Color Peeping – Massachusetts – Vermont – New York

These states are minutes apart in the northwestern tip of Massachusetts, and that’s where we were headed to North Adams to visit my childhood friend, Jane Culnane.  After almost 40 years of not seeing each other, Jane visited us in Ridgecrest when she attended her nephew’s wedding in Los Angeles.  Our mothers had been good friends and now with both of them gone, we had to rely on ourselves to keep it going.  The Finding Colors tour was planned to include a stop in this area!

The Dog Mountain Dog Chapel, St Johnsbury, Vermont

We knew of this because our music friends, JP and Liza, had told us about this place during one of their Ridgecrest Concerts.  

They even wrote a song called Dog Mountain, and when I discovered it was somewhat on the way, and John could get a dog fix, it was a stop-over.  Post-it notes cover the inside of the chapel walls in remembrance of all those loved canines who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  

It was really quite moving and so lovely.  Then there was the dog field complete with pond for pouncing about on this cool October Day. 

Von Trapp Family Lodge / Café, Stowe Vermont

We had seen the property in Aigen, Austria that had featured the famous musical family before they fled from the Nazis. So naturally,    We had to see the American version which now is a very high-end lodge with a few guest houses.  

Not only was there a café filled with yummy desserts which was nicely situated upon the hills where the cows roamed, but also a brewery. 

There was a disc golf course as well as several mountain bike trails throughout the property.  Roaming cows mean cow patties here and there.  

John took a bit of a slide on one as we had walked on a narrow path and he quickly jumped aside to let a bike through.  The titanium hip still held on and it was only an embarrassment. 

Shelburne Vineyards, Shelburne Vermont

We decided to take in a local singer-songwriter show that was going on at the Vineyard that evening.  Delightfully small venue friendly people.  The younger of the three was quite proficient on the looper and he created a full sound as he was quite good at playing guitar as well.  His fiancé was sitting next to us, and of course, John is quite inquisitive about young people who appear to be in love, and playful discourse ensued.  

Fort Ticonderoga, Lake Champlain, New York

The day was to be rainy so we decided perhaps a bit of history would be a good way to pass the droplets.  We had already learned about the eternal war between the French and the British during the 1700’s from our visit to Fort Louisbourg in Cape Breton.  The French had built the original Fort Carillon, but abandoned it to British when many of their troops had left to attack British Fort William Henry,   in 1759 just like in Canada.

Power went back and forth between the two, but here in NY before one faction surrendered, they would burn and destroy the Fort on the way out.  Clever bridge building techniques were among the ideas that helped the Americans  sneak out the cannons and artillery which were in part responsible for winning independence from Britain.  For the non-historian type like myself,  it was hard to keep track of all the different circumstances in which it went back and forth during our boat tour.   The commanding views of this historically important body of water make it ideal for seeing the enemy as well as color peeping even in the rain some 250 years later. 

We had first stopped at Mount Defiance where we could look down onto Fort Ticonderoga.  After the British positioned some cannons up on this mountain the Continental Army withdrew without a fight.  Those cannon balls were big and could fly for over a mile from this height, evidently no shots were fired, just a big threat.

The weather put a damper on outdoor Ticonderoga demonstrations although we did here the 2 O’clock cannon during our Boat tour.  

Before the continual rain started, I wandered through the King’s Garden and found some really unique flowers which I had never seen. 

A demonstration of a wooden plank being bent and fitted onto a boat was quite interesting, as well as a cobbler repairing his shoes were the two demonstrations we saw on this somewhat rainy day.

Seems like the French were much more friendly with the First Nation People than the British.  Makes me wonder if the British recognize the Native people in their country like Canadians and Americans at least try to recognize through UNESCO designation. We also noticed in both Canada Festivals and Museums the First Nation of the region was acknowledged whether verbally or through display.  Perhaps this is the right thing to do in North America these days, as I also observed this in a movie theater in Williamstown Massachusetts.   

Artisanal Brew Works, Saratoga Springs

What a way to end a rainy day that was continuing to carry on through the night than with a few beers and an overnight.  At least they had a nice Porter. 

