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| The Gold Coast |
So we pulled into tonight's campground and The Big Fella says, "ohhhh we are down here with the big boys." Travelers Woods of New England is our stop du jour and it is full of big rigs with big names. There is Tuscany XTE -Italy anyone, Ashmore -a grand estate, Windsor-because its a castle, Koala -cute and charming, Outback -an appropriate name for a fifth wheel, and my personal fave Homestead -because there is no place like a trailer to put up your feet. On to the important stuff...
Folks, I dunno what is going on with the font and its size but for no apparent reason, things changed. Maybe I hit a key or frowned at the wrong time but it was not my intent to change the font nor to shrink size. Lordy technology can be complicated. This brings me to a heads-up of sorts. Newbies to Moose and Mosquito listen-up. Good grammar, flawless punctuation and impeccable syntax are not part of the program here. The same goes for adherence to verb tense, gerunds, and dangling participles. Yours truly is not a professional writer. In fact the last serious thing that I wrote was sometime in the last century. Also, I take great liberties with things, make long parenthetical digressions and The Big Fella aka Greg is the object of most of my...humor...as it were. He is a good sport. The fun thing is that he doesn't read this until long after the trip is done. Put on your seat belts folks the ride is going to get a bit bumpy.
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| Steam Engine Stuff |
What can I say but we did visit The Connecticut Antique Machinery and Mining Museum. How was it? Well, honestly most of the stuff I have seen at some point or other but there were some impressive steam engines. A couple of them were huge. The mining museum was well presented I suppose. And who would've thought that mining was a major industry in Connecticut let alone in the 18th century. So, ahem, one is never too old to learn something new. Right? I pretended to enjoy the experience while The Big Fella ooo'd and ahhh'd. A covered bridge and some leafy vistas were on the schedule, so no worries.
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| West Cornwall Covered Bridge |
The West Cornwall covered bridge is pretty darn wonderful and we walked through it rather than drive -not enough clearance for the RV. The journey then took us up U.S. 7 through Connecticut into Massachusetts and the Berkshires. Stockbridge, MA is the home of the Norman Rockwell Museum and it was a must see and we did...see it. Copies of his illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post were on display, as well as many of the original oil paintings. He was first and foremost an illustrator. His first big job-at the age of 17- was drawing the cover for Boy's Life Magazine. The Boy Scouts out there should appreciate that! Meandering along U.S. 7 we connected with MA 2 and found Clarksburg State Park where we camped for the night. I need to add that we had the place to ourselves for the small sum of $14 a night.
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| Clarksburg State Park |
That brings me to...
After a quiet and restful night -well mostly restful as the Big Fella needed the loo and thought that he could grab his coat without turning on the light so that he could go outside, OK TMI, but he is big and he cannot see in the dark the racket disturbed the peace. This prompted me to say, " Jeebus turn on a light! It might be easier and quieter!" Where was I...oh yeah, quiet night, great campground, a bit of a walk to enjoy the campground and we were on our way. Where you ask, well I am getting to that.
A day of sight seeing is not complete without of visit to a natural bridge. Natural Bridge State Park is the site of an old marble quarry and a natural bridge of marble spanning a stream/river. It was formed thousands of years ago and discovered in the late 1700's. Mining continued until the late 1940's. Western Gateway Heritage Museum was the next attraction. This museum chronicled the history of North Adams, MA and the building of the Hoosac Railroad Tunnel -which was the longest tunnel in North America. Once museum and one natural exhibit under our belts and we were ready to conquer The Mohawk Trail.
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| Mohawk Trail at the Hairpin Turn |
A scenic drive that follows MA Rt.2. It is known for a hairpin turn that I gotta say is an impressive switchback but...and you had to know there would be a but...I hike and often the access to trail heads are from one lane logging roads with steep drop offs and perilous switch backs. There is a dirt road in Montana to a ghost town(Garnet or Granite cannot remember) that I never want to see again. It was a steep terrifying trek with blind switch backs and sheer drops with no guard rails and pot holes so deep... digression over. But it is about the leaves and The Mohawk Trail did not disappoint. Some fine views on a twisty road were had. A quick stop in Shelburne Falls to see the Bridge of Flowers rounded out the day. While walking the old trolley bridge/park, I thought of my friends who love to garden.
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| The Bridge of Flowers |
Each mile north brings more and more fall color and I am in heaven. Fall is wondrous to me. I love the filtered light as it comes through the trees, the density of the air the smell of composting leaves, the oranges, reds, and yellows. Maybe it is because I was born in the Fall but it is a magical to me. Today was a great day and a beautiful drive
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| Miller Time -the view |
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