Tag Archives: falls village inn
WE JOINED! Tread Lightly!
The Muddy Chef Challenge is for Land Rover owners. Land Rovers work best where they were intended – in the wild! We give owners the opportunity to drive vintage and modern Rovers in challenging real-world settings. As such, we take off-road trail use seriously. Our events do not destroy ancient town roads. We don’t pull down trees, or drive off predetermined trail routes. At every opportunity we collect trash and litter.
As a Tread Lightly! member we strive to promote responsible off-road trail usage. We hope everyone who joins our events will consider becoming a Tread Trainer to help spread the word! For more information about becoming a Trainer, click HERE.
Muddy Chef Challenge / Pre-Running the Madava Trail
The Muddy Chef (www.muddychef.com) staff and a select few volunteers recently visited Crown Maple/Madava Estate. We spent the day pre-running the trails and moving a log or two. Lunch was served in the parking lot and everyone had a great time. Video provided by Brad Andrews.
PROFILE / Robert Nimkoff
THE LAND ROVER MUDDY CHEF CHALLENGE
Proust/Solihull Questionnaire
1. If Land Rover made an aircraft would you fly in it? Why/Why Not?
Yes, but it would have to be a glider.
2. Tell us a little about your background, your career and where you live.
Ex Seafood industry exec from Westport, CT currently living in Weston, CT. Punted the corp arena in 2008 to professionally pursue auto racing career and that’s how I’m depleting my retirement funds now!
3. How many Land Rovers have you owned and which was your favorite?
My 1982 Stage One SIII is the first Land Rover for me. Ever since my Uncle bought a SII back in the 70’s (named Ralph) I’ve wanted one. Still want an 88 as well.
4. What’s the best thing about owning a Land Rover?
Just being different and not having a carefree easy to drive car. It’s also very utilitarian for camping and farm work.
5. What’s the worst thing about owning a Land Rover?
Not being able to smoke, drink and text at the same time because I’ve got to watch the road at all times!!!
6. Been on an adventure? – tell us about it
Since it’s a new acquisition the Muddy Chef 3 was my first foray off road. Needless to say I had an adventure at Orvis when she rolled on the side in the articulation section. See photo!!
7. How do you plan to beat the competition this year at the Muddy Chef Challenge?
Mario Batali is my co camper this year so I don’t need to say much more than that.
8. If you could ask Land Rover for a particular type of vehicle what would it be?
Probably another gnarly basic off Series like vehicle. Jeep have taken this segment. Take it back.
9. What upgrades/modifications does your Land Rover have?
Pretty stock. US trailer hitch.
10. If you were on safari which three people would you pick to bring along?
Richard Leakey, Jim Carrey (most recently in Dumb and Dumber to), and my son.
Richard Leakey is Kenyan politician, paleoanthropologist and conservationist.
PROFILE / Max Simmons
THE LAND ROVER MUDDY CHEF CHALLENGE
This week we interview attorney, new father, style icon and sunroof-less Discovery owner Max Simmons.
Proust/Solihull Questionnaire
1. If Land Rover made an aircraft would you fly in it? Why/Why Not?
I’d always trust a Land Rover to get me to the remotest location. I’d want an aircraft carrier there waiting for me in the event that it assumed the British position when I went to start it the next morning.
2. Tell us a little about your background, your career and where you live.
Blue-eyed blond welfare baby born to a teen single-mother in small-town central Illinois. After working my way through college (and I do mean working — ask me sometime about some of those jobs!) I spent nearly a decade working for non-profits and politicians in Wisconsin till opting for law-school. I now live in New Haven with my perfect wife, Abigail, and our perfect children, Emma-Marguerite and Francesco. My eyes are still blue but the hair is gray.
3. How many Land Rovers have you owned and which was your favorite?
My ’97 Discovery is my first. It’s perfect for me. Stepped roof, alpine windows, and super-robust frame and drivetrain echo the original safari-mobiles while the ABS, airbags, A/C and side-impact beams update it just enough (my friends say it’s perfect for me because it’s a little bit redneck and a little bit elitist). After a long region-wide search (I wanted one without sunroofs) I found it hibernating mostly rust-free in an East Haven garage. The owner bought it as a project that he never got around to starting.
