Back to hiking! It was a little too cold to bike, and we were still trying to figure out some logistics for transporting them, but hopefully we can get ‘back on the saddle again’ next week! Today we are mostly following the North Coast Inland Trail (NCIT). Looking ahead- it seems like we will be on it for a while. It is a hard surface (crushed stone or asphalt), flat trail that seems to parallel a RR line for long stretches…ideal for biking. This is how it started out today- we took advantage of it being a beautiful Monday (yes, taking a vacation day) with not a soul on the trail. Looking at the plowed fields surrounding us I was surprised to see a lot of unearthed stones that looked like river rocks- with smooth, rounded surfaces- since we were no where near water I imagine it may have something to do with glacial deposits? Actually posted a very boring picture of one as an example- it was one of the more sizable ones I noticed. They were everywhere though. We finally came to the outskirts of Bellevue and came across the Mad River RR museum- it was not ‘open’ but you could walk around and peek into the windows of many engines and cars. Would be worth going back there. I’ve decided I must like trains- I take pictures of them whenever I can and am thrilled whenever one passes (did see one passing through Bellevue today). Bellevue seemed to be another town with a rich past, given the mansions we saw on the west side of downtown, but unlike Norwalk, main street was not doing that well now from the looks of it. There were beautiful old brick storefronts but they were largely vacant. It must have been a RR town back in the day, which would explain its decline. Near the end of our day we all remarked how good we felt for traveling 11 miles (although the last mile less pleasant). It was also REALLY nice to talk to each other along the way, which is definitely hindered by biking.
Our blog burner question for today is “Why and when was RR graffiti started?” Saw it on the passing train cars today- some of those people are really talented artists.
