Return to the Tunnel Of Love

If you haven’t read the “Tunnel Of Love” post, you might want to skim it before reading this one…

While I finally “discovered” the “Tunnel Of Love” two days ago, I didn’t actually walk the loop. Did that this morning, and got more than I expected. I headed out around 10:30 up Miller Road, past George’s farm house and down the trail along the maple sap lines to the old school bus. That took about 15-20 minutes.

After crossing two fence lines by the bus (over one, under the other), I headed uphill into the “tunnel”. Only a few yards in, I saw a “cabin” off the trail to the left. Good thing I brought my camera again this time. Looking around, I noticed ANOTHER cabin off the trail to the right!

I spent the next 10 minutes or so traversing uphill across the trail, finding in total SEVEN log structures (not including the one I saw two days ago). The Tunnel Of Love is/was a campground! Maybe there’s more to the name than we thought?

None of the cabins appear to have been occupied for quite some time. All the roofs are covered with pine needles, sticks and branches. I did see a large aluminum beverage container just inside the door of one. Another (Cabin 5 in the gallery) has some small, Hobbit-sized, pieces of furniture – a chair and a bench – carved out of the same timber used for the structures. In fact, the height of the structures and the doors would be more fitting for a Hobbit, Elf or Dwarf than a Human. Maybe this was a set for the upcoming “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”? I also noticed remnants of an old fire in front of Cabin 5.

We’ll have to ask George (or any other of the Jericho neighbors that have mentioned the Tunnel Of Love trail to us) for the story behind the cabins.

Final thought: two days ago I saw the backs of the Tunnel Of Love signs about seven feet up on trees along the side of the trail, but I DIDN’T see any of these seven cabins.  The light was gray that morning, but still…

Todd

p.s. The loop takes about 30-35 minutes (coming back through the fields) if you don’t stop to look at the cabins. Coming back along Jericho Street and Jericho Road would probably add another 5-10 minutes.