With the kids - Washington Management Area - 8/28/16

Ben and Nana

This Sunday we had both Grandkids..always a pleasure, Ben and little Sweetie Pie Grace. Off we went to high adventure in northwestern Rhode Island, stopping first at the Village Bean Cafe in Chepatchet for a great breakfast. Everything was cooked just right and the waitress (sorry, the server...gotta be PC) was very friendly and helpful. Ben had a burrito and Grace had scrambled, Nana and I had our usuals and as we were leaving, Grace realized that she needed one of those special M&M muffins. .  So, all fed and rested we went off to the George Washington State Campground and Management Area right along Route 44 just before you enter Connecticut. What a great spot. We parked at the end of the road and headed off down the blue and orange trail. Mushrooms were plentiful today and

A pretty red mushroom

they apparently come in every color. We spotted red and yellow and white and purple and just about every shade in between. Grace seemed especially excited every time we came across a mushroom and especially when there were many along the trail. The trail here is strewn with boulders and rock, and ferns and great views of the pond. The kids had a great time climbing all over the rocks.

On the rocks along the shore

Grace proved to be quite a trooper as we hiked longer than her liking but she kept up with a minimal of complaints. Ben just kept going and going like the Energizer Bunny. Unfortunately the trail took a turn to the right when we needed to head left to continue our way around the pond and back to our car. Intrepid as we are we decided to head out off the trail into the wilderness (I should mention that there were several campers in sight toward the area which we were heading) and our high adventure began. We dumped out in the 'back yard' of a family camping there and had a good chat and got some bad directions but after a few fits and starts in different directions and consulting my app frequently we ended up at a dead end. Now I knew that the car was less than 100 yards away but no clear path presented itself in the direction we were heading. Grace did not want to head through the briars and up the hill but with a bit of encouragement we made it through the rough

Back at the car

stuff and landed right on the trail and the car was in sight. Less than 50 yards from where we felt stuck. All's well that ends well. Here is a photo of our champion hiker, back safe and sound at Pappa's car. By the way Grace and Pappa made that hiking staff, Pappa did most of the work and Grace directed the project so it was just right. After we got back to the car, it was a hot day, we drank our fill of water and Ben took my keys and got he air conditioning running. I then told him to drive us out of there. Now Ben is not of driving age and has little experience with cars, but I figured that he has spent the summer driving a boat and in well on his way to getting a pilot's license (flying for over two years now) he should be able to get us down the road safely. I think he was just a little bit intimidated but he did just fine. He took us about a mile down the road (a dirt road with no traffic) all without incident. Well done Ben. And Now, a few pictures to round out the post.

Nana and Grace

Usain Ben - or Ben Bolt?

Overlooking Wilbur Pond

Middle Earth - George Washington Management Area

Ahh, Coffee

Yes I know it's Wednesday, but I am home recovering and Nana has the day off, so it's time for a walk in the woods. We stopped this morning at Harmony Kitchen on route 44 in western Rhode Island, Harmony to be specific as if you couldn't guess. The restaurant is a very local place and it was indeed a very harmonious restaurant where everyone in the place knew each other. And we apparently took someone's regular seat. . .
The service was done with a smile and the food was great, and the local thing here seems to be beans, baked beans, served with every breakfast, and this was fine with me.

Beans, at breakfast, Mmmmmm

And another place that made my toast just right Things like this just make me happy. Nana had her typical omelet and I had my two eggs home fries and toast, and we both had beans, with no ill effects. I even had time to get in a quick little sketch while we were there. After I paid I plugged in our destination in the GPS and we were off and another 10 minute ride brought us to the George Washington Management Area camp ground where we got in for free because there was no one in the booth. A normal fee of $2 is required when there is someone in the booth. We found a place to park at the end of the long dirt road through the campground and set off on a trail marked with an orange, red and blue blaze(s) and this is where the magic began. In my last post I stated the the Freetown Forest was devoid of personality, well this trail seems to wander through Middle Earth or Sherwood Forest. It is beautiful.

Orange, red, blue blazes

The trail here seemed to take me back to my childhood fantasies of far away places where the Hobbits and dragons live or where the tales of old took place. I kept waiting for Robin Hood or Chingachgook to come down the trail. The rocks are covered with mosses and ferns grow everywhere and expectations hide behind every rock and tree. Small streams tumble through the woods and are easily forded by hopping on stones that are in just the right places all across the streams.

Stone hopping

We had a great time hiking through this section of the forest along the shore of a pond by the name of Wilber Pond, the smaller of the two here in the area. We could see campers and tents on the far shore as we walked along. We walked for about three quarters of a mile before turning back, not know exactly where this trail led. Just after we had begin this trail the blue dot trail broke off to the right, so we backtracked to that spot and began our way along the blue trail for another three quarters of a mile or so before returning to the car. The personality of this trail was very different as we seemed to leave the boulders behind and the trail became wide and the walking was easier and at a faster pace. Our mapping app did not show either of these trails and although we knew we would not get lost, we kept fairly close to the parking area, we were also up against clock having a noon appointment in Somerset Mass, many miles away. By the time we returned to the car we had walked a mere 2. miles but we were completely refreshed by the experience and have made plans to return. As we approached the car a park ranger pulled up in his truck and we chatted with him for a while and followed him back to the entrance gatehouse where he gave us a trail map. He told of the Walkabout trail which is an eight and a half mile trail around the park. I think that is in our future. We also discovered trail markers for the Rhode Island North South trail. I looked this up when we ultimately made it home and the North South trail is 78 miles long.

North South Trail

Now that is an ambitious trail, running from the ocean  on the south coast to the Massachusetts border. It is apparently typically done in seven sections of 10 - 14 mile lengths. So at that pace you could do the North South Trail in a week. There seems to be many sections of the trail that follow a road from time to time but it appears mostly to be through the Rhode Island wilderness areas. Maybe some time Nana and Pappa will make this walk. It looks like a challenge, but also looks like it could be broken up over several weekends and would be a great way to explore the state top to bottom or bottom to top.  I will post a few more pictures here so you can better get the flavor of the day. The remainder of our day was well spent doing chores and and hangin out with our grandkids.

rocky part of Middle Earth

Ferns, rocks and streams

I'm happy, really, I'm happy - what a sour looking old Pappa

Along the Blue trail