1. Day 3 kicked off still in Brattleboro, Vermont. The motel I stayed in wasn’t as good as Pemi Cabins in Lincoln, NH but then again I didn’t expect it. Plus with the price I paid, I got about what I expected.
2. I did get on the road early. Partially because I had a lot to see, but also because the motel didn’t really feel like a place to just hang out. No screened-in porch, no rushing river, and way too many people smoking cigarettes while rolling around on those motor scooters you see in grocery stores.
3. Before I left Vermont to re-enter Massachusetts I had to play tourist one more time. I stopped at the Vermont Maple Museum. I needed to buy some authentic maple syrup for a few people. It was such a fun store. Loads of cool items, foods, stuffed toys, ceramics, and more, were all over the place. The owners were so nice as well. In the end, I was lucky to leave only spending what I did, a few more minutes and I might have maxed out my credit card again.
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| Vermont Maple Museum |
4. One thing I didn’t get used to throughout the vast majority of the 3-day trip was the sheer amount of high-grade hills and sharp curves on the roads I traveled. Now granted I think if I had chosen to simply follow the highways I’d have avoided much of them, but that’s not the authentic Northern New England experience I wanted. My car wasn’t always happy, but I was.
5. At one point when driving in this sort of semi-circle leading me west in Vermont to catch the Mohawk Trail in North Adams, Massachusetts I was on such a desolate stretch of road that I slowed my car down to a crawl, pulled out my camera, and recorded a video while driving. Smart? Maybe not. It was definitely a good way to capture what much of my travels were like though.
6. So I lied. I ended up playing tourist again mere minutes after returning to Massachusetts. I stopped at a Big Y supermarket in North Adams. The nearest one to me is an hour away so I don’t visit them too often. How did I play tourist? By buying an insulated bag with the Big Y logo on it. I have yet to use it as of this writing.
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| Big Y? Because Y not? |
7. It took all of my restraint not to buy a container of riblets from the hot buffet lunch. I love ribs. However, eating a boatload of ribs would likely have meant that I’d have no desire to visit any of the places on my itinerary. More likely would have been me pulling over somewhere along the Mohawk Trail to take a nap.
8. For those unfamiliar the Mohawk Trail is 63 miles of beautiful scenery throughout much of Western and Central Massachusetts. Here is a downloadable guide from the official Mohawk Trail website.
9. A favorite attraction on the Mohawk Trail is the Hairpin Turn in North Adams. The curve is so sharp it requires vehicles to turn nearly 180 degrees and head up a steep incline. The speed limit is 15mph. On this curve is the precariously placed Golden Eagle Restaurant. There are also several parking areas to look at the incredible views of the Berkshires.
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| The famed Hairpin Turn in North Adams |
10. On my Bucket List of places to visit for years has been the Hoosac Tunnel. Why? Because it’s purportedly one of, if not the most, haunted places in Massachusetts. So call it a morbid Bucket List. There are several cemeteries and abandoned old buildings on that list as well.
11. In short the Hoosac Tunnel is a nearly 5-mile long railroad tunnel built through the Hoosac Mountain between the towns of North Adams and Florida. It took more than 20 years to construct and was opened in 1875. In all at least 135 people died in the construction of the tunnel with it earning the nickname the ‘Bloody Pit.’ Now you see why I wanted to visit?
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| The east portal of the Hoosac Tunnel. |
12. The first thing I noticed is how out of the way the tunnel is. You have to traverse down a steep and winding decline from the Mohawk Trail to the tunnel’s east portal. By the time you’re in the gravel parking area, your phone is far out of service. That’s what you sign up for though when you go.
13. The second thing I noticed is how many more people frequent this area than I expected. No, it wasn’t hundreds, but in the time I was there, I counted at least 10 other people. Mostly they were either walking dogs or taking pictures of the Hoosac Tunnel entrance.
14. A quick heads up. The Hoosac Tunnel is still an active railway. There is even a No Trespassing sign where you would park. I don’t know how strict the police are in that area, but just be aware that you are technically not supposed to be there. Oh, and that trains do travel through the tunnel.
15. Note to Self: When planning to visit and go inside a deep, dark railroad tunnel, maybe bring a flashlight. I ventured a little over 1,000 feet into the Hoosac Tunnel with only my iPhone flashlight, otherwise known as no flashlight. I did bring my camera tripod and remote shutter so I was half-prepared.