Massachusetts Color Peeping

The Greylock Veterans War Memorial was hopping with a college school group who gave us the best chocolate chip jumbo cookie ever after we completed the jaunt up.  

Beautiful views from both the mountain and the tower top as the colors were starting to dull to the tan now.  One can drive right up to the top, but we took the opportunity to do a bit of the very famous Appalachian Trail to a smaller parking area below. 

Jane and I did a delightful morning hike to Pine Cobble Trail in Williamston.

Mass MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art)

This facility is a prime example of repurposing space as the original industrial Mill building was transformed into a manufacturing center for Sprague Electronics who supplied crucial components to the war effort.  They employed just under a ¼ of North Adams Population and were leaders in research and innovation in electronics before closing doors in 1988 due to low prices abroad.  Nearby Williams College was seeking space to exhibit the very large works of contemporary artists.  Although there was much controversy over this Contemporary Art Space, widespread community support eventually prevailed and now it is a world-renowned space for the Contemporary works of art.  Better yet an old building is not crumbling in ruins and the space is also used for performing arts as well.  

Contemporary Art can be difficult to understand.  The Wikipedia definition of Art is a visual object or experience consciously created through an expression of skill or imagination.  

So even though many exhibits seemed to be things that a novice like me could create, the idea of putting it together to invoke a feeling is perhaps what many exhibits did.  For example, the plaster baskets that were created by destroying the basket that created them and seeing the piece from the inside out and then arranging them pleasingly.  

Would that exhibit be the same if there were only a dozen baskets and each did not have an eye?  Not sure. The solid 5 ft wide lines that were painted vertically on 75 feet of wall according to a set of text instructions to create them –  Is that Art? Hmm because technically a craft person could create.  Is it just the large scale that invokes a wow.  Is there a difference between craft and art?  I’m confused, but the exhibits were enjoyable to see.  Particularly the virtual reality experience of flying in space was really cool and provided a feeling to me that I had never experienced.  Is this art or is this Disney?  Does it matter? 

After all is said and done,  head over to the adjoining Bright Ideas Brewery to contemplate. 

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

The CCRT (Cape Cod Rail Trail)

This paved trail runs more than halfway around the Cape from Yarmouth to past Wellfleet, and there are dotted sections with plans to lengthen it.  We rode the smooth asphalt section from Brewster to Orleans and it had markets, restaurants and bike shop access points along the way.   Halfway down we stopped at Nickerson State Park to do one of the many hikes.  Our days’ furthest destination included a stop at the Hog Island Brewery in Orleans to enjoy a porter and a beautiful day to enjoy it during this week of Indian Summer.

Nickerson State Park

This state park lies right on the CCRT making a break it up ride from Brewster to Orleans a perfect spot for a hike.  The asphalt bike trails crisscross hiking trails throughout the property, and then there are the ponds. We hiked around Cliff Pond and saw many sandy-beach entrance points to the pond that were so clear and in the warmer weather perfect for SUP.  

Unfortunately, the Campground had closed for the season and we could not overnight there. There are several Camping Areas that surround Cliff Pond and have beach access, and I could see staying here for several days in September to paddle.  

The leaves in the area were not nearly as brilliant as in the mountains.  Cliff Lake allows a maximum of 10 horsepower vessels.  Nickerson offers that perfect balance of paddling, swimming, hiking and biking to get around to breweries and restaurants all in a beautiful wooded setting if you can get there before October 15^th. 

Cape Cod National Seashore

What should have been another bike and hike day turned out to be a P-town overnight.  Decided to try the Atlantic Ocean entrance at Marconi Beach near the Visitor Center.  The first entrance said no beach access, then another parking lot with other trails yielded the same.   Evidently there had been a storm and the stairway was damaged in one area and the dunes in the other.  Drive out to another said beach and again cement blockades saying no beach entrance.  A woman walking up where a few cars had parked said there was an 80-degree slope down a dune if we wanted to get toes in; we didn’t want to get stuck in the dune so moved on down the main drag looking for a public beach access and finally found ourselves all the way in Provincetown.

