August 20th 2011: Almost Waste of My Morning

Today, my company was holding a festival, but it would only start later in the afternoon, so I decided to do some sightseeing in the morning. I found the Mass Audubon website. It has a list of natural areas across the state. I had missed out on Waseeka Wildlife Sanctuary in Hopkinton, and Eagle Lake Wildlife Sanctuary in Holden, so I decided to go check them out.

The entrance to Waseeka can be found on Clinton Street before it becomes Mill Street. The route I took is shown below in pink.

I walked from the gate along Cart Path to the Earthern Dam and back from there. The paths were not very well-maintained, and when I finally reached the dam, the view of the pond wasn't that great either.

Views from the Earthern Dam

However, on the way back, I spotted some wild turkeys crossing the road. I slowed down to take some pictures of them. Thankfully no cars came by while I was doing this.

Driving across Central Massachusetts to Holden, Eagle Lake Wildlife Sanctuary can be found on Causeway Street close to its junction with Main Street. The route I took is highlighted below.

I first parked near really near Route 122 which I thought was the proper entrance, but it turned out to be the beach area on the lake.

Finally at the proper parking area, I headed up one leg of the Appleton Loop on to Municipal Pipeline. It was really hard to spot the entrance to the Asnebumkit Loop, and it was the same on the way back. I actually overshot the Appleton Loop entrance before realizing I was lost. Overall, there was nothing much to see here as well.

The Municipal Pipeline

Asnebumkit Brook

Being done with my hiking for the day, and still with some time to spare, I decided to continue my exploring in Rutland and Oakham. My first stop was the Rutland Town Common on the corner of Main Street and Pommogussett Road. The town hall wasn't much to look at, but the town common was pretty okay with some war memorials.

I went to the Alta Vista Bison Farm next. I chose not to enter the establishment, but the views from the farm, which sits atop a hill were great.

Alta Vista Bison Farm

Views from the bison farm

 Other places I visited in Rutland included Demond Pond, Long Pond and Whitehall Pond at Rutland State Park which has a beach area on the shores of the pond.

Long Pond

Demond Pond

Whitehall Pond, Rutland State Park

Finishing Rutland, Oakham was even more disappointing, with only one building of note, the Fobes Memorial Library.

All in all, in my opinion, other than the ponds in Rutland and the wild turkeys in Hopkinton, today was a rather disappointing day for sightseeing, although I did go to the Nashoba Winery in Bolton later with my friend and enjoyed my time there.