4. What’s the best thing about owning a Land Rover?
Two things: (1) Seeing it waiting for me in the parking lot: It promises adventure and escape, even if only once in a while, and (2) the friendship with my mechanic.
5. What’s the worst thing about owning a Land Rover?
The friendship with my mechanic.
6. Been on an adventure? – tell us about it
Besides the Muddy Chef? So far the adventures have been the steep learning curve in roadside repairs using bubblegum and duct tape.
7. How do you plan to beat the competition this year at the Muddy Chef Challenge?
Lock Eric Archer and Chris Copeland in the basement till August 3rd.
8. If you could ask Land Rover for a particular type of vehicle what would it be?
An updated NAS Defender 110 (or a 130!). I’m a family guy, and I’d love to have a suitably sized Rover for hauling the whole herd into some more remote locations.
9. What upgrades/modifications does your Land Rover have?
TrueTrac diffs, front diff guard, JATE rings, and . . . new headliner!
10. If you were on safari what three people (living or dead) would you pick to bring along?
I probably should say Selous, Stanley and Schweitzer, but more likely I’d prefer Groucho Marx, Julia Child and Ansel Adams.
PROFILE / Keenan Langlois
THE LAND ROVER MUDDY CHEF CHALLENGE
This week we are interviewing Keenan Langlois – Muddy Chef competitor, professional Chef, LR4 owner, and the man with one of the coolest campsites at last year’s Muddy Chef Challenge.
Proust/Solihull Questionnaire
1. If Land Rover made an aircraft would you fly in it? Why/Why Not?
Yes. I would imagine if Land Rover made an aircraft it would be a helicopter, luxury on the inside with amazing maneuverability.
2. Tell us a little about your background, your career, and where you live.
I am a chef at The Sinclair Kitchen in Harvard Square, and I live in Salem, MA just outside of Boston. My family were Jeep owners since the seventies until I drove my sisters 2003 Disco a few years back. I bought my first Land Rover in 2014.
3. How many Land Rovers have you owned and which was your favorite?
I have had the good/bad fortune of owning my first TWO rovers in one year. This due to a wreck that totaled my first one in February. I soon was on the hunt for another same year and color, which I picked up four weeks ago.
4. What’s the best thing about owning a Land Rover?
This year’s snowfall in the Northeast was abominable. Loved just getting in the LR cranking it up, raise suspension and put it in drive. No shovel required! This car also saved me a lot of pain from the wreck. I walked away from a 60 mph head on collision.
5. What’s the worst thing about owning a Land Rover?
The temperamental warning lights. What’s going to light up next?
6. Been on an adventure? – tell us about it
My only great Land Rover adventure was MCC3, had a blast and looking forward to MCC4!
7. How do you plan to beat the competition this year at the Muddy Chef Challenge?
I’m not looking to win anything in the chef challenge. I just want to meet great new people and get into some serious mud.
8. If you could ask Land Rover for a particular type of vehicle what would it be?
I’ll leave the planning up to the experts. Looks like they are going in the right direction with the Evoque and the new Disco Sport!
9. What upgrades/modifications does your Land Rover have?
Since recommendations from new friends at MCC3 I had added Johnson Rods and General Grabber AT 285/65/18. Lost in the accident, but I will rebuild.
10. If you were on safari which three people would you pick to bring along?
- Bear Grylls-because who wouldn’t want a survivalist by their side?
- Gene’s Beans (Gene Schubert) – to gently guide me through the rough terrain.
- Kate Upton-because why the hell not?
Join us next Monday for the next installment of “PROFILES”
We get a shout out on Jalopnik
We Adopted A Terrible Toyota Truck To See How Reliable They Really Are
Andrew P Collins
This is no diamond-in-the-rough. It’s not an “oldie but goodie” like Bowman’s well-storied Ram. This ravaged third-gen 4Runner a mean-muggin’ non-fucking-giving beater, and now we have the arduous task of taking care of it. Or, you know, destroying it.