The next day we stopped in the National Park Province Lands Visitor Center where I obtained expert advice for a good bike ride mixed in with a beach walk.  

Evidently Cape Cod National Seashore is one of our Nation’s oldest and boy does it have a network of fabulous asphalt bike trails as well as an observation deck to soak in the seashore and dunes.   We decided to do the 7-mile Province Lands Bike Trail Loop starting from the Parking Area at Race Point Beach and then head through the short dunes path and finally getting that toes in the Atlantic beach walk I had been craving.  The bike trail had that perfect number of hills and valleys only having to switch from Q-Bike (Quad) to P-Bike (Push) mode just once.  The weather was so perfect on this mid-October Day.  The sand was beautiful.  Saw several seals come up close to the shore, but I had been warned that October is when the Great White Sharks come close in to feed on the seals.  

There was even a severe bleeding safety kit near the beach area.  

Yikes the likelihood goes way up in October and we were surprised at how close the seals came to the shore.  Unfortunately, there is no camping at this National Park.  Another thing of interest was the Race Point Over Sand Station where they looked like they issue dune driving permits.  May be fun for a future visit.

 

P-Town (Provincetown)

Our frustrating day looking for a beach and a bike ride landed us in P-town (can’t go any further than this) where we walked the Harbor Boardwalk and saw all the ferry possibilities to Boston, Hyannis and other Harbor Places.  There was Dunes and Sail Tour that would have been of interest with more time, but many of these things already posted that they were closed for 2024 season.  We walked the colorful streets of brightly painted and stylish houses that were decorated for Halloween whose plain old Victoria style made them a natural for the season of haunted.  

The one-way main drag on Commercial Street was an eclectic colorful display of vintage, ice cream, restaurants, bars, cannabis, tourist and T shirt shops that conveyed the LGBTQ vibe of this town.  

P-Town is to Massachusetts as Key West is to Florida, and the possibility to see drag shows and such stereotypical characters walking around town was more noticeable than most other towns.  We never did see  and equivalent to Captain Tony’s Bar that had dollar bills and bras stapled to the ceiling and walls like Key West.  The cross dressers that we saw were relatively conservative in my mind.

We had found a parking spot in a municipal parking lot for $2 hour right across from Provincetown Brewing.  As the day was ending after our P-town walkabout, we stopped there to have a beer and were drawn to sit on the early American style 60’s golden couch reminiscent of the familiar blue couch at John’s childhood house in Blackwood.  This indoor nostalgic décor was more appealing than the hard picnic benches that were outside even on this beautiful day.   Relaxed and comfortable on the loveseat after our beer, we needed to contemplate where we should spend the night.   Since it didn’t say overnight was not allowed, we took that as it was ok, just as long as you paid for the hours on the handy Parking App. We were tucked back on a perfectly quiet spot with a 3-minute walk to the hub-bub on Commercial street, so decided to paint the town which for us means find dark beers and a place with music.  P-town doesn’t seem to have any dark beers though, but the Tin Pan Alley did have a piano bar for entertainment that night so that was the plan.  

Got there early and found a perfect place at the bar, far enough to be observers on the sidelines but the place was small and we only had the window front behind us.  The very talkative George, the bartender, introduced us to two other regulars, one man even joined my blog as we talked about traveling and cranberry bogs in New Jersey and how we got Vinny to Hawaii.   The music was the Dean Martin Era of old songs as several different men came up to sing with the old familiar tunes of yesteryears.  The evening was quite enjoyable and was packed as a couple danced to a tune in celebration of their 46th wedding anniversary. By 9pm things were calming down, and George seemed to have been preoccupied as our water glasses were even empty, and we finally flagged him down to pay.  The food was excellent, and I was tired.  The Parking App only accepted payment until 12 am, but decided to be up at 8am.  There were a few overnight cars in the lot, but by 730am then next morning, the parking lot was full.  There was a bike trail nearby and one could even ride to the National Park Seashore as well as another trail from downtown P-Town, perhaps this was the reason for its early morning fill.

New England is beautiful, especially in the Fall, and surely will pass that way again!