Hammonasset State Park

[Journal entry for November 11, 2006] Dallas and I walked in Hammonasset State Park, located on the Conneticut coast about 20 miles east of New Haven. The park is on a penninsula that extends out into Long Island Sound. We park by large wooden pavillion, and first walked along the beach, past anglers and other people enjoying the sunny day. The water of the sound is rather clam, with only tiny waves. A sand dune facing the Sound has been eroded into a low bluff. We examine the sedimentary strata that have been exposed. Dallas points out that what appears to be a rock imbedded in the sand is actually a piece of plastic foam. This dune must be a relatively recent feature. We then walked down a service raod, past a salt marsh cut by wide, shallow channels. The road leads to a bit of high ground on which bushes and scrubby trees are growing. Some have colorful leaves, berries and seed pods. We can see another of these upland areas in the distane, across the marsh. It has osprey nesting platforms next to it. A small hawk takes flight as we poke around the upland. We debate the upland's origin, whether it is natural or whether it has been created by landfilling. I favor the later explanation, because pieces of old road asphalt are scattered about on the upland's surface. Dallas prefers the former, arguing that the asphalt was just dumped there afterward. We pass a weather station, with an aeronometer atop a low tower. We then walk over to a small tidal channel that is cutting through another sandy upland, Another small hawk takes flight as we approach. We inspect the strata where the sand has been exposed on the side of a drainage ditch. It contains some large rocks, mixed in with layers of sand and mud. We then return to the car, expecting to make some instant soup, only to discover that we have left the thermos of hot water back on our kitchen counter. About an hour.