Last night this lifted, bent, ratty Toyota 4Runner appeared at my doorstep like an abandoned baby in a basket. It smells faintly of Mexican food and everything aft of the front seats seem to have been converted to a sleeping/storage area.
At least somebody did put the wheel back where it’s meant to go, here’s the 4Runner as it sits at Truck Yeah HQ right now:
The whole thing is this cool militaryish green/grey with a Rhinoliner’d hood (why?). The front grille is definitely not straight and neither is the (aftermarket?) trailer-hitch rig. But really, all it needs is a light bar and maybe some funky Plasti-Dip on those wheels. Next stop Wal-Mart, baby.
Okay the real story is the owner (a former colleague) lit off to San Francisco and didn’t feel like paying for parking, I think, so he bequeathed it to Truck Yeah!/Jalopnik for an undefined period of time “as long as we promised to document its destruction.”
I dunno, the whole arrangement’s pretty vague but I’m basically running a rusty orphanage up here and I just couldn’t turn those sweet three-spoke wheels away.
After a brief assessment and lap around the driveway, I’ve concluded it may be too nice to simply suicide… sounds okay, tires are great, and the 3″(?) lift looks professionally executed.
So what are we going to do with this hog? Chase polar bears up Canada way? Mud racin’? Make it my new guest bedroom? Should be a good rig to teach my fellow NY-based bloggers how to off-road this summer… at the very least.
Your turn: Ideas. Go.
Andrew P. Collins is Jalopnik’s off-road and adventure guy. Shoot him an email atandrew@jalopnik.com or hit him up on Twitter @andr3wcollins to talk trucks.
Come to Rausch the weekend of the 24th. There will be a 5 speed Disco I in attendance.
You should come to Rovers on the Rocks this year, or Muddy Chef challenge up at Lime Rock if you want something more local to you.
In The News / MCC on NELRC
REGISTRATION IS LIVE!
The Falls Village Inn / OFFICIAL SPONSOR
The Falls Village Inn. A Litchfield County Landmark.
Built in 1834, Restored in 2010, a Bunny Williams Design
33 Railroad Street, the
heart of Falls Village
for more than 175 years.
The Falls Village Inn is the anchor that defines the character of this little slice of paradise. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the Falls Village District is 70 acres, the result of a “building boom” in the middle of the 19th century that came thanks to the Housatonic Railroad; it made the village one of its station stops in the early 1840s.
The Falls Village Inn itself was built more than 175 years ago. As reported by the Litchfield County Times, the Inn has “helped shape Falls Village’s history in more ways than one.” Not only are there tales of it once being home to a brothel, but a ghostly presence has been claimed over the years. Twice in its history the inn caught fire, and it was after the second one that the town decided to charter, in 1924, a volunteer fire department – and then built it right next door.
Oh, are you wondering where the “Falls” in Falls Village came from? Within walking distance of the Inn, just upstream from the steel bridge over the Housatonic River, is a stunning set of waterfalls. We hope you take some time to see the natural wonder that inspired the name of the town.
And the Falls Village Inn…
Ravishing rooms designed by Bunny Williams.
Author of the widely acclaimed Affair with a House, Bunny Williams has been designing and decorating for clients around the world since the mid-1960s. As the New York Times has written, her designs always account for “a place to put your feet up and your drink down. It’s a lifestyle that should look and feel old-fashioned — yet manages not to.”
We are proud to have secured the talents of Ms. Williams to create your room here at the Falls Village Inn. A Bunny Williams suite is designed to be a comfortable, sophisticated background for a rich, fulfilling life.
Enjoy:
- Beautifully Appointed Accommodations
- King Beds with Superior Linens
- Private Bath with Fine Shampoos and Soaps
- Desks with proper task lighting
- Free wireless internet
- HD flat-screen TV with Satellite Service
- Free Continental Breakfast
A new spacious dining room, veranda seating, and more entree choices.
