As I mentioned in my post about Gillette Castle State Park, my sister and I took several short day trips while she visited  Connecticut.  Though it was raining all morning long on this day, we went ahead and grabbed our raincoats and headed to Southford Falls State Park with Tobias in tow.

The park is about forty minutes from our home in Fairfield County, and it straddles the towns of Southbury and Oxford; giving the falls and park the name of Southford. After four and a half months of living here in CT, I’m starting to believe that just about every route is scenic. Maybe it’s a bit of the unfamiliarity, but the rocky terrain that hugs the sides of the roads is so dynamic, the charm of the towns that have been around for a few hundred years is undeniable, there are many roadside water features to behold, and all of the old farmhouses and bridges are just so quaint!

It continued to rain through the beginning of the drive, but soon halted. Within the last few miles of the trip, we saw Christmas tree, pumpkin, various produce, and dairy farms. Then we arrived.

obvi a snapchat picture

The park was pretty empty when we arrived: only about two other cars in the small lot near the entrance. The pond pictured above is a reservoir for trout, and is opened seasonally, for fishing with a maximum of two trout per person, per day, but eating them is not recommended.  The falls are pretty sweet.The park is also known for this little red covered bridge that crosses the lower part of the falls.  The hike is very short, only a 1.8 mile loop. It’s pretty steep at some parts, especially in the middle of the loop, where the trail takes you to a peak with a very short watchtower. Though few trees have leaves and we could see far off into the distance, it wasn’t a terribly remarkable view, and I neglected to take a photo.
Because the loop is so short, it’s a really great hike to do with kids. much of the time Tobias was far ahead of us, just quietly taking it in.
The rest of the time, however, he was, “CACAWWW, CACAWWWW”ing like a crow at the top of his lungs, disturbing the people and their dogs that began trickling in now that the rain had subsided. While I followed behind and repeated, “Tobias! People come out to enjoy the PEACE of nature!”

That’s boys  for you.
 After we left and began passing the same farms we saw on our way in, we noticed that the two cows in front of the dairy farm were the best looking I’d ever seen. And I’m from Texas!

Then we saw that they sell fresh ice cream and U-turned just as quickly as you’d imagine.

I got cookie monster flavor: cookie dough and…uh, blue.

They also had raw milk for sale. I’d never tried it before, and was very interested. Plus, one of the sizes was this mini jug. It was hard to resist. 

I didn’t try the unpasteurized milk out until after we went to dinner (at Sitting Duck Tavern in Stratford, our favorite restaurant in Connecticut for their Connecticut style lobster rolls and fried duck wings. Mmm!) and were having dessert from Donut Crazy back at home.

Mark drinks a lot of milk and was completely grossed out by the raw stuff, Tobias liked it a lot, and I LOVED the earthy taste of it. I don’t usually drink milk, and I ended up drinking enough of it to give my stomach some issues, which are apparently common if you drink too much on the first go. I don’t know if I’ll get it again, despite its amazing taste.

But at least I can say I tried!