As departure-day approaches, this post will finish off our extensive list of things to see during our stay. With more covered bridges, waterfalls, breweries, and a few closures to visit – along with a couple of revisits, I’m sure we’ll be back to the Bay State in the very near future.

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
To start at the beginning of this series, visit Bay State Getaway 2022.

Waterfalls

Wahconah Falls

Wahconah Falls State Park is located in Dalton, MA. Its half-mile loop is graded, which made for a quick and easy hike. “Wahconah Falls Brook flows over several smaller falls before ending in the 40-foot Wahconah Falls. The cascade is scenic any time of year, but is especially impressive during the spring runoff. Visitors can also relax, picnic, or fish in the shade of the northern hardwood forest.” ~ READ MORE

Falls on Peck’s Brook

Not far away in Adams, MA, Peck’s Brook feeds several waterfalls as it makes its way down the eastern slope of Mount Greylock. The falls we saw today were the Upper Falls – also called “Falls on Peck’s Brook.” The short loop was awesome and even though the falls may be less voluminous today than during spring thaw or after a nice rainfall, I think they were quite impressive. Of course the fall colors helped!

Another significant falls also referred to as Peck’s Falls, is the 50-foot Lower Falls, “a set of horsetails and cascades that fall mostly through a slender chasm.” ~ READ MORE on the website. I wish I would have known about the second Peck’s while we were still in Massachusetts because I would have pictures of it today.

I thought the round rock (first photo) was pretty adorable with the moss and leaves growing around its little bald head. Once I went a little further downstream (second photo), I realized it was not round at all!

History

Mount Greylock

Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts at 3,491 feet, giving bird’s eye views the higher you go. On a clear day you can see as far as ninety miles from its summit. Mount Greylock was acquired in 1898 – making it Massachusetts’ first wilderness state park. Today was cloudy, cold and windy, and it was trying to rain. Although the conditions were not ideal, it was still a very easy, curvy, and beautiful drive.

If hiking is your thing, trails range from casual to extremely difficult. Download a trail map here, or some suggested day hikes here.

Greylock Veterans’ War Monument

This tower was very impressive! With 95 stairs and limited visibility today, we decided to come back another day to climb to the top. Unfortunately we ran out of days and it didn’t happen. I’m making a very strong case to come back for another visit, aren’t I?

“On the streets of North Adams and Adams, you may look up to the summit of Mt. Greylock and wonder why there is a lighthouse on the top. Residents of the surrounding towns asked that same question in the 1930s when Mt. Greylock War Monument was first built.

The monument was initially completed in 1932 and dedicated the following summer. During the dedication, people recall an eerie fog rolling through, which created beads of condensation that resembled bleeding as if symbolically honoring the men and women who had given their lives in war. That night, the beacon was turned on for the first time and the light still casts a ray today, perhaps the only original aspect of the monument.” ~ READ MORE

Built in 1932, harsh weather conditions have continued to wreak havoc on the tower – and its replacements – since the beginning. After several rebuilds, an extensive interior redesign, and a new name – Greylock Veterans’ War Monument is just beautiful!

“Through the Greylock Veterans’ War Monument’s many trials and tribulations, it eerily represents war perfectly starting with the “bleeding” on the day of its first dedication. The ups and downs of its structure represent the difficulties of the effects of war on veterans. As one newspaper stated, the fact that this much effort and funding has gone into building the monument just so the monument could one day crumble and fall is ‘a further testament to the futility of war’.’”

Bascom Lodge

At the summit of Mount Greylock is the gorgeous Bascom Lodge. I wish we could have gotten a look inside, but it was closed the day we were there, and is now closed for the season. Check the website if you want to see its interior.

“Bascom Lodge is a rustic Arts and Crafts mountain lodge built by volunteers from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) at the height of the Great Depression. Built on the summit of the state’s highest mountain, the lodge was named in honor of the reservation’s first commissioner, John Bascom; an ardent proponent for the construction of a lodge befitting the grandeur of the mountain.

Designed in an architectural style that would later become an inspiration for many of America’s National Park buildings, the lodge is constructed from local stone, quarried from the mountain, and old growth red spruce timbers, harvested from the slopes of “the hopper*.” The lodge, as we see it today, opened its doors in 1937. The centerpiece of a 12,500 acre wilderness park, the lodge celebrated its 85th season of operation in 2022.

Originally built to provide hearty souls in search of adventure and spiritual renewal with a place to rest and take shelter from the elements, today the lodge serves a much more complex and diverse array of patrons whose needs and expectations go beyond mere room and board. Whether they are hikers or cyclists out for the day, lodgers attending a music concert or summer stock theater, school children on a field trip, or “holiday makers” visiting the Berkshires for the first time, Bascom provides a casual setting to refresh the spirit and nourish the body.” ~ READ MORE

*On the west and northwest of the Greylock Summit, the mountains decline abruptly from four sides to converge at the bottom of a great ravine. It was given the name “the Hopper” because of its resemblance to the primitive machinery for reducing grain to meal and flour. See the “North View” from the park’s Summit View plaques below to locate the Hopper.

Summit Views from the Monument

A great overview of the gorgeous mountains and valley below the Veterans’ War Monument was available on plaques placed at each of the four compass points. What an amazing place!

Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum

Although sometimes a little robotic, our tour guide was an awesome young man. He had his whole presentation memorized and, as you can see, that’s a lot to remember! Occasionally he lost his spot, but he quickly recovered. He was a wealth of information about Susan B. Anthony – who played a pivotal role in the women’s suffrage movement, along with several other important issues at that time. There is a short synopsis of a few on the cards below.