Enjoy a menu that acknowledges a desire for Classic American comfort fare – think fresh caught seafood and locally grown produce – that will change seasonally. Meticulously prepared, our entrees are fairly priced and beautifully served.
Choose to dine inside or al fresco on our old-time porch. We’ve designed the eatery at Falls Village Inn to be romantically intimate yet roomy enough for large parties.
For dining reservations call 860-824-0033.
The Tap Room
Where the locals go
Intimate and comfortable. Draught ales, lagers and pilsners, reasonably priced. A feel that honors not only Falls Village, but also that of Lime Rock Park, our famous neighbor.
The “bar menu” at the Tap Room is what you want, and expect, from a comfortable, familiar tap room. Good portions and exceptionally flavorful. Perfect burgers. Fries that can stand alone as a meal. Sandwiches that you would make on a midnight raid to the fridge.
But we also want you to expect the unexpected: Clam chowder, chicken pot pies, crab cakes, grilled steaks and more.
We also fully expect you to peruse the walls, admiring our little tribute to nearby Lime Rock, one of the world’s finest race tracks. It has an enviable history, and the Tap Room is quickly becoming the hangout for local racers (yes, many of them legends), so we hope you enjoy our humble salutation.
When you open the door to the Tap Room, it’ll feel like coming home…
The Falls Village Inn
Address:
- 33 Railroad Street
- Falls Village, Connecticut 06031
Mailing Address:
- PO Box 71
- Falls Village, Connecticut 06031
Hours of Operation:
- Dinner served at 5pm – Cocktails served at 4pm
- Lunch served at noon on Saturday
- Brunch served at 11am on Sunday
Accomodations & Reservations:
Please call 860-824-0033 or email for accommodations and reservations.
Susan Sweetapple
Innkeeper
View Larger Map and Get Detailed Directions
If You’re From Around Here:
We’re directly across the street from Jacobs Garage and slightly to the left of the Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department.
If You’re From A Little Further Out:
- 2 Hours, 15 minutes North of New York City
- 2 Hours, 30 minutes West of Boston
- 1 Hour, 15 minutes West of Hartford
- 1 Hour, 40 minutes South East of Albany
If You’re A Little Further Out Than That:
- 4 Hours 42 minutes East of Watkins Glen
- 10 Hours 46 minutes North East of VIR
- 19 Hours 50 minutes North of Daytona
- 50 Hours East of Laguna Seca
Teams and Food / 2014 Muddy Chef Challenge
A whole bunch of photos from the cooking challenge. Just CLICK the image. Please enjoy and distribute however you like. Please be sure to thank our sponsors by tagging, hyperlinking, and with social media. Most of the apparent duplicate photos in the directory are HDR images.
It’s impossible to view these and not start smiling!
Eric
Land Rover lovers, it’s the Muddy Chef Challenge at Lime Rock; created by Madison man
Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2014
LAKEVILLE >> Calling all Land Rover enthusiasts. Pack up your oriental rugs, leather chairs, Land Rover flags and signs, gourmet grub, camp grills and lots and lots of gusto and head up to Lime Rock Park for a weekend of off road adventure, fine food and drink and lots of camaraderie.
The Land Rover Muddy Chef Challenge 3 is an adventurous weekend for Land Rover drivers who want to push their vehicle to the limits in rivers, over mountains and through woods, all under supervision, of course. No wonder its founder calls it “part Great Race and Iron Chef.”Planned for July 31 through Aug. 3, Land Rovers will descend upon Lime Rock Park and spend the weekend at area venues and proving what rugged, sturdy vehicles they really are built to be.Muddy Snack from Christopher Macecsko on Vimeo.
Preregistration is required at http://muddychef.com/.
Aside from a camping fee of $35 a night, the event is free. Proceeds from a weekend raffle will benefit Autism Speaks, for more info visit http://www autismspeaks.org#sthash.iaELlP2p.dpuf.
“Land Rovers are your sort of rugged, safari, adventure-type vehicle,” says event creator Eric Yohe. As an owner of an unrestored, 1961 Land Rover Series IIA, the Madison resident is passionate about all things Land Rover and is a foodie.
