Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Berkshires, Bizen and BashBish....PART 2

A few weeks ago I headed up to Massachusetts for the day.  It was just after that horrible Nor'easter rolled through the  area and dumped a foot or more of snow which made the pictures not as colorful as I would have liked, but still very pretty.
My first stop was BashBish Falls and yes my main concern was still the presence of bears in the area. Maybe  after the snow fall  they would have went into hibernation OR would they be out strolling around and really hungry?? After some contemplating I was on my way to the falls, it was only 3/4 of a mile, would I make it this time??  

Nope. I made it about a quarter of the way, got scared and turned back.  Once  in the  parking lot  and safe,  I began to think how silly this was and tried to convince myself that I wasn't going to see any bears.  I was determined to make it to the waterfall ....here we go again. The trail was beautiful. The air was crisp with woodsy smells  and the sound or rushing water made for a very lovely hike,  BUT once again I made it about half way  and turned back.  As I made my way  down the trail to the parking lot there was a glimmer of hope....a man walking down the trail...maybe he would like some company.  I introduced myself and we started walking and talking.
About 30 minutes later we arrived at BASH BISH Falls!!


The fall was great, but I had to move on I had other places to get to.  I said bye to my new friend and thanked him for showing me the falls.  I was going to hike back down the trail alone and I was fine with that...maybe in the begining it was fear of the unknown...I  don't know...but as I made my way back to the parking lot  as I had done so many times before (4)  I took the best picture of the day, a tree with twisted roots.

Next Stop was Housatonic, Massachusetts for some bread at Berkshire Mountain Bakery all the bread is sinful, but you must try the Artisanal Sesame, Rosemary and Olive Ciabatta and the pizza crusts.  Just across the street is Lauren Clark Fine Art which has work from some wonderful artists.  Down the road about 15  minutes is Lenox, Massachusetts an adorable little town . Make sure you visit Hoadley Gallery the owners Stephanie and Thomas are  lovely and their gallery is fabulous.