Washington, Connecticut

I came about this private park, open to the public, when I was 16. Since then I have walked and hiked its many trails. It is a place of refuge and meditation, a site where I have brought friends and lovers. As a teenager I used to swim in the river. As an adult I have sat in it on those hot sticky summer days we have in late June and early July. It was here in January where I brought Steve on one of our first dates. We would often return. It was the only place tolerable in that eventful summer when his cancer returned. We would sit silently by the banks of the river and listen to it sing, dazzled by its beauty. I come here often to hike and take in the joy of the splendor around me. I love to watch the advent of the coming season each month. In January it is dark, cold and grey. In February the ice is blue. In March, the icicle stalactites slowly melt and the rocks bleed with water. Until very recently there were very few visitors and I had the place to myself. But now the visitor population has significantly increased and it is very near time to relinquish this marvelous place to them.