Yohe arranged the first Muddy Chef in Stowe, Vermont and went on to host last year’s event in Mystic. Bringing the road race/cook-off to Lime Rock was a natural progression and embraced by the park’s Director of Business Development Walter Irvine, another Land Rover enthusiast, and former owner of a Land Rover LR2, who enjoys the “culture.”
“Off-roaders (are) very adventurous, typically very philanthropic, really up to doing crazy stuff like off-roading all day and then coming back and putting on a blazer and making a gourmet meal AT their truck,” Irvine explains.
Cooking a gourmet repast is part of the challenge. Attendees may cook whatever they can transport in their Land Rover. The dishes are then judged by an esteemed panel of fellow epicureans. No one walks away hungry and everyone has lots of fun concocting what they think is the tops in haute cuisine.
“It’s exciting and it’s nerve-wracking and you have to adapt, but it’s tons of fun,” says Madison participant Kristen Feeney.
How do fresh Nantucket bay scallops on a bed of local roasted sweet corn sound? To Yohe it sounded like a winning entry last year. Alas, other venturesome gourmands apparently served entries better tasting, better presented and better liked by the judges.
Away from the rugged terrain, attendees will put on their best cocktail attire – blazers and shorts and Lilly Pulitzer shifts – and visit two local venues.
The Falls Village Inn, complete with a taproom designed to honor the Lime Rock legacy, is “intimate and comfortable…A feel that honors not only Falls Village, but also that of Lime Rock Park, our famous neighbor,” says their website, http://www thefallsvillageinn.com/taproom.php.
Up the road in Dutchess County, New York, a long winding road will take guests to the Madava Farms where Crown Maple Syrup is tapped and refined to make a one of a kind maple syrup. While feeling like they have entered a Napa Valley winery, guests may partake in a maple syrup tasting in a finely appointed tasting room complete with a copper bar, website: http://www.crownmaple.com/visit-madava-farms.
Some of the events sound outrageous: “For those of you who want super rock crawler, smashed body panel gnarly you have access to Old Florida Road and MaBelle in Western, MA,” according tomuddychef.com. Yet Yohe stresses there is something for everyone.
“What I like about it the most is, despite the stressful things you have going in your life you really can’t think about anything else in your life except how am I going to get this vehicle and myself through these woods, over this obstacle,” Robert Wollschlager says. “It’s fantastic.”
Wollschlager, of Mystic, will join in on the fun with his dad, James. They will bring two of their four Land Rovers – a 1972 Land Rover Series 3 88 and 1982 Series 3 Stage- 1 V8 109.
Each morning there will be vehicle inspections and safety talks. The only prerequisite is that “your vehicle should be in good repair without any serious frame rust and able to handle basic off-road challenges.”
“The majority of our vehicles are the rare ones, the early ’60s ones, the ’70s … the classic Land Rovers,” Yohe says. In addition, the event draws drivers of “the Defender, which is what you see on safari…we get lots of those.”
Every morning, before venturing out there will be vehicle inspections and safety talks. The only prerequisite is that “your vehicle should be in good repair without any serious frame rust and able to handle basic off-road challenges.”
In need of a break from the rigors of off-roading, guests can head over to Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds in Millbrook, New York to experience sporting clays at “the oldest permitted shotgun shooting club in the country,” they boast on http://www.orvis.com/sandanona.
Back on the road, how about the Overland Challenge in the Housatonic State Forest?
“It’s sort of a high-tech Easter egg hunt,” says Yohe. “Drive to a spot with the GPS, get out and use the compass to go in the direction we tell you to go, start walking and you will find what ever it is. Somewhere in that forest is something to find like an orange flip-flop nailed to a tree.”
Whether you are an experienced off-roader or want to try it for the first time, love adventure and the thrill of the ride, or want to spend a weekend in the country learn more at Facebook/The Muddy Chef Challenge.
