Hail to the Rising Sun ... Mohawk Trail, MA

April 7, 2012

Some adventures last for only a few hours ... and sometimes, it is wide open all day long. This adventure started well before sunrise on a crisp April morning. The adventure was to be a surprise day for Anne. The real surprise was that I dared to tell her that we had to leave the house well before light to arrive at a mystery destination before sunrise. Fortunately, conversation was not on the agenda! We silently plunged into the darkness and trusted in the direction that the high beams selected. 

We headed to Greenfield, MA where we picked up the Mohawk Trail and on to Charlemont. There we would find the Mohawk Park.  We drove for what seemed forever and finally stopped at a local store to ask if we were anywhere close. You know, people are basically great. A guy in the parking lot said, "Sure I know where it is ... only about 7 miles ... just follow me and I will take you right by there".  And he did!

It is amazing how the information you need is often staring you in the face, but you just can't see it. Just before we reached the park, we crossed a small bridge with a unique statue on it. Looking back, I should have realized that we were VERY close to our destination. 

                                              

The Mohawk Park is small and unimpressive to say the least ... especially in the dark. But the park itself is not what I came for ... it was the statue. In the center of the park was a huge, bronze statue of a Mohawk, arms raised to welcome the rising sun. The statue is called, "Hail to the Sunrise" and as the sun rises over the mountain, it bathes the statue in the day's first light. To the front of the statue is a circular monument with tributes to the tribes of the Mohawk Nation.  Truthfully, it was worth the pre-dawn trek!

All that arm raising sure builds up a powerful appetite. My research lead me to a diner (what better?) in Shelburne Falls called the Mohawk Diner. Such a name eliminated all other possibilities for breakfast. When we arrived, it was no longer. In it's place was the Trail TOC Diner.  Though crestfallen, we swallowed our disappointment and entered. It would be the tastiest thing we would swallow for the duration of our stay. Incidentally, TOC stands for Touch of Class. In my humble opinion ... there had been no laying on of the hands ... there had been no touching ... I wrote my name in the grease and we belched our way back to the car. 

Next stop ... Greenfield, MA ... the Poet's Seat. To set the record straight, I did confuse the Poet's Seat with a fire tower on the Mohawk Trail. Errors in judgement or mistaken identities sometimes are favorable missteps. We easily located the real Poet's Seat and were quite pleased. Basically, the Poet's Seat is a stone tower overlooking the town of Greenfield. There is a short, pleasant hike to the top of the hill and more  trails should you wish to extend your hiking. Though my internet searches yielded mixed interpretations as to the history of the tower, I believe that at some point, some poet sat there and maybe a few poems were written ... never to rise to the level of fame ... neither poem nor poet. One is free to indulge whatever fantasy one choses as to the tower's historical roots ... all the while partaking of the peaceful views provided. 

Atop the tower, I found, by chance, this advice etched onto the stone by fellow travelers ... IF HAPPY . LOOK ... IF SAD . JUMP. Today, we chose to look. Tomorrow is tomorrow.

We selected an alternate trail down the hillside to our car. Along the way, I found a hollow tree. Who would have thought that inside my backpack was a Talking Head. I left it there.

All that overlooking sure builds up a powerful appetite. We pointed the car towards Holyoke. There we would find the Fernandez Family Restaurant. I had read about this restaurant  ... the reviews raved about it. "Best red beans and rice in Holyoke".  It was a local Puerto Rican/Cuban, lunch-only, cafeteria in downtown Holyoke. It is definitely local ... local ... local.  The pulled pork, red bean, and rice were great as was the atmosphere. What an incredible find!

The springs moaned their complaint as we wedged ourselves back onto the car. We desperately needed to walk off the huge meal we had feasted upon. The place to do that was the Northfield Mountain Recreational & Environmental Center. For the next hour, we leisurely enjoyed the ledge and boulder-strewn trails around the mountain. (As you know, by Federal law, you cannot go swimming for a minimum of one hour after eating.) This would be a great place to keep in mind for snowshoeing. 

Away we went again. This time to Hampshire College near Amherst.  The college has a small art gallery and I thought it would be worth the effort to take a look. At worst, we would have a chance to check out the campus on a sunny, spring day. The gallery was not exceptional, but I always get some good ideas when I look at work by student artists. This was no exception.

The sun ... the warmth ... the hiking ... the mountain tops. Spring was in the air. In a final tribute to our day's romance with Spring in New England, we stopped at the Hadley Garden Center.  Buying the first   flower plants for the season would be the perfect ending for a perfect day!

Vermont Institute of Contemporary Art and more - Chester, VT

When putting together an adventure day trip, it is fun to try to combine several totally unrelated activities. In this case, the primary activity was to visit the newly opened Vermont Institute of Contemporary Arts  in Chester, VT. Chester is kind of an artsy community and I wondered what the VICA would be like.

I found the VICA to be a bit smaller than I anticipated, but adequate. I enjoyed the show that they had put together, but it didn't exactly blow me away. I got on the mailing list to keep abreast of future events. It would be interesting to see if VICA could make the connections necessary to attract top notch events.

Fortunately, Chester is an interesting town. Just down the street from VICA was a funky antique store. It had everything from art deco lamps to huge teddy bears to taxidermy.





The antique shop was much larger than I had expected ... it had dozens of nooks and crannies to explore. So much so that I was getting tired and was as grumpy as an old bear.








There were numerous stuffed animals among the items in the shop. Little did I realize that the buffalo head on the wall was a harbinger of things to come.

After the antique shop, we headed for the Blue Moon Cafe. A neighbor had recommended that we head there for lunch if we got a chance. The menu was tempting, but it was too early for lunch. It wasn't too early, however, for fresh scones ... they were incredible!














It is surprising how often you go one place only to stumble onto something else you never expected.  In the back of the Blue Moon was a new sculpture studio. I recognized the work on display as belonging to an artist who had won first place at the Grafton Art Show the year before. The studio was a combination of sculpture, painting and forge work.

Did I mention harbingers earlier?  On the way home, we noticed this sign.

As a final aspect of of today's adventure, we diverted off of Route 30 to the Peaked Mountain Bison Farm.













Typical adventure ... interesting things to see and do ... and a lot of BULL!