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It has been exactly one year since my last post about it, so I took a quick run up to Quabbin Reservoir for another look. With it's abundant wildlife, rolling hilly trails and incredible scenery, the reservoir is a photo-taking mecca around these parts.



Anyone who's been here understands how vast a body of water the Quabbin is, and knows the story of the 4 towns that were destroyed to make room for it. I remember bringing a friend up here once who was utterly stunned that such a huge body of water existed in western Massachusetts. He kept shaking his head, saying "I had no idea..", it's the effect the beautiful, 56,000 acre reservoir has on the newcomer.



3,200 foot-high Mount Monadnock in southern New Hampshire looms far off in the distance.



That mountain lends it's name to the word 'monadnock' which is used by geologists to describe any mountain that stands alone. It's an awesome hike, and we're due for another run at it. Maybe in the spring...

The reservoir was created by damming up the Swift River, which is now fed through an outlet at the southern end by the Winsor Dam.



The deep reservoir keeps the Swift river fed with crystal clear, ice cold water; making it one of the prettiest and best trout fishing rivers around. These ducks call it home.



If your patient, and lucky, there's a pretty good chance you'll see a deer.



Deer are rampant in these woods. Hunting them was prohibited for a long time at Quabbin, but had to be reintroduced, with much debate, to ease the over-browsing of the forest which was causing erosion and other problems. Luckily for this guy, we hunt with cameras...

...aaaawwww....



...AAAAAwwwwww....



...AAAAAWWWWWW...!



Quabbin was closing up for there winter hours, at 4:30, but there was just enough time to run up to the lookout tower for a quick look around.



The impressive 84 foot tower, like everything else built at Quabbin, is a solid stone structure from the late thirty's/early forty's. It was closed up for the winter, but access to an enclosed viewing area on top is usually available during the summer. Still, the view at it's base is pretty good too, as it sits on a 1000' hill overlooking the reservoir, and Belchertown in the distance.





Can't let another year go by without returning...