“Whether possessed of the characteristics of the oak. the vine or the flower, all truly developed human beings love liberty and demand for themselves and their fellows the possession of equality of rights, privileges and immunities irrespective of sex or any mere accident of birth!” ~ Susan B. Anthony, Rochester, New York, July 11, 1900 (from an autographed book behind glass in the museum, see below)

Susan Brownell Anthony was born in this house in Adams, MA on February 15, 1820 the second of seven children. After moving to New York in 1826, the Great Depression caused many hardships for her family – as it did for most families. In 1845 they moved to Rochester, NY where their farm became a meeting-place for anti-slavery activists, including Frederick Douglass.

In 1851, Susan attended an anti-slavery convention, where she met other activists. A year later she attended a state convention of the Sons of Temperance and was told (because she was a woman) to “listen and learn.” Her Quaker upbringing told her that was not going to happen, so that same year she attended her first women’s rights convention. And so the fire inside her began to burn! Visit the Official Susan B. Anthony Museum and House website. It is packed with information about this brave and very stubborn (thank goodness!) woman!

“Woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself.” ~ Speech in San Francisco in July 1871. READ MORE

Hurricane Damage

We drove through Williamstown, MA several times en route to somewhere else. We saw the lion statues standing proudly at the entrance to something, but it didn’t look like anything was back there. Google came to the rescue once again, and we got the whole story on Spruces Park. Then, of course, we had to visit.

“We all like to think that our communities will be around forever, but that’s not always the case. Neighborhoods come and go, and this abandoned community in western Massachusetts has been turned into a gorgeous park for all to enjoy. Spruces Park (also known as The Spruces) was once a bustling mobile home community. It had homes, yards, and families. That is, until Tropical Storm Irene wiped it all away.” ~ READ MORE

Hurricane Irene created a lot of devastation in 2011, and is a common theme in our Bay State Getaway. If you don’t believe me, check out Bridges, Blooms, and Beyond for great YouTube videos of the flooding in Shelburne Falls during and after the storm.

At the Spruces, 226 mobile homes were wiped out, leaving only the abandoned grid of a small community and some beautiful trees that the former residents planted. The good news is that dogs and kids (with their parents, of course!) can enjoy the two-mile perimeter trail, the interior mowed paths, and the great views of the mountains. We had a delightful walk on a beautiful day.

Beautiful College Town

The photos below were taken in Williamstown, MA. From our centrally located parking spot near Amy’s Cottage (window shopping), we explored a bit and ended with a fantastic lunch at The Blue Mango. Our plates of Thai food were as beautiful as the restaurant itself, and we would definitely go back!!

After lunch we visited the Williams College Museum of Art. Although a gorgeous venue, the art may have been a little over the top for us old fogies, so we didn’t stay long. The area near the Williams College campus was gorgeous with lots of historic buildings and churches. We were always going to wander around and get a closer look, but never did. The Purple Pub looked like it might have been fun, but was closed on the one day we were through that town again. Luckily the Freight Yard Pub was so close and delicious, that we did a revisit!

Art

MASS MoCA, North Adams

When finalizing our itinerary well before we left home, we found a music festival that was scheduled at an outdoor venue at MASS MoCA for the weekend we arrived. The cost of the event was pretty hefty, but it sounded like fun. When we discovered the Country Fair at Hancock Shaker Village on the same weekend – which also included live music and craft beers – for much cheaper with a shorter commute, we chose that instead.

Although the craft beer and our food truck lunch was very tasty, and the Shaker Village was awesome, the music portion was a bust. I still had it on our list to visit MASS MoCa, and I’m sure glad we did – even though its music festival was long gone.

“The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is one of the world’s liveliest centers for making and enjoying today’s most evocative art. With vast galleries and a stunning collection of indoor and outdoor performing arts venues, MASS MoCA is able to embrace all forms of art: music, sculpture, dance, film, painting, photography, theater, and new, boundary-crossing works of art that defy easy classification. Much of the work we show in our light-filled spaces, on our technically sophisticated stages, and within our lovely network of late 19th-century courtyards is made here during extended fabrication and rehearsal residencies that bring hundreds of the world’s most brilliant and innovative artists to North Adams all year round.” ~ READ MORE

I Couldn’t Stop Smiling

Arnold Print Works built this complex in 1860 and became North Adams’ largest mill. With an increased need for cotton to make uniforms during the Civil War, the company thrived. They had a very good run, but after many years of upturns and downturns, in 1942 the entire complex was sold to Sprague Electric. In 1999 MASS MoCA opened with 19 galleries and 100,000 sq ft of exhibition space and it has expanded since.

A few of the exhibits were a bit strange, but with our tour guide’s help the exhibits made more sense. She explained how the artists interpreted their assignment, and asked us what we thought about certain things as they applied to the project. That extra help increased our level of understanding and we started to enjoy the art even more, but I still couldn’t get over the industrial elements of the old printing/electric company!

“MASS MoCA exhibits art by both well-known and emerging artists, focusing on large-scale, immersive installations that would be impossible to realize in conventional museums. The broad-shouldered, raw industrial character of our soaring galleries (with 250,000 square feet of open and often naturally lit space) has proven both inspiring and liberating to artists.” ~ READ MORE

Madison Brewing Redo

Since we were only about twenty minutes to a brewery we visited more than once in Bennington, VT – Madison Brewing Company, we decided on a redo. We had a beer (or two) and great wings, and chatted with several locals for a bit. We made it home by 5:30 and started preparing for takeoff in the morning.

This was a wonderful trip, and we saw lots of new and interesting things in this neck of the woods. As is our M.O., we’re taking the scenic route to our overnight in Jamestown, NY, and you don’t want to miss that!

Next up: WOW-Worthy Waterfalls!

Happy trails,
Barb