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National Parks...National Treasures III LbNA #17080

Owner:Bungalow Boxer
Plant date:Aug 3, 2005
Location:
City:Glastonbury
County:Hartford
State:Connecticut
Boxes:3
Found by: Nairon (3)
Last found:Jul 26, 2020
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFOFFFFFFF
Last edited:Oct 29, 2015
This hike is about 2 miles long and will bring you to the Buckingham Reservoir. Once you get there, be sure to take time to enjoy the scenery!

DIRECTIONS: From I-384, take exit 3. Turn onto route 83 south and head towards Glastonbury. You will pass Lutz Children's Museum on the left. From there, drive 1.7 miles until you come to a spot where route 83 makes a sharp right turn. Once you get here, turn left onto Mountain Road. Drive 0.8 miles uphill until the road ends by a silver gate. As you get out of your car, notice a sign on a tree that says "#30." Signs such as this mark trail heads or intersections. The trails are not blazed but are generally easy to spot.

After parking, pass under the gate and follow the wide trail through the woods for about 100 yards until you come to trail intersection #31. If you come to an open area with power lines, you've gone too far. Turn right onto the narrow trail. Follow it as it goes gently uphill. Soon you will come to an unmarked junction. Turn left here, passing "rusted relics of long ago" (AKA someone's trash heap!) on your right. Follow this wide trail downhill a short distance until you come to a flat stone in the middle of the trail. The one you want is about 3 feet wide with 4 thin birch trees just to the right of it. Stop here. Take 18 steps at 64 degrees to a flat rock. Look under the southeast side for letterbox #1: "Bandelier National Park".

BANDELIER NATIONAL PARK (Los Alamos, New Mexico)
I really enjoy this park! This interesting site is best known for mesas, sheer-walled canyons, and several thousand ancestral Pueblo dwellings found among them. Bandelier also includes over 23,000 acres of designated Wilderness. The best-known archaeological sites, in Frijoles Canyon near the Visitor Center, were inhabited from the 1100's into the mid-1500's. It is thought that earlier groups had used the area for thousands of years. The park was named for Adolph Bandelier, a 19th-century anthropologist. The nearby town of Los Alamos has a different history: It was a top secret scientific research area for the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

Once you have stamped in, continue downhill on the trail. After a few minutes you will come to what appears to be an intersection. Actually the 2 trails reunite shortly so it really makes no difference which you choose to follow. (Mountain bikers call this "braiding") At this point, you should notice a vast open area off to the left. it is an access area for power lines. Very soon you will come to trail intersection #45. At this point, turn right here. This new trail quickly winds downhill to a muddy stream area featuring conveniently placed stones. Just after crossing this seasonal wetland, count 15 steps. To your right you should see a pair of 2-sister trees about 15 feet off the trail. Hidden in stones beneath the left set of twins is letterbox #2: "Maggie L. Walker National Historic Park".

MAGGIE L. WALKER NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK (Richmond, VA)
The Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, established in 1978, commemorates the life of a progressive and talented African American woman. Despite many adversities, she achieved success in the world of business and finance as the first woman in United States history to charter and serve as president of a bank. The park includes her home of thirty years and a visitor center detailing her life and the community in which she lived and worked. Her house is restored to its 1930's appearance and contains original furniture. By the way, her bank is still going strong to this day!

Continue following the trail as is carries you uphill, over hill, and downhill. After about 5 minutes you will arrive at a busy trail intersection, #47. Turn right here and take about 47 steps. You should be standing in front of 4 large stones in a row. Letterbox #3: "Sunset Crater Volcano National Park" is under the stone with a "tuft of turf" on top. Look under the southeast side. Please re-hide carefully...It is close to the trail. As you stamp in, enjoy the view of the Buckingham Reservoir in the distance.

SUNSET CRATER VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK (Flagstaff, Arizona)
This unique national park contains a volcano that erupted roughly 900 years ago. At the time, people must have been warned by tremors and earthquakes before red-hot rocks exploded from the ground and rained down on their pit houses and farmland. Billowing ash, falling cinders, and forest fires blackened the land and the daytime sky. At night, the horizon glowed fiery red. Eventually, new mountains, including the 1,000-foot-high cinder cone now known as Sunset Crater, stood where open meadows and forests had been. Black cinders blanketed the region.
Today, Sunset Crater is still the youngest volcano on the Colorado Plateau. The dark lava flows have hardened, creating a dark, jagged surface. Plants and animals have slowly returned to this site. Human visitors to this site are intrigued by the chance to witness nature's response to a volcanic eruption. It's a great place to explore!

Are you ready to continue? Retrace your steps back to intersection #47 and pass straight through. Continue for a very short distance (maybe 100 yards or so) until you come to intersection #46. Turn left here. This grass-lined trail climbs a bit at first. Soon you will step over a fallen log and cross a seasonal stream bed that features an old section of piping in it. From here the trail becomes quite rocky as it starts to climb. Watch your footing. After a few more minutes of climbing you will come to an unmarked intersection with a trail veering off to the right in the direction of the power lines. Continue walking straight. Within seconds, you will find yourself back at intersection #45. Keep walking straight, parallel to the power lines, for about 5 more minutes. Turn right when you come to the "rusty metal collection". Once you get to a "T" intersection (#31), turn left and make your way to your car.

Hope you enjoyed the adventure!
Joe