24 August 2018
Cherry and I head to our penultimate DEEP Sky’s the Challenge hike: Seth Low Pierrepoint State Park!
(text from DEEP website): Seth Low Pierrepont State Park Reserve was a gift to the Connecticut State Park and Forest Commission from Seth Low Pierrepont upon his death in 1956. Mr. Pierrepont was a millionaire and ex-diplomat who served as a United States official in Lisbon, Rome, Paris, Santiago and Chile. He also worked as chief of the American Division of the State Department. Mr. Pierrepont purchased the estate from the Scott family in the early 1930’s.
Then lunch of hotdogs and homemade ice cream at Cherry’s good find: Heibeck’s Stand (along with their adjacent owned garage bathrooms!) (text from their website): The History of Heibeck’s began when George and Katherine Dlhy (pronounced Delhee) Heibeck moved to Georgetown in 1931. Katherine (known as Dodo by many) cooked in her own kitchen and served home cooked lunches in the two front rooms of the main building. She made her own pastries, pies, and cakes. The office employees at the Gilbert and Bennett Wire Mill were regular customers. As soon as they moved to Georgetown, they started improvements to the property, adding redwood log siding and a porch to the main building, and started building Heibeck’s Stand, which was originally located about forty feet from the main building and then later moved and attached to the main building where it is today.
And finally a quick visit to the Weir Farm National Historic Site gardens where I received my note card gift. (text from their website): A National Park for the Arts: Visit the home and studio of America’s most beloved Impressionist, J. Alden Weir, and walk in the footsteps of generations of world-class artists. Set amidst more than 60 acres of painterly woods, fields, and waterways, you’ll soon see why Weir described his home as the “Great Good Place.” Weir’s farm is a national legacy to American Impressionism, the creative spirit, and historic preservation.
Posters of CT Historic Gardens by various artists made into note cards
Hard to believe but we have only one more hike! It’s a tough one, too. We will wait until it cools down in September to finish up.
Lush with mixed woodlands dominated by oak, beech, and white pine, the hilly topography ranges in elevation from about 15 feet above sea level by the river to over 150 feet at the northern and southern high spots on the bluffs.
But the real asset of the park is the view from the bluffs it protects. The Connecticut River, beautiful from so many locations, is at its best here. The bluffs are highest at the northern end of the park rising 130 feet above the water, and the view is ample reward for the hike to get there.
(Text from
