October 7th 2011: Touga's Farm, Northborough and More 4th Circle Sightseeing

Today, we had a mini company outing apple picking at Touga's Farm in Northborough. This was the first time in my life that I had ever gone apple picking, and I must say it was quite an enriching experience, especially with friends around. It was cool that we were free to eat as many apples we wanted while we were out in the orchard. I never knew there were so many different types of apples out there, all with different tastes and textures. I also found a new favorite, the honeycrisp, when before I had always thought that gala apples were the best. Pictures of the farm follow.

One of the many apples I ate

Mutant apple

The red sphere trap

After a great day of apple picking with my friends, I decided to spend the rest of my day sightseeing. Today, I started with the town of Acton. My first destination was Great Hill Conservation Land. The parking area to this place is behind the fire station at 54 School Street. The route I took to go up Great Hill is highlighted below in black.

From the parking area, I walked up the left red trail past the skating pond.

Continuing from here, I went onto the yellow trail, heading on to the blue trail when I came to the junction. The next turn I made was onto the red trail to head up Great Hill. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see here except a sign indicating the summit. 

Moving away from the summit, I continued on the red trail until it ended at the yellow trail, then I turned right onto it. I continued on the trail, passing a stream, until the junction with the red trail heading south, where I chose to take the red trail.

Unfortunately, it was after I entered onto a road that I realized that I was actually lost. Resorting to the GPS on my Blackberry, I managed to find my way back by walking along School Street, Here, I took a few pictures of nice flowers I saw along the way back.

The next place I went to were the Discovery Museums. This was clearly a place for little kids, so I decided not to enter, but from the looks from the outside, it seems a pretty nice place to bring the kids for a learning experience.

Slap-a-phone

Communication Device

The next place I hiked at was at Guggins Brook Conservation Land. The entrance to this area can be found along Massachusetts Avenue opposite Birch Ridge Road, where there's a parking area. The path I yook is highlighted below in black.

From the parking area, I walked the red trail all the way to the fork with the yellow trail, then I turned left onto it, crossing a few bridges in the process. At the junction with the blue trail heading north, I turned onto it to cut short the yellow trail loop, then continued on the yellow trail for the rest of the way to head back to my car.

Overall, there was nothing much to see, and I did not like the quicksand-like feel under my feet with every step I took in this waterlogged land. It felt like I was walking on a layer of wood shavings covering a lake of mud. Even the bridges just seemed to be floating on the brook as the water level was so high that it threatened to flood the bridge itself. I don't recommend coming here to hike.

I then visited a few buildings of interest in town, with pictures to follow.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish

Church of the Good Shepherd

South Acton Congregational Church

Mount Calvary Lutheran Church

Faith Evangelical Free Church

The next place I went to was Jenk's Conservation Land. The parking area with enough space for just 2 cars  can be found just along Central Street close to its junction with Orchard Drive. The route I took is highlighted below in black.

From the parking area, I took the red trail, crossing the Fort Pond Brook.

I then walked along the brook's shoreline using the blue trails, although they were pretty overgrown with shrubbery. Along the way, I spotted an owl in a tree, but I could not take a good picture except for the one below due to the lighting.

I then headed out into the pasture area by heading out onto the yellow trail, cutting the loop trail short by using the blue trail and heading back out to the main trail. Views from the pasture follow.

It was getting dark really quickly by this point, but I wanted to complete the trails, so I continued past the railway line to try to see the vernal ponds in the southern area, but when I got there, the views were not that great after all.

Overall, this was not one of the better trails I have been on, so I would recommend putting this area on the backburner.

Finally done for the day, I decided to head to Papa Razzi in Concord for dinner. The place was really busy at this time, and I had to wait a bit for my table. I ordered an appetizer and a pasta dish, but at the end I was still hungry, so considering the high price I paid for my dinner, I did not really think it was worth it, although dinner itself was quite good.

Porcini Tortellini

Rollatini Melanzana Appetizer

With that I was done for today.