees. You are now walking down and around the dam. As you arrive at a familiar junction, continue straight. Though you may see other paths occasionally, stay on this main trail. Eventually, it becomes paved and will return you to your car. I hope you enjoyed today's adventure.
Josef
From the intersection of routes 83 and 94 in Glastonbury, drive east on rte 94 (Hebron Avenue) for 0.7 miles. Turn left on Old Hebron Road. Drive past a stone house and park where the road ends.
Walk through the log gate and walk along the paved road. Soon you will pass a vine covered building on the right. Stay on the road. As the road begins to go gradually uphill, notice a stone wall on the left. At this point, keep your eyes open for an old chimney. When you are almost even with it, turn left onto a short path that leads to an old stone foundation. Standing at the southwest corner, notice the lone stone post about 10 steps away at roughly 240 degrees. As you stroll toward it, spot a flat stone on your right a couple of yards away. Look under it for "New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park" Letterbox.
NEW BEDFORD WHALING NATIONAL PARK (New Bedford, MA)
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park commemorates the heritage of the world's preeminent whaling port during the 19th century. The historic buildings, museum collections, and archives preserve this history and recall the stories of a remarkable era. Whaling, an important 19th century business, contributed to America's economic and political vitality.
This park, created in 1996, encompasses 34 acres spread over 13 city blocks and includes a visitor center, the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the Seamen's Bethel, the schooner Ernestina, and the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum. In addition, the park maintains a connection with the Inupiat Heritage Center in Barrow, Alaska, to commemorate the more than 2,000 whaling voyages from New Bedford to the Western Arctic. It's a fascinating place to visit and learn about our region's heritage.
Return to the paved road. Continue on. Almost immediately the pavement ends but your adventure is just beginning! Walk for about 10 minutes until up ahead you can see a field and a stone building perched on a small hill. Actually, you are very close to the reservoir. As you leave the forest you'll pass a trail merging from the right. Shortly after that, the trail forks. Turn right here and pass a cement slab on the right. Continue along as you head back into the forest. Pass a pile of ground-up pavement on the right as the trail begins to climb a bit. At the top of the hill the trail bends left. STOP when you can see a curious cement construction with an iron railing ahead. Before going downhill to investigate, look for a pile of large stones on the right, about 20 steps away. Make your way to the stone block closest to the trail. Look behind it for "White Sands National Monument."
WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT (Holloman Air Force Base, NM)
At the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a mountain ringed valley called the Tularosa Basin. Rising from the heart of this basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and have created the world's largest gypsum dune field! It is amazing to see. The brilliant white dunes are ever changing: growing, cresting, then slumping, but always advancing. Driven by strong southwest winds the snow-colored sand covers everything in its path. Within the extremely harsh environment of the dune field, even plants and animals adapted to desert conditions struggle to survive. Only a few species of plants grow rapidly enough to survive burial by moving dunes, but several types of small animals have evolved a white coloration that camouflages them in the gypsum sand.
Due to missile testing on the nearby White Sands Missile Range, it is occasionally necessary, for visitor safety, to close the Dunes Drive for periods of up to three hours. U.S. Highway 70 between Alamogordo and Las Cruces is also closed during times of missile testing. Also, on a historical note... "Trinity", the site of the first atomic bomb test, is roughly 70 miles to the north. It is open to the public on very rare occasions.
Return to the trail. Walk downhill to explore the reservoir. It's cool!!! Anyway, once you are ready to continue, with your back to the iron railing, take 20 steps to a narrow unmarked trail on the right. Pass through the pines and walk along the path, keeping the reservoir to your right. Eventually, you leave the shade of the forest. Walk across the dam, passing the stone building on your left. Once you have reached the other side of the dam you will come to an interesting 4-way intersection. Ahead of you, behind a 5-sister tree, is a gravel pit. The trail you want is on the right. Follow the pines as you continue to hike parallel to the shore. Soon, pass what appears to be a small beach on the right. (sorry...no swimming here) In a short while you come to a fork in the trail. Go left uphill. At the top, you will arrive at a 4-way intersection. Just before it, notice a flat stone on the left. Look under it for the "Cabrillo National Monument." NOTE: Please rehide very carefully. This is a popular spot.
CABRILLO NATIONAL MONUMENT (San Diego, CA)
On September 28, 1542, the Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo landed at San Diego Bay. This marked the first time that a European expedition had set foot on what later became the west coast of the United States. His accomplishments were memorialized on October 14, 1913 with the establishment of this park.
Cabrillo National Monument offers a great view of San Diego’s harbor. At the highest point of the park stands the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, which was built in 1854. A statue and museum in the Visitor Center commemorate Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo's exploration of California. In a former army building an exhibit tells the story of the coast artillery on Point Loma. In the winter, migrating gray whales can be seen off the coast. They are amazing to see.
Go to the intersection. Turn left on the trail at a bearing of roughly 200 degrees. Soon, after walking downhill, you'll see the gravel pit again. (from a different angle) Can you see the reservoir again? Walk towards it until you come to a 5-sister tree (deja vu!!!) STOP! At the intersection here, turn right and follow the wide trail past a couple of cedar trees. You are now walking down and around the dam. As you arrive at a familiar junction, continue straight. Though you may see other paths occasionally, stay on this main trail. Eventually, it becomes paved and will return you to your car. I hope you enjoyed today's adventure.
Josef