Main Force Patrol

Kelly had some things to do Saturday, which left me on my own for the day. I had tried to get my more important stuff done earlier in the week so this weekend would be free and clear for some good hard roaming. I was on the motorcycle by 10:15, and sitting on the Northampton town hall steps, biting into a bacon egg and cheese on an english muffin, by 10:50, free and clear.

The paper had some disturbing news though, how will this bode for Main St. U.S.A.?



A big part of the problem is a type of gambling they call Short Selling of Stock. Here's how you play this casino game:



Unfortunately it appears safe to say our boys and girls in D.C. are determined to make sure that the house always loses. I happened to look up from the grim news, just in time to see further proof that the pedestrians still RULE this town. Even the mighty Lamborghini must pause humbly before their feet.



Time to move on, and move north. Going through Hatfield, I came across the remains of a mighty Sycamore tree that had recently lost a couple of it's massive limbs to rot.



There was debate in the town about whether the tree, one of the oldest and tallest in the region, was safe to let stand. After some research and core samples taken, it was decided that it had to come down. It's too bad, but judging by the hollowness of the stump, it appears to have been the right decision.





From there it's a short but scenic trip up to Deerfield. Mt. Sugarloaf is looking a little Hollywoody these days.



They're working on a set for the upcoming filming of a Mel Gibson movie, "Edge of Darkness". Rumor has it the lookout platform on the top is being transformed into a villain's lair, replete with missile silos. The road to the top is still open to visitors, but it will be closed off during the actual filming in early October. Let's go take a look...

On the way up, some of the trees leaning over the narrow access road have cones attached and marker rope hanging, I'm sure to protect them from the construction and filming equipment going up and down the hill.



One of the parking lots on top is now occupied by a supply area/medical tent/trash depot.



The lookout platform itself is now almost completely disguised.





It doesn't look like they're building anything too permanent, though I wonder what the metal girders are attached to. But I'm sure they plan to revert it to it's original condition after filming, for liability reasons if nothing else. We can't have Mr. Jones and family perched on some shaky Hollywood scene prop, atop a windy 650 foot hill...



You certainly can't blame the movie producers for picking this hill. It's a world-class scene from atop Mt. Sugarloaf, fit for viewing by millions of movie-goers. And what super villain could resist settling down here.





There was plenty of day left, time to continue on. Up through Montague, then through bucolic scenery in Gill, then through Northfield where one of the last functioning Drive-In theaters marks the border into New Hampshire.



Maybe Mel's movie will be shown here...



Over the border, on through Hindsdale New Hampshire,



Then over the winding roads of the Pisgah hills, and finally into the town of Keene.



It is my third time in Keene. The town seems to consist of a massive outer ring of sprawling retail, chain restaurant and big-box stores. Then an inner core, with a more college-influenced atmosphere. And in that core, are five main roads that converge on a rotary, that surrounds a small town common, the neutron of this atom-town.



One of the converging roads is a nearly mile long beautifully tree-lined, two lane boulevard; lined with many, many small shops and restaurants. Benches and plenty of parking are available right up the middle and sides of the main drag. It's all set up very nicely, with a clean, safe vibe. Of the dozens of shops, eateries, and stores, I noticed only one that was for lease. Keene seemed to be doing well this Saturday afternoon.







I hung out and people watched for a while. There seemed to be a lot of kids from nearby Keene College roaming around. Also many skater-type kids with their wool caps on, (one very young skater kid stopped me as I walked by with "Hey, cool sunglasses, want to see me do a 360 on my board...for a buck?") I passed on that, this time, but kudos to the kid for his business savvy and ability to pick out a sucker from the crowd. There were older, richer ladies going in and out of boutiques, retirees sunning themselves on the plentiful benches. One older gentleman thanked me for stopping to let him cross the street, and grumbled that I had more consideration than the town bus drivers. (it's the Northampton pedestrian thing, see above). And to round out the type-casting, the occasional wannabe would drive by in a pick-up truck, playing cursing rap music way too loud. From my unscientific observations these past three trips, I'll surmise that like the rest of New Hampshire, Keene used to be very conservative, but has become more and more liberal, perhaps painfully...

It was time to head back. Somewhere between Hindsdale and Keene can be seen a fine example of an advertising commitment that should not be entered into lightly:



I hauled back down Route 63. It was getting a little chilly on the bike, so I made one more stop in Amherst, for a warming cup of coffee, and some more people watching.



After a few minutes of sitting there, watching the mobs of students and academics from Amherst College and Umass milling about, it was once again apparent to me that there are many college towns, like Keene for example, that must aspire to reach the levels of openness, education and art that exist in our five-college region.



How lucky we are to live in the valley.

"By a rather circuitous route"

On Sunday, we went out for a drive after lunch, and headed north up through Sunderland, and on into Montague. Plenty of color along the way...

Going through South Hadley, I noticed the restaurant 'Woodbridges' appears to be empty and undergoing some changes. It is located just across from Mt. Holyoke College. I ate there once a long time ago. They had tables outside, real nice.


Also on the way, on a side road in Sunderland, is this cool waterfall. Unfortunately (for visitors), it is on private property. You can easily see it from the road though, and the property owners on either side didn't seem to mind when we stopped and gawked.


We continued on this nice country road. I saw an old Datsun 280Z sitting in a clearing by a house. I had one just like it years ago. It was an incredibly cool, fun car. A poor man's corvette. Half the car is engine. This one was begging for a restoration. It had been sitting here for a long, long time though. A LOT of work to be done.


Moving on, the road emptied out onto a main road, and at the corner was the famous 'Book Mill'. We stopped in, I hadn't been there in years.


