Hartford to Groton

This morning I drove out to the Connecticut Coast. I was aiming for the Mystic Area and found a Marriott Hotel a few minutes away in Groton.

Because it was such a short drive, I looked for an activity that was on the way. Dinosaur State Park . This is one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America. Once the site was discovered and excavated, it was preserved by covering it with a geodesic dome, around which a museum was built. On view are early Jurassic fossil tracks that were made 200 million years ago.

After viewing the tracks, I indulged I a bit of prospecting (they give you a bag and you sift out the sand and recover the gems and arrowheads), then spent some time hiking the surrounding trails. As usual, the birds were vociferous and elusive.

I still had quite a bit of time left in the day, so I looked at the map and found a place called “The Preserve” that was more or less on the way to my destination. I arrived at the coordinates determined by Dr. Google and saw that it was a wealthy residential neighborhood with no apparent access to The Preserve. On my way out of the neighborhood, I saw a sign for the Great Cedars - West Conservation Area and decided to stop. This turned out to be extremely fortuitous.

The conservation area itself is a short trail with swamp on one side and woods on the other. It is very rich in flora and fauna. I saw that there was a small house on the side of the trail and some signs that, past a certain point, it was private property. I was walking out when a car came by, as it turned out, driven by the person who owns the house and property. David stopped to admire my lens and we had a short conversation about the birds I was photographing and his property. He pointed me to the field, in which he had installed a Buddhist Stupa in 2007. A Stupa is an ancient monument believed to radiate peace, harmony and healing. David shared that it is required to bury weapons beneath the Stupa when building it. The sign also mentions that more than a thousand people contributed efforts and donations to build the monument.

After visiting the Stupa (and circumambulating it in a clockwise direction as directed), I went back to the nature trail. David’s gate was open and he invited me into his yard, in which a large family of dogs were playing. I asked about the dogs, which led to David explaining that he has a dog named Kitty and a Cat named Puppy, and how his animals took care of each other and played together. In fact, he has written and illustrated a book that tells the whole story. The book is called “Getting Along Like Cates and Dogs - Kitty and Puppy at The Hay House .” I was able to purchase a copy that he signed for me. He then invited me into his house - the hay house, literally built from bales of hay - to show me some artifacts he had brought home from Nepal. After college, David, an artist, spent several years living in Nepal and India with Tibetan refugees. This experience informed his life going forward. He lives off the grid in his hay house, grows and sells his own organic produce, and paints art about all of it.

David also explained to me that this land was originally inhabited by the Pequot people and he showed me a collection of tools and artifacts that he has recovered. He told me that some of the remaining Pequot elders have visited the land and, in fact, attended the dedication of the Stupa.

David is truly an impressive human being, one whom I was lucky enough to meet because I never found my original planned destination. His art and philosophy are documented on his website , which includes links to an interview and documentary .

Satisfied with my day, I then proceeded to my hotel in Groton.

Tomorrow I will explore the Mystic area.