HEROS! / Our friends at The Great Mountain Forest
The Muddy Chef Challenge could not have happened without the fantastic support of our friends at The Great Mountain Forest. To learn more about this fantastic organization click HERE. To make a donation, click HERE.
STAFF
Joel E. Bronson
FOREST MANAGER
Joel (Jody) Bronson, a fourth generation land manager and forester, began working at Great Mountain Forest as a seasonal student forester in 1976 after attending Unity College’s Forest Technician program. He transferred to Keene State College as an environmental science and geography major and continued his seasonal employment at GMF. In 1978, he began his forestry career under the guidance of then forest manager Darrell F. Russ and in 1990, became forest manager upon Darrell’s retirement.
Jody oversees all phases of forestry operations including timber harvesting, wildlife habitat improvement, road building and maintenance, assisting researchers, and supervising student forestry interns, to name a few. Jody also manages the forest deer population through periodic census and oversees an annual deer hunting program. He is a member of The Society of American Foresters, Connecticut Forest and Park Association and is a Connecticut licensed forester. He is also a professional member of The Forest Guild. In 2002, he was the recipient of the Austin Cary Practicing Professional Award given by the New England Society of American Foresters. This award recognizes NESAF members who have shown exceptional achievement as practicing forest managers.
Jody and his wife Jean, GMF’s business manager and program coordinator, live in Falls Village, CT and have two daughters, Emily and Rachel. Jody’s email: jody@greatmountainforest.org
Russell M. Russ
FORESTER
Russell Russ, a 1987 graduate of SUNY ESF with a bachelor’s degree in forest resources management, began his employment at Great Mountain Forest as a student forester working on the “summer crew”. After positions with the Connecticut Division of Forestry and in the landscape and building construction industries, he joined the staff of Great Mountain Forest in 2001. He holds the position of forester/weatherman and is responsible for recording and monitoring daily weather activities for GMF and the National Weather Service – a position formerly held by his father, forest manager Darrell Russ.
Assisting forest researchers, helping with on-site seminars, mapping and boundary work and timber harvests are just a few of Russell’s daily duties. He is a Connecticut licensed forester and has been a continual member of the Society of American Foresters since 1987. He has been active working with the Exotic Conifer Cooperative and as a Cooperative Weather Observer with the National Weather Service.
Russell grew up in Norfolk and now he and his wife Kim live in Colebrook, CT with their two children, Taryn and Jack. Russell’s email address is russell@greatmountainforest.org
Jean Bronson
BUSINESS MANAGER/PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Jean Bronson, a graduate of Northwestern Connecticut Community College, first worked atGMF beginning in 1984 as a cook in the Yale Forestry Camp kitchen. Through this work, she got to know many of the people who have been involved with the forest over the years.
As Business Manager, Jean handles the GMFfinances, including accounts payable and receivable, the budget and donations. She also serves as Development Director for the corporation.
As Program Coordinator, Jean develops educational programs and workshops for adults and children, recruits teachers and assists in program implementation. She also coordinates special events, receptions and field tours and manages our lecture series with local libraries. Jean maintains our website, writes our e-news and manages our Flickr photo archive. She still occasionally cooks at Yale Camp for a few of her favorite groups.
You’ll often see Jean on GMF’s cross country ski trails or walking her dog Nanook through the woods. She is married to forest manager Jody Bronson and they have 2 daughters, Emily and Rachel. Jean’s email address is jean@greatmountainforest.org.
Wesley “Wes” Gomez
FOREST TECHNICIAN
Wes graduated from Salisbury School, then went on to Paul Smith’s college in New York and graduated in 2013. He worked as a GMF forestry intern summers during college, and now has joined the GMF staff. His duties include timber inventory and marking, forest products, and road and equipment maintenance. His knowledge of silviculture and his mechanical ability make Wes a well rounded Forest Technician. He lives in North Canaan on thirty acres of woodland that have been in his family for many generations. Wes loves the woods and anything mechanical.
New Event Sponsor The Falls Village Inn
The Falls Village Inn. A Litchfield County Landmark.
Built in 1834, Restored in 2010, a Bunny Williams Design
