Last Saturday, October 11th, was an absolutely beautiful day here in Connecticut. So we got up off our butts and finally went for a hike up to the Heublein Tower, which I've been wanting to do since we moved here a few years ago.This was a hike up a mountain. Our mountains here are nothing like the soaring majestic giants that are out West; people from the West call our mountains really big hills, or maybe mini mountains if we're lucky. But hey, it's all relative!
The hike didn't start out so well. We tried to take John up in the stroller. Big mistake! The trail was very rocky and steep. In other words, not stroller-friendly. I don't know what we were thinking. So Peter and John drove over to a nearby farm and went for a hayride out to a pumpkin patch while I stayed behind and went on the hike by myself. Just me and my Canon Digital Rebel SLR camera, which I don't use very much because it intimidates me. But it never lets me down when I do get it out, because...
I was able to get some beautiful pictures of the fantastic views. It felt great to go for a real hike again, something that I truly enjoy doing and haven't done in a long time. I loved being out in the fresh air, enjoying the profound beauty of the woods, the valley, the lovely fall foliage, and the breathtaking views. It was one of those "Life is good" experiences. I took a lot of pictures, close to 100, and I'm posting my favorites here. It was just too difficult to edit them down to a few. It's my blog, darn it, so I'll post a lot of pictures even if it's not very editor-like of me. Enjoy the views!
Beginning
These are the first photos I took once I got to the top. It took less than 30 minutes to get up there. After this, there was about a 20 minute walk up to the Tower.
A river runs through it... 
I drive down that horizontal road in the middle of the picture on the way to my doctor's appointments.
Back on the trail, headed all the way to the top.
It was such a pretty hike through the woods. I enjoyed the simple beauty of the sunlight through the trees almost as much as the sweeping views of the valley.
I made it!
The Heublein Tower. It was built in 1914 as a summer retreat for a successful Hartford businessman named Gilbert Heublein. 
I took these pictures from the top of the tower. You can see slight reflections in some of them from the glass windows.
I like this picture a lot.
My house is a few miles past this big mound of trees. That's Massachusetts in the far blue distance.
Can you see it? There's the city of Hartford, capital of Connecticut and the place where Peter slaves away every day. 
The Tower is built on rock. The wise man built his house upon the rock...but maybe not on top of a mountain, accessible only by long, steep, rocky paths! 
Headed back down.
This huge craggy stone was really cool.
I had to take a few more pictures of the amazing view on the way down.
My coach awaits for my tired self.
Just as I got down to the start of the trail, Peter pulled up. Perfect timing! I was glad not to have to walk down the road to meet him, because I was pretty tuckered out. It was a wonderful hike, and I'm sure I'll be back again many times in the years to come!
