This is Lover's Leap.
A relationship of mine came to an acrimonious end at this very spot just a few weeks ago but, although the suggestion was made, no leaping occurred.
Lover's Leap got its name from a story that has been passed down for nearly 300 years. There are a couple of minor variations, but I'll relate the one that was first told to me by a local historian many years ago. I'll keep it as brief as possible.
Native Americans lived here at the Great Falls for over 8,000 years. In the early 18th century this was the home of the Weantinocks, whose Sachem was the great Chief Waramaug. The chief had a beautiful young daughter who was loved, admired and desired by all the young men of the tribe. One cold winter day, the princess came upon a lost and dying young white man in the forest, and the compassionate young woman brought him back to her home and nursed him back to health. The princess and the young European feel in love and eventually received her father's blessing to be married. All agreed that the young man should journey back to his people to let them know that he was alive and well and to inform them of his plans. He left, the months passed, and the young bride-to-be waited.
He did not return at the time he said he would. Her father eventually made arrangements for her to be married to the most eligible young brave in the tribe. When she discovered these plans, she jumped into a canoe and paddled out into the middle of the rain swelled Housatonic River. Just as she reached the terrible rapids, she threw away her paddle, lay down in the canoe, and prepared to meet her doom. Her lover returned at that moment. She saw him standing on the cliff, high above the rapids, and called out to him to come and save her. He leapt into the river and was able to reach the canoe, but was unable to save the young maiden - or himself. The two lovers were dashed against the rocks and died in each others arms. They were buried together, contrary to tradition, on the bluff overlooking the river. Chief Waramaug, the last Sachem of the Weantinocks, died in 1735 and was buried close by.
Incurable romantic that I am, I chose to believe it...
Just a couple minutes walk away is this beautiful old iron bridge.
The Falls Bridge (also now sometimes called the Lovers Leap Bridge) was built in 1895 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company of Berlin, CT. The company built over a thousand bridges throughout the area but this is one of only four that still survive. The bridge is 173 feet (52.7 m) long and is about 100 feet (30.5 m) above the rapids below.
It was constructed at a total cost of $7,398. The bridge was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and actually carried vehicular traffic until 1977, when a new bridge was finally built.
This entire area is now a Connecticut State Park and features the newly restored bridge, some fascinating 19th century industrial ruins and several woodland and riverside trails.
My replacement DVD drive finally arrived! I'm a big fan of Kubrick's Lolita, but I also love Adrian Lyne's film, which is far more faithful to the book. It's been out of print for several years but was finally re-released last week. I enjoyed seeing it again. I also had a Darren Aronofsky double feature (I'm a huge fan of all his films - The Wrestler was one of the very best of 2008) and I enjoyed the one new film (at least for me) I watched which was inspired by the poetry of the Iranian mystic Rumi and is all about life, love, death and tantric sex ...and stilt walking.
The list:
Don't Look Down (No mires para abjo - 2008) Eliseo Subiela
Lolita (1997) Adrian Lyne
Pi: Faith in Chaos (1998) Darren Aronofsky
Requiem for a Dream (2000) Darren Aronofsky
Books...
I'm just starting two -
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger and
Tales of the Uncanny and Supernatural by Algernon Blackwood
You may be wondering what happened to all of those rocks, rapids and waterfalls I mentioned earlier. They're still there but now covered by the artificially deepened Housatonic River. In 1955 Connecticut Light and Power built the Shepaug Dam and created a lake that extends for 12 miles (19.3 k) and covers over 1900 acres. The lake is a haven for wildlife and the dam itself is home to Connecticut's newest and largest hydroelectric plant; its 57,000 horsepower turbines drive a generator capable of producing 43,000 kilowatts of electricity.
One end of the lake begins at Lover's Leap - you can see a large part of it in the first two photos. It's a lovely body of water. It was named Lake Lilinonah in honor and memory of the beautiful Indian Princess.
I hope you're having an excellent week!
All the best to you and yours...
A relationship of mine came to an acrimonious end at this very spot just a few weeks ago but, although the suggestion was made, no leaping occurred.
Lover's Leap got its name from a story that has been passed down for nearly 300 years. There are a couple of minor variations, but I'll relate the one that was first told to me by a local historian many years ago. I'll keep it as brief as possible.
