If you want to check on the hikes that I completed so far as part of this challenge, go here.
Prologue: A hiking challenge is going on this year by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEEP) in the state of Connecticut where I live, “Sky’s The Limit”. We have to finish a hike in the chosen 20 Park and Forest locations before December 3rd this year Each location has some specific points of interest that the departments asks us to take pictures of and document them. Most of the Parks and Forests are located in an hours of driving distance, except a few. I decided to take this challenge and hopefully will be able to complete all of them. Here we go!
The final hike of the 20 hike Sky’s The Limit Challenge was at Osbornedale State Park, in town of Derby, Connecticut. This is # 19 on the list provided by DEEP. This park is located in the Naugatuck Valley Hills just east of the Housatonic River in Derby and Ansonia. We went to the Red Trail in the Park on the Derby side.
Originally used as hunting grounds by Paugussett Indians., it was named as such. However once the settlers came in, it was changed to Derby after Derbyshire, England in 1675. For short period of time there was silver mining done in the park. In 1956, Osbornedale State Park was willed to the people of Connecticut by Frances Osborne Kellogg, granddaughter of John W. Osborne, one of the Naugatuck Valley’s early industrial entrepreneurs.
The park offers a place for various activities such as Field Sports; Picnicking; Ice Skating and Pond Fishing apart from Hiking. Osborne Homestead Museum and the Kellogg Estate Gardens also provide museum tours.
We had the pleasure to have Taz accompany us on the trail this time – a friend, her father and her dog came along the hike this time.
Again we came across the boardwalk in the middle of the trail protecting the micro flora and fauna
Since we did the hike in early November, we could see the morning frost on the grass.
We were supposed to take a picture along the geologic feature on the trail. However, neither the map nor the actual trail did point out to what could be that. These were the closest we came across that looked anywhere remotely like a geologic features.
And we found these hanging vines that looked closed to swings perhaps Tarzan would go on. We simply swung on them with boots on ground. 😛
Here is the family of Taz.
Fall colors again charmed us as always.
After the hike we ventured to Duck Pond Dam Falls in Milford, CT. More to come on that soon, but here is the view of the beautiful falls as a teaser.
This concludes my 20 Hike Sky’s the Limit Challenge. Looking forward to see what DEEP of Connecticut will come up for 2022. Until then watch this space for other hikes I have been to or will be doing.
Galavant Reflections 