I decided to start my Saturday by hiking at
Hager Park in Westminster, located along Hager Park Road between Narrows Road and Worcester Road. It was still a pretty misty morning after the rains yesterday. The path I took is highlighted below in pink.
From the parking area, I headed left onto the Perimeter Path, past the road and into the woods. Unfortunately, due to storm damage, I was not able to proceed far as the path after the junction with the Crossover was closed off. I had to detour onto the Crossover as a result, and ended up back on the road. I then walked all the way on the road back to my car. All in all, there was nothing much to see here.
My next destination was the
Leominster State Forest. As I approached the entrance along Fitchburg Road, I saw a sign for Crocker Pond. Thinking that it was the same Crocker Pond that I mentioned
one week ago, I decided to go take some pictures of it. However, it is just another pond with the same name, in the same town. I don't know why this is the case though.
I did see some nice cobwebs
and whirligig beetles while at the pond though.
The routes I took here are highlighted in pink below.
After visiting Crocker Pond, I drove to the main entrance and parked at the lot next to Crow Hill Pond. From here, I embarked on my trek up Crow Hill.
I got lost along Ball Hill Trail instead for a short while before realizing my mistake because I was heading away from the road, but eventually I found the way to Fitchburg Road, crossed it, and headed to the other side up the Crow Hills. This was a very steep climb up, and it only ended when I came to the intersection with the Midstate Trail, which I then followed to the viewpoint, which had relatively good views of the surroundings.
The trek along this ridge was pretty precarious though, with not much legroom and a steep drop to my left.
Along the way, I spotted a red salamander. It would be the first of the many I would see in my path as I hiked the forest.
Eventually, I found the path down, but the way down was so steep, rocky and slippery that I had to go on my hands most of the time.
To illustrate how steep it was, there were actually people doing rock climbing on the cliff face.
Back down and across Fitchburg Road, I decided to take more pictures of Crow Hill Pond,
Crow Hill and Bald Hill
From here, I went back to my car, then drove to the gate at Rocky Pond Road, where there was another parking area. From there, I walked quite a distance to the entrance to the Berry Hill Trail, onto which I turned to go up Ball Hill. Unfortunately, there was nothing to see at the supposed viewpoint. The only interesting things were the red salamanders that were pretty much everywhere after the rains, and the paths which I had to walk on had literally become streams.
My socks were all wet by the time I left the Rocky Pond Trail and stepped onto Fenton Road. Back out at Rocky Pond Road, I decided to take a picture of Rocky Pond, which was pretty nice.
Then began the long walk back to my car. Along the way, I saw several people walking their dogs, cycling, and one couple was even out picking edible mushrooms. I sure can't tell an edible one from an poisonous one.
Done with Leominster State Forest, the Crocker Pond Recreational Area was next on the list. This Crocker Pond is much larger and can be accessed at about 112 South Ashburnham Road, at the junction with Woodland Drive.
The gates are only open till about 6 pm, and use of the area is retricted to Westminster residents. Thankfully, the kind attendants were willing to let me walk around when I told them I just wanted to take pictures,
or I wouldn't be able to show you how beautiful the place is, especially the waterfall area.
The last place I visited today in Westminster was the
Wachusett Brewing Company. They give free hourly tours with 2 free beer tasting samples, and it was interesting to learn some of the processes that go into brewing beer. Pictures I took during the tour follow.
Done with Westminster after a couple of beers, it was time to head into the city of Fitchburg. My friend had asked me to watch a movie with her later that afternoon, so I decided not to go on any more hiking trips or museum visits, and went around town to look at interesting buildings, of which there were several.
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Hue Lam Meditation Temple
4 Vernon Street
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14 Wallace Avenue
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Town Common,
Main Street and Cottage Avenue |
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Monument Square,
Elm Street and Wallace Avenue
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City Hall,
718 Main Street
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Academy Middle School,
98 Academy Street
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Pentacostal Church Habacuc,
1 Caldwell Place
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St. Joseph's Catholic Church,
49 Woodland Street
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Old St. Bernard's Church,
228 Water Street
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War Memorial,
Water Street and Main Street
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Arthur J. DiTomasso Memorial Bridge,
5th Street
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Immaculate Conception Church
59 Walnut Street
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Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church,
1319 Main Street
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The Rollstone Boulder ,
Main Street and Mechanic Street
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Upper Common,
Main Street and Academy Street |
Some interesting things I saw were some sparrows bathing themselves in a puddle by the roadside,
a turtle by the Upper Common Fountain that looked real to me at first,
and an interesting dragon-like sculpture near the Upper Common.
With that, I was off to my friend's place to watch "Mrs. Harris" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" , which were really good movies. Till tomorrow then :)
The last place I visited today in Westminster was the Wachusett Brewing Company. They give free hourly tours with 2 free beer tasting samples, and it was interesting to learn some of the processes that go into brewing beer. Pictures I took during the tour follow.
Done with Westminster after a couple of beers, it was time to head into the city of Fitchburg. My friend had asked me to watch a movie with her later that afternoon, so I decided not to go on any more hiking trips or museum visits, and went around town to look at interesting buildings, of which there were several.
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