'Scuba' Steve was a rugby buddy from college who now lives in Gaylordsville with his wife, Kelsey, in a converted barn on an alpaca farm. Luckily he has a flexible work schedule and was able to shuttle me around to the grocery store, post office, and grab lunch. Kelsey cooked great dinner and we caught up while playing Mexican Trains, a version of dominoes. The next day as I passed through Kent, CT a family friend, Janny, picked me up and treated me to lunch at The Villager. Thanks to everyone for your generosity! It makes the trail much more enjoyable.
Fugly llama and cute llama.
This toad was not impressed.
Further up the Housatonic River I got to the Hydro Plant near Falls Village and took some photos of the machinery and brand new truss bridge. Then I arrived at Great Falls, a MASSIVE waterfall that I had absolutely no idea existed. I wanted to get a long exposure of it so I crossed the river to a center island and would've been swept away if I didn't have my trekking poles. I should've guessed that the current was very strong since a hydroelectric plant was built there, and it was also waist deep.
Balance beaming over Great Falls.
After climbing up Mount Prospect I passed by the Giant's Thumb, a huge single rock monolith shooting straight up out of the ground, so I climbed it. I continued on to Salisbury, CT where I spent some time catching up on the blog at the library which looks like a castle and, fun fact, was America's first free public library that opened in 1803. I then went to the bakery to pack out some pastries for breakfast since I was going to enjoy it while enjoying the sunrise on Bear Mountain, Connecticut's highest peak.
Library in Salisbury, CT. This was the country's first public library.
After watching an amazing sunrise I climbed down into Sages Ravine which had tons of waterfalls and beautiful moss-covered rock formations. There were some swimming holes too but, since there was a chill that settled down in the ravine, I opted to instead lay down and read next to one of the falls. Then I crossed the state line into Massachusetts, completing my 10th state.
Sages Ravine.
Sages Ravine.
10 states conquered!
GA, NC, TN, VA, WV, MD, PA, NJ, NY, & CT