Native Americans lived here at the Great Falls for over 8,000 years. In the early 18th century this was the home of the Weantinocks, whose Sachem was the great Chief Waramaug. The chief had a beautiful young daughter who was loved, admired and desired by all the young men of the tribe. One cold winter day, the princess came upon a lost and dying young white man in the forest, and the compassionate young woman brought him back to her home and nursed him back to health. The princess and the young European feel in love and eventually received her father's blessing to be married. All agreed that the young man should journey back to his people to let them know that he was alive and well and to inform them of his plans. He left, the months passed, and the young bride-to-be waited.
He did not return at the time he said he would. Her father eventually made arrangements for her to be married to the most eligible young brave in the tribe. When she discovered these plans, she jumped into a canoe and paddled out into the middle of the rain swelled Housatonic River. Just as she reached the terrible rapids, she threw away her paddle, lay down in the canoe, and prepared to meet her doom. Her lover returned at that moment. She saw him standing on the cliff, high above the rapids, and called out to him to come and save her. He leapt into the river and was able to reach the canoe, but was unable to save the young maiden - or himself. The two lovers were dashed against the rocks and died in each others arms. They were buried together, contrary to tradition, on the bluff overlooking the river. Chief Waramaug, the last Sachem of the Weantinocks, died in 1735 and was buried close by.
Incurable romantic that I am, I chose to believe it...
Just a couple minutes walk away is this beautiful old iron bridge.
The Falls Bridge (also now sometimes called the Lovers Leap Bridge) was built in 1895 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company of Berlin, CT. The company built over a thousand bridges throughout the area but this is one of only four that still survive. The bridge is 173 feet (52.7 m) long and is about 100 feet (30.5 m) above the rapids below.
It was constructed at a total cost of $7,398. The bridge was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and actually carried vehicular traffic until 1977, when a new bridge was finally built.
This entire area is now a Connecticut State Park and features the newly restored bridge, some fascinating 19th century industrial ruins and several woodland and riverside trails.
My replacement DVD drive finally arrived! I'm a big fan of Kubrick's Lolita, but I also love Adrian Lyne's film, which is far more faithful to the book. It's been out of print for several years but was finally re-released last week. I enjoyed seeing it again. I also had a Darren Aronofsky double feature (I'm a huge fan of all his films - The Wrestler was one of the very best of 2008) and I enjoyed the one new film (at least for me) I watched which was inspired by the poetry of the Iranian mystic Rumi and is all about life, love, death and tantric sex ...and stilt walking.
The list:
Don't Look Down (No mires para abjo - 2008) Eliseo Subiela
Lolita (1997) Adrian Lyne
Pi: Faith in Chaos (1998) Darren Aronofsky
Requiem for a Dream (2000) Darren Aronofsky
Books...
I'm just starting two -
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger and
Tales of the Uncanny and Supernatural by Algernon Blackwood
You may be wondering what happened to all of those rocks, rapids and waterfalls I mentioned earlier. They're still there but now covered by the artificially deepened Housatonic River. In 1955 Connecticut Light and Power built the Shepaug Dam and created a lake that extends for 12 miles (19.3 k) and covers over 1900 acres. The lake is a haven for wildlife and the dam itself is home to Connecticut's newest and largest hydroelectric plant; its 57,000 horsepower turbines drive a generator capable of producing 43,000 kilowatts of electricity.
One end of the lake begins at Lover's Leap - you can see a large part of it in the first two photos. It's a lovely body of water. It was named Lake Lilinonah in honor and memory of the beautiful Indian Princess.
I hope you're having an excellent week!
All the best to you and yours...
VIEW 14 of 14 COMMENTS
I am now in the 800's pagewise of Against The Day, really will need to re-read with no literary 'mixing' so I can absorb the plot intricacies and trademark Pycnhon descriptiveness better. I picked up a copy of Roshwald's Level 7 (EBay book shopping, completely addicted), interesting concept, brings me back to days of youth with the ever-present M.A.D. umbrella looming.
Winter, I know exactly what you're saying. With the diminished daylight hours and cold, I tend to live like a shut-in. Honestly, the dry cold is by no means for me as bad as the cold & wet, but I'll take year-round wheeled activity. Skateboarding endless drain systems under the Big Sky seems a good plan for the future.
I really hope Cement Circumference goes live, I think its my best set. We'll see, Its been in MR for a while.