Tag: Sleeping Giant

The Rural Side Of Town

We had to leave so the house could be shown today. Helaine and I are getting very good at this! Another day at Ikea wasn’t needed, so Helaine and Doppler took a ride with me to shoot some photos.

There is no place like Connecticut. Incredibly beautiful. We will miss that a lot.

It’s tough not to notice the speed at which we transition from bare trees to fully leaved. That’s obvious in today’s shots. Three weeks ago there were few leaves open. Today, many tree lined roads are covered with a green canopy.

These photos were taken on River Road and Tuttle Avenue in Hamden, just at the edge of Sleeping Giant State Park. That part of town is really rural.

butterworth-reservoir

sleeping-giant-backwood-hdr

tuttle-avenue-canopy-hdr

butterworth-farm-thoroughbreds-hdr

How Many Dog Miles Is That

IMG_0631

If today’s weather in Connecticut was the norm, everyone from California would move here! We have spectacular beauty close at hand. It’s the most stunningly picturesque place I’ve ever lived.

This afternoon Helaine and I went to one of our favorite pretty spots, Sleeping Giant State Park. We brought our short legged child, Doppler, with us.

The Tower Trail is 1.6 miles long. How many dog miles is that? This is a tough hike for Doppler!

When we arrived, the mountain’s parking lot was mostly full. That’s normally reserved for weekends. Today was that nice.

The trail was pretty crowded. There were runners from Hamden High School, a woman pushing a stroller with a crying baby, couples, singles and loads of dogs… dogs of every shape and size.

We planned to walk around halfway up to a pretty overlook. It’s been a while. None of us are aerobically fit today. Doppler was especially grateful to turn around and head back down.

When I posted an ‘in-progress’ Sleeping Giant photo on Facebook a few people wondered if we’d miss the mountain when we leave? Absolutely. Sleeping Giant is one of the coolest benefits of living where we do.

What I won’t miss are the few scattered spots where the mountain still has snow on April 8!

IMG_0638

IMG_0632

IMG_0631

IMG_0630

IMG_0623

IMG_0600

Quinnipiac Builds The Perfect Place For Photography (With Proof)

Sleeping Giant panorama

Is there any place beautiful as Connecticut? Sometimes the weather sucks, but the scenery is always awesome.

Today wasn’t just a beautiful Saturday, it was a photo beautiful Saturday!

Humidity was low. Skies were blue. There were scattered clouds! Clouds are necessary for beauty shots because they add contrast and highlights to the otherwise homogeneous blue.

I threw some lenses into my small bag, dropped the top on my car and headed to the York Hill Campus at Quinnipiac University. QU built this addition a few years ago. It has amazing views!

In the past I drove behind the TD Bank Sports Center and looked south. Not today. Alan Chaniewski, a incredibly skillful photographer who shoots for the Courant every day and obviously enjoys his time with a camera in his hands, suggested the top of the parking garage.

Damn! The place was totally deserted, there’s easy access and unlimited vistas. The garage is meant for photography.

I picked a few landmarks and calculated distance. Otis Tower in Bristol–19 miles. There were distant mountains behind it. I’d like to bring a tripod and photograph lightning when there are thunderstorms around Hartford or farther north. It would be amazing from there.

The New Haven skyline–8 miles. It dominates the southern view.

Among the things I created today was the Photosynth panorama you see below. If you zoom in you will see the image in very high detail.

We live less than five minutes from where these photos were shot. I understand how lucky I am.

My best eight shots follow.

IMG_8943-06232012_1

IMG_8928-06232012_1

IMG_8922-06232012_1

IMG_8916-06232012_1

IMG_8912-06232012_1

IMG_8892-06232012_1

IMG_8886-06232012_1

IMG_8796-06232012_1

And Now Sleeping Giant The Video

I took some of the photos I shot this past Sunday on Sleeping Giant, threw them into Stupeflix and out came this neat little movie.

I took some of the photos I shot this past Sunday on Sleeping Giant, threw them into Stupeflix and out came this neat little movie. It’s sixty seconds. I hope you enjoy.

The Mountain’s Tougher Than I Am

I came home, ate dinner, took a shower and collapsed! Right now my knees are killing me and I hardly have the strength to get of the couch.

I got a “direct message” tweet last week from my friend Mike on the shoreline.

Brother in law is now in town. Still up for photo walk? Open Sat, Sun afternoon & Monday as I’m taking off work. Thoughts?

It sounded like a good excuse to climb Sleeping Giant which is what we did this afternoon!