It is what the name implies; an old mill converted to a book store, with a cafe next door. The lower floors have been converted (i think) into a dining hall. We couldn't go down to the lower levels as there was a wedding going on. A beautiful building, with a roaring brook behind it, and many decks and tables all around. Excellent book-browsing atmosphere.

These bikers had been shadowing us the whole time we were stopping and going on the back road. They caught up and stopped for a rest nearby.


From there we continued on up to Montague, and Turner's Falls. Took a left after the bridge, and parked in a lot along Rt. 2 where you have a great view of the dam there, next to the bridge.

Turner's Falls is named after a Captain Turner. In 1676 he led a group of soldiers here on a raid to recover stolen cattle from the natives. You can read the full story of the massacre and reprisals that ensued here: http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/massacre.html

The river was low today, a lot of the riverbed here was exposed. We climbed down the embankment, and onto the rock below.

There a lot of drift wood around the edge of the exposed rock, marking the maximum height of the river when it's full. The edges are all smoothed out and the wood is bleached from exposure to the sun and the tumbling along the water.

I'm no geologist, but I found the rock formations on the riverbed interesting. I could see that there was Basalt (lava) rock along the outer edges, and sedimentary rock jutting out diagonally from the bottom.

We walked right up close to the gates of the dam. Supposedly they sound an alarm before the gates are opened. (My escape plan involved little more than "RRUUNNN!!!")

Fossil??

Pock-marked Basalt. I guess the softer sediments in the lava were washed away over time...?

On our way back up this man appeared. He was on his way down to the dam, with some kids in tow and a miner-type chisel in his hand.

It turns out he is Jim Aronson, a Professor of geology at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He had come down from New Hampshire "By a rather circuitous route", to Turners Falls to examine the rocks we were just on. He was pleased to see that the rock was exposed today, and that they had arrived with time to examine them.

He happily answered a couple quick questions I had about the rocks here, and went on his way, chipping off and showing the kids samples of Basalt.

We started heading back, and along the way saw some hot air balloons landing ahead of us. We saw several cars pulled over, and stopped to see a balloon being taken apart, with a crowd of spectators around watching.

The owner of the balloon, a self described 'Huckster', started recruiting the people around to help take the balloon apart and put it back on it's trailer. I was one of the recruitees.

The basket was kind of heavy, 7 of us struggled with it over the corn-rows. (maybe I should have used both hands).

Once the basket was on the trailer, we went back for the 'balloon' part. It had to be picked up bit by bit and stuffed into a giant duffel bag. Ever hear that saying about 20lbs of 'stuff' in a 10lb. bag? Multiply that by $30,000 worth of nylon fabric.

Unbelievably, like a magic trick, the whole balloon fit into this bag.

We all sat on it in a circle to squeeze the air out, then carried it back to the truck.

The whole kit and caboodle fit on the back of a small trailer.

In case anyone needs a reminder just how big these balloons are, here's a quick video of another balloon that was on the other side of the field, tethered to a truck. They were giving short up and down rides.

That was it for daylight. We stopped for a coffee in Northampton on the way back, and reflected on our afternoon.

Tales of the Past

We set out Sunday afternoon in search of some kind of leaf color, as it seems a little overdue.



Still not too much color change going on, but there was plenty of other color to be seen as we drove through Hatfield.


Yankee Candle in Deerfield was overflowing with visitors, the parking lot was so full they were parking on the grass.


We saw the sign for Historic Deerfield a little farther up, and decided to check it out.


A quick history...

Deerfield is one of the oldest towns in Western Mass. It was settled on Pocomtuck Indian land after that tribe was nearly wiped out by the Mohawks from the west.

The settlers came from Dedham in 1671. The settlement lasted four years, then was attacked and burnt down by the natives in 1675. It was eventually reoccupied, only to be attacked again in 1704, this time by the French and Indians. About 50 were killed and about 112 were taken captive and led off to Canada. Only 60 would later make it back.

There are a lot of 18th century houses along the mile or so of the historic district. Many are open to the public as little museums. You can purchase a self-guided tour ticket at the visitor center.

Ever seen anyone actually use their shutters?

Some houses were dark, others painted with happier colors. This one with a very light shade of blue.


A ways down the road there is a trail through some farm land. There are plaques along the way with some information on the local geology, and how the Deerfield Valley was formed

We continued on into big sky country. Along what is left of the ancient bed of Lake Hitchcock.


Speaking of ancient beds, from there we followed a path behind Deerfield Academy to this old graveyard.


Reading some of the tombstones, I pieced together something of a tragic story concerning a Mr. Samuel Childs, a Deacon in 18th century Deerfield.


I saw a tombstone for one of his children named Simeon, who died at the age of 2 years in 1755. Nearby, another grave for a daughter named Experience who died in 1758, at one year seven months. Not far from there, a single tombstone for two more of his children who died within a week of each other, in 1777. Israel, age eight, and another named Experience, aged 2. I'd guess they died from sickness.

Ever wonder why old farm families had so many children? There's one reason, incredibly high mortality rates.

There were other stones that told sad tales, like a mother and 2 week old daughter that were buried together.

On the other hand, there were some people that had made it into their 80's. Remarkable.

Death must have felt always nearby, which explains the skulls on the earliest tombstones from the 1700's.



Later on from the mid 1700's to the early 1800's, these cherub looking faces were predominant, probably by then, death was a little less close to the bone.


After that, it was Urns and other other pictures. Life a little more certain.



We headed back to the car. Though we didn't see signs of fall in full color mode yet, there was this leaf pile, the first I'd seen this year.