Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Friday 11 august 2017
Wandering Walden Pond: A Thoreau-ly worthwhile day trip

By WILLIAM J. KOLE the lantern that hung in
Associated Press a church steeple during
CONCORD, Mass. (AP) — Paul Revere’s fateful 1775
Henry David Thoreau went ride warning that the British
to the woods because, were coming.
as he famously put it, “I If You Go:
wished to live deliberate- WALDEN POND: Located
ly.” in Concord, Massachu-
Two centuries after the setts; http://www.mass.
“Walden” author’s birth, gov/eea/agencies/dcr/
people are still deliberately massparks/region-north/
following in Thoreau’s foot- walden-pond-state-res-
steps to discover Walden ervation.html or 978-369-
Pond, the little lake he im- 3254. Open daily year-
mortalized. round; hours vary by sea-
Whether you’re visiting son.
Boston or the Berkshires, GETTING THERE: Walden
the pond and the bucolic Pond State Reservation is
Massachusetts town of most easily accessible by
Concord are Thoreau-ly car. Parking is $15 for out-
worth a side trip. Here’s of-state license plates, $8
why: for Massachusetts plates.
WALDEN POND In this July 13, 2012 file photo, a statue of Henry David Thoreau stands outside a replica of his cabin From Boston, you can ride
A retreating glacier near the shores of Walden Pond in Concord, Mass. the MBTA commuter rail
formed it 10,000 or so years Associated Press (Fitchburg line) to the Con-
ago, but it was Thoreau — cord stop; then take a taxi
born in Concord 200 years or Uber to the pond.
ago this summer on July miles, it’s perfect for walk- Working at a simple green celebrated essay “Nature” Admission to the reserva-
12, 1817 — who really put ers and runners of all abili- desk in the cabin he in town, and it’s the home- tion and visitor center is
Walden Pond on the map. ties, and its serenity pro- built himself, the former town of Pulitzer Prize-win- free.
He spent two years and vides a spectacular back- schoolteacher completed ning author Doris Kearns TIPS: Dogs, fires and camp-
two months in solitude and drop for foliage in autumn. “Walden” in 1854. One Goodwin. ing aren’t allowed. Only
reflection on its shores, writ- A can’t-miss attraction on hundred and 63 years later, The Concord Museum boats with electric mo-
it’s a classic known for lines houses some truly icon- tors are permitted on the
such as, “The mass of men ic Americana, including pond.q
lead lives of quiet despera-
tion,” and, “I went to the
woods because I wished
to live deliberately, to front
only the essential facts of
life, and see if I could not
learn what it had to teach,
and not, when I came to
die, discover that I had not
lived.”
But Thoreau was many
things — philosopher, nat-
uralist, transcendentalist,
abolitionist, early climate
change advocate — and
In this June 20, 2003 file photo, a woman and young boy walk he wrote other acclaimed
around Walden Pond in Concord, Mass.
Associated Press works, including “Civil Dis-
obedience,” an 1849 es-
ing “Walden” (the book’s Walden Pond State Res- say in which he agitated
full title is “Walden; or, Life ervation is the reconstruc- against slavery and gov-
in the Woods”), about tion of the tiny wooden ernment overreach.
grasping at the meaning cabin where Thoreau lived CONCORD AND ENVIRONS
of life by living simply and and worked. There’s also Nestled about 20 miles
coexisting with the natural a gleaming new solar- northwest of Boston, Con-
environment. powered visitor center that cord is famous for Revo-
Today, Walden Pond is opened last October, fea- lutionary War landmarks
a popular fishing hole turing interactive exhibits enshrined in Minute Man
stocked with trout and fre- about the man considered National Historical Park, a
quented by walkers, boat- a founder of the modern leafy spot to picnic and
ers, swimmers, sunbathers environmental movement. learn more about the first
and birdwatchers in warm Officials say the pond and battles that led to Ameri-
weather. center draw about a half- can independence from
In winter, there’s snow- million visitors from around England.
shoeing and cross-country the globe each year. Thoreau isn’t the only re- In this July 13, 2012 file photo, a stone inscription marks the
skiing. You can wander the THOREAU AT WALDEN nowned writer who cre- actual site of Henry David Thoreau’s cabin on the shores of
shaded dirt path hugging Thoreau made a big splash ated here; Ralph Waldo Walden Pond in Concord, Mass.
the oblong pond; at 1.7 at Walden Pond. Emerson sketched out his Associated Press