Inside the creepy Hoosac Tunnel.
16. It had begun raining when I got to the Hoosac Tunnel and the water was dripping inside the tunnel in the dark. Needless to say when hearing random noises inside a haunted tunnel, even if you know it’s water, it will still tighten your chest a bit. If I had a flashlight maybe I’d have gone further but who knows.
17. The highlight inside the tunnel was trying to take long exposure images. I used my phone light in front of the camera and the remote shutter to get the lens to focus. Then I’d press and hold the shutter until satisfied with the length of the exposure. Two things. First I took a long exposure shot but like a fool, I was too far out in front of the camera. In other words, when I checked my photos later what I thought was a pretty obvious ghost was just my stupid face. Second, the water dripping inside the tunnel affected my remote shutter. At one point I couldn’t turn it off and again I briefly thought it was spirits messing with my camera. That was until I felt the water on the camera. That ended my time inside the Hoosac Tunnel.
18. A spot I like to stop at along the Mohawk Trail is a beautifully scenic S-curve that sits on the border of Savoy and Florida, Massachusetts. There’s a small place to park on a nearby side road. Part of me loves the scenery, especially in fall, but also I am one who didn’t know there was a Florida, Massachusetts until maybe 10 years ago. I am still a child who is easy to amuse.
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| The S-curve between Savoy and Florida, MA |
19. I decided to give myself a challenge on Day 3 of this trip. Once I got to North Adams and began the Mohawk Trail I’d no longer use my GPS for directions. Sure I’d have the map open but I’d have to use my own sense of direction to get home. It was like the old days when I’d do road trips and print out directions from MapQuest. How did I do? We’ll get deeper into that later.
20. It would take a long time to fully reveal all of the beautiful sites and fun attractions that lay along the Mohawk Trail. Download the guide above for more details. However, what’s just as much fun is kind of going off the beaten path and finding places that weren’t on your itinerary.
21. I stopped to get gas using my Fuel Rewards app which was a part of rejoining AAA. This was in Greenfield, MA. I saved 30 cents per gallon at Shell which was already a bonus. Before I got back on the road again I looked at the map to see if there was anything around. It was then that I spotted the Poet’s Seat Tower. After seeing one image online I knew I had to go.
22. Poet’s Seat Tower is a 4-floor stone observation tower with mind-blowing views of Greenfield and much of the surrounding Pioneer Valley. It is on Mountain Road and you might at times have to park and walk out to it, but on this day I drove right up to the tower. There were some younger people there hanging out but not bothering anyone despite saying more swears in a minute than I do in a week.
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| Inside Greenfield's Poet's Seat Tower. |
23. The only downside to my visit to Poet’s Seat Tower was climbing the stairs to the 2nd floor and having a tiny yip-yip dog barking like crazy as soon as my head was visible. I audibly yelled and the couple apologized saying their dog thought they owned the tower. I said it was fine but part of me wanted to play Frisbee golf with that dog.
24. After Poet’s Seat Tower I focused on making my way back to Cape Cod without using GPS. It’s funny because I had other places along the Mohawk Trail I could have stopped at but I guess at some point during a road trip you just know that the adventure is over and it’s time to go home. I don’t know if that happens to anyone else or if it’s just me.
25. I won’t lie, driving from North Adams to Cape Cod without GPS wasn’t always easy. I knew I had to head southeast and used the road signs to kind of head in that direction. That being said I likely spent at least an hour in a sort of spiderweb pattern. I would go in a circle but with each loop, I’d get a little further out.
26. Eventually I got antsy and decided to jump on the highway once I got close to Marlboro. This is about an hour and a half from home, and I-495 starts there. So I broke my vow of not taking the highway, but I still didn’t use the GPS for directions so it was a half-win.
27. On Day 3 of the road trip I drove just over 300 miles bringing my total for the trip to just under 800 miles. My Toyota I’ve had for 10 years, which has 148K miles and has been paid off for 4 years, still gets the job done.
28. This was an amazing road trip filled with so many great memories and sights. It rekindled my love of travel and the content creation that comes from it. I already have plans for another overnight trip in October but don’t want to spoil it just in case plans change.
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