Yesterday Mindi, AJ, and I headed out to far western Massachusetts/eastern New York to meet Snowshoe (aka Heather, a gal from the backpacker.com forums) and go for a short jaunt up to Bash Bish Falls. The deciduous trees were about at their fall color peak and there were just a few other people out and about. The hike to the falls isn't too hard or far which was good since we were pushing AJ in his 3-wheel drive stroller. The air was crisp and we bundled up but warmed up quickly as we hiked uphill from the trailhead and shed layers. The trailhead is in New York but soon you pass the state line and head into Massachusetts. All along the way beautiful Bash Bish Creek tumbles over dark colored rocks and the water is crystal clear. Soon we reached the falls, which are the highest in Massachusetts at about 200 feet. From there Mindi stayed with AJ in the stroller while Snowshoe and I hiked down the steps to view the falls closer. Then I hiked back up to watch AJ for a little bit so Mindi could get a closer look. After a little while there we headed back down taking lots of autumn foliage pictures along the way.
Once back at the trailhead we decided to continue the day by heading to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. It was AJ's second museum visit in as many weeks but he is a very good museum go-er. He especially enjoyed the life-size folks looking out at him from Rockwell's "Freedom from Want" Thanksgiving table painting.
After touring the museum we went to the real life version of Rockwell's downtown Stockbridge painting. We had dinner at Michael's Restaurant and Pub in this very charming town. Then we said goodbye to Snowshoe and parted ways. It was a very enjoyable day and I'm glad I finally got to meet Snowshoe! Maybe someday we'll get to go on a longer backpacking trip :)
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