As is par for the course I overpacked my backpack. A mountain means mainly wide landscape shots with “slow” aperture settings. I still brought two long lenses. No big deal except I had to carry them! Long lenses are heavy lenses.

It was Easter Sunday, but it was still packed. Why not? The weather was gorgeous with skies blue enough that I had to explain to Helaine they weren’t manipulated in my photos! What happened to spousal trust?

OK… maybe I tweeked them tiny bit.

We walked up the 1.6 mile Tower Trail then continued on the Blue Trail hoping to intersect with the Violet. We had a map, but it’s tough to judge exactly where you are. If I only would have known some of Sleeping Giant’s trails are on Google Maps. I could have used my phone’s GPS in the field!

Rather than end up out of the way and a steep climb to return we turned around.

Lots of people are talking how Connecticut’s flowering plants have bloomed early this year. Maybe so, but on Sleeping Giant it’s still very early. Some trees are showing buds, but no leaves. There is some flowering–not much.

Round trip on the Tower Trail is 3.2 miles. I’m guessing we went somewhere between four and five miles today and my body knew it. I came home, ate dinner, took a shower and collapsed! Right now my knees are killing me and I hardly have the strength to get of the couch.

I love that mountain.

Doppler Walks The Giant

This wasn’t like a summer walk. I had a sweatshirt, heavy jacket and gloves. Helaine work a coat. Doppler wore her pink sweater.

Maybe you heard me mention it on the air last night? Today we planned to take Doppler for a walk in the park. The forecast called for a perfect day on Sleeping Giant. The temperature briefly rose to the low 50s.

The question was would Doppler cooperate and how much mountain could our nine and a half pound dog take?

It was crowded this afternoon as we drove down Mt Carmel Avenue toward the Giant. The lot was full and there were cars on the street. We pulled into the cook-out area, also pretty full.

This wasn’t like a summer walk. I had a sweatshirt, heavy jacket and gloves. Helaine wore a coat. Doppler wore her pink sweater.

It was surprising to see all the dead wood especially at the bottom of the trail. Like everywhere else Sleeping Giant was hit hard by Irene and the October storm. On the mountain clean-up is a more natural process.

Doppler is a small dog. On the trail she’s a really small dog! People who bring dogs bring big dogs. They were all friendly.

There were lots of people. This time of year we’re all looking for signs of spring.

We went around 2/3 of the way. It was probably a two mile roundtrip. Until the very end Doppler walked with us without prodding.

Doppler and I spent much of the evening napping.

Sleeping Giant: Snakes On A Trail

There, sunning himself on a rock, was a copperhead snake!

May I start by saying I’m bushed? This was a very busy day. My Cousin Melissa is in from SoCal. Today was family entertainment day. I took the day off so she could see some Connecticut.

Actually this was going to be a day in New York City, but with the threat of rain we all agreed a “staycation” worked better.

From reading my blog entries Melissa knew about Sleeping Giant. We headed there early this afternoon. It was fairly deserted as we parked and headed up the Tower Trail.

Helaine and I haven’t walked The Giant in a while. I was worried whether I’d be too out-of-shape to make it to the top.

We stopped once at the midway point then continued to the top. I was sweaty, but none the worse for wear! Phew.

At one point we approached three young women also headed to the top. They were standing at the side of the trail pointing at a rock. I walked up to see what was holding their attention.

There, sunning himself on a rock, was a copperhead snake! Click the photo for a better look.

I grew up in Apartment 5E. We didn’t have snakes. I didn’t know I was supposed to be scared and moved closer to snap a picture. The snake held his ground until we walked away.

We reached the top under the kind of deep blue sky my California Cousin is used to. Ten minutes later it would be gone!

We spent a little time on the tower. Visibility was excellent and we easily saw the Connecticut Shoreline, Long Island Sound and Long Island.

The trip down wasn’t quite as eventful as the trip up. No snakes, though we did run into a few dogs including Doc.

Doc is a four month old Corgi with a soft coat and huge paws. He’s still growing. That’s a shame. At his current size and disposition Doc is as sweet and cute a dog as you’ll ever see!

I miss Sleeping Giant.

Sleeping Giant In The Clouds

This shot was taken with my iPhone using HDR Pro to allow the dark and light to co-exist.

I pulled off the road this afternoon on my way in to work. It’s a grey, rainy day in Connecticut. Low clouds obscured the peak of Sleeping Giant Mountain.

This shot was taken with my iPhone using HDR Pro to allow the dark and light to co-exist. In a perfect world I’d Photoshop away the power lines.

No–actually in a perfect world the lines would be underground.

I’ve driven past Sleeping Giant every day for twenty years. I am still in awe of its beauty.