Well, it's been a while since I recorded my progress, so I decided that instead of trying to catch up, I'll just start from where I left off in February and go from there. This week I achieved several goals. so I get to "walk" 11.05 miles down Hwy 20. That takes me to a house at 2 Dunhamtown Rd in Monson, Massachusetts.
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| Sturbridge Coffee House to Monson, MA |
Very soon after leaving Sturbridge I cross a lake/reservoir, East Brimfield Lake, in Fiskdale. This lake, created by a dammed river, is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. One of its recreational features is the
Quinebaug River Canoe Trail, which is a flat water canoe route with lots of scenic beauty and wildlife to view.
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| Quinebaug River Canoe Trail |
Further along, I soon come to Brimfield, a town just west of East Brimfield and Fiskdale. Brimfield is nicely set up for tourists, it seems, especially those who like outdoor recreation. Plus they have a very nice old house, built around 1800, that currently serves as a bed and breakfast, the
Elias Carter House Bed and Breakfast, with quite reasonable rates. They also have many antique shops and an annual antiques festival that brings lots of people into town.
Heading out of Brimfield for the next town west, Palmer, we are now getting into some serious hills. Take a look at the terrain map to get an idea of what I mean.
There are the usual businesses I've been seeing along this highway, but once in a while one catches my eye. For instance, in the town of Brimfield at 197 Palmer Road is
Bryan's Pellet Stove Service, which advertises cleaning and repair of pellet stoves and furnaces, something one doesn't see too much outside of New England. Because there is less natural gas heating available in this region, people sometimes opt for more economical alternatives to heating oil--one of which is wood pellets.
The town of
Monson, MA has the
Quaboag River as its northern border, including a snippet that crosses US 20 where I end my trek for this week. The center of the town lies about 3.5 miles SW as the crow flies. Monson was settled briefly in 1657, but was abandoned due to Indian attacks and then permanently settled in 1715 as part of Brimfield; it became its own town in 1775. They were known for woolen mills and granite quarries. One claim to fame that the town has is that it suffered a
tornado in 2011 that did some damage and killed three people. Very unusual for New England!
Well, I've reached my destination, so I guess I'll see if the folks in this residence will let me sit on their porch for a while and drink some water, eat a granola bar, and ponder the age of this house, built in 1825. As I've said before, Massachusetts seems pretty blase about their elderly houses. I guess 1825 is
new to them, despite its being almost 200 years old!
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| Intersection of Dunhamtown Rd and US 20, Monson, MA |
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