Though we are stuck home indoors, we want to be outside. We know the beautiful lands of Cornwall surround us. We want to enjoy the outdoors especially now that Spring is here. So, with appropriate social distancing in mind, we are venturing out!
Casey and I have a new plan. We get our exercise, stimulate and nurture our minds and spirits, soothe our anxiety, breathe fresh air…all while we explore the nooks and crannies of Cornwall by taking lots (and lots!) of walks. But not just any walks. We have a goal.
In the five years Casey and I have lived in Cornwall we have walked many of the town roads (and lots of the Cornwall Conservation Trust lands). Our goal is to walk all of Cornwall. Each evening I take out our town map (which is updated for every new road we walk). Using MapQuest and an online topographical map I identify a two- to five-mile walk for the next day. The length of the walk depends on the grade of the land. We get great exercise, fresh air, see homes and farms we’ve never seen before—and see other walkers—and get to know more and more of beautiful Cornwall. And our new dog Hedy is enjoying these daily long walks!
Here’s a few fun and surprising experiences we’ve had so far: Finding on Great Hollow Road South a 19th century cemetery—which we explored and recognized on tombstones the surnames of longtime Cornwall families—as well as an unused house (the only house) at the very end of the road. Another find was as we walked north on Town Street and, where the road dips before the Scoville farm, we saw cows using the water culvert under the road to “cross” to the other side…I’ve never “walked” over a cow before….how fun! And there’s River Road and Lower River Road. Both great easy walks with the soothing sounds of the babbling Housatonic River.
What will be today’s walk? I won’t tell you …. but if you see Casey and me walking with Hedy, our 35-pound golden-haired terrier mutt—she’s always sniffing for chippies in rock walls—stop us and say hello … but at six feet! Seeing more and more of Cornwall is our goal. Meeting more and more Cornwallians would be icing on this cake!
—Gary Steinkohl & Casey Cook
