Its The Journey Not the Destination

Posted on by | 2 Comments

Its The Journey Not the Destination

How many times have you heard that in one form or another? Enjoy the journey. Have a good trip. That certainly applied to my trip to Bash Bish Falls. I got there from the Massachusetts side. But I left thorough New York. That seemed much shorter and faster.

It all starts at Exit 2

It all began with my plan to visit my mother for and hour or so. But that’s a long ride (4+ hours) for just a quick visit. I thought I’d combine   a visit with her with a visit to the falls. Vising Bash Bish Falls has been a  goal the last couple of years every since I first heard of it.

I left for the drive to the Falls at 8:00 AM and after a few quick stops for things like gas and water I was on the road by 8:30 AM. By 11 AM I was approaching exit 2 off the Mass Pike in Lee MA. My directions were pretty good. From the exit I followed 102 West to Stockbridge. In Stockbridge I picked up route 7 through Great Barrington.

I wish I had more time, the towns are gorgeous. Very photogenic.

To Turn or Not to Turn

In Great Barrington I picked up Route 23 to South Egremont where I was supposed to connect with  Rte 41. This is where I may have made a mistake. Before I ever got to South Egremont I saw a sign for Rte 41 South. Do I take this turn or keep going? I made a quick decision to take that turn and it didn’t match the directions from there. I drove and drove looking for Mount Washington Rd. Finally I began to see the signs for the park so I just kept going.

A New England Hana Rd

You may remember my harrowing experience on Maui’s Road to Hana. https://aroundustyroads.com/2017/02/12/the-road-to-hana-revisited/

http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p731597928/h83e0e28f#h83e0e28f

Now I was on a winding, narrow road that kept turning back on itself in a series of switchbacks. Just as my mind flashed to the same type of drive in Maui, I saw a sign…one lane road ahead..and I was back on Maui all over again! Luckily unlike Maui, I didn’t meet any other cars on this stretch of road.

The scenery was beautiful. When I finally found Mount Washington Rd, I saw a marsh spread out beside the road. I couldn’t pass it up. I parked the car on the side of the road to get a few pictures.

This is where I finally got a red winged blackbird in my lens!

http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p833725174/h8d0b3935#h8d0b3935

Then It was back in the car in search of the falls. I felt sure I was getting close.

Another Class and Some Photo News

Posted on by | 4 Comments

Class number 2

I took my lunch very late today so I could leave work early. I missed some of the traffic and made it to class with time to spare. Class #2 was pretty basic. But I did learn some tips about menus, not the restaurant kind, and had a good review of various hosting companies like, Bluehost, Go Daddy. Word press and others.

This week’s enhancement

The change I made to the site from the class was to add some more Tabs. Right below the heading photo where the Home, About and Contact live I’ve added 2 more choices. One is My Photo Page and the other is Travel. If you right click on My Photo Page it will take you right to my zenfolio web site! No more searching to find my pictures. The Travel Tab will take you to all my previous posts that have to do with Travel. I’m not sure if I’ll keep them all. I may have to “tweak” them a little but time will tell. Comments are welcome!

Some Photo News

I’ve been found again! Yay! This time I was approached by Landesblasorchester Baden-Württemberg, What’s that you ask?  They are an amateur orchestra who compete on the world stage.

&

This is from their email to me:

After several reflections, we have chosen a serious theme: “Every child has a right to future”, which is accompanied by pictures during the music. We will play at the Wind Band World Championship in Kerkrade/NL,

They found one of my pictures and want to use it. I am honored and of course gave my permission.

The photo they asked to use it the one I called the Longest Dirt Road in the World from our South Dakota adventure. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

Their interpretation is “The Road to Nowhere”. Without knowing the history of the picture I can certainly see why that would come to mind. I don’t know if there will be any photo credits but that’s ok. In this case I am just honored to have my work included. It amazes me that my little picture has come to the attention of someone from Europe! It’s a small, small world.

Beautiful Bellagio Fountains, Las Vegas

Posted on by

Beautiful Bellagio

Back in 2015 I wrote a post called Beautiful Bellagio about the wonderful dancing fountains. https://aroundustyroads.com/2015/03/09/beautiful-bellagio/ They are an attraction that is a natural fit for me. I love water, be it streams, lakes, ponds or oceans. Have you ever noticed the way the sun turns a waterfall into a veil of diamonds? Or a lake into a mirror? Have you ever tried scuba diving? That’s really becoming one with nature.

The Fire didn’t Stop the Show

In April of this year (2017) a fire broke out at the Bellagio hotel. The fire lasted about 30 minutes causing a tremendous amount of damage.  $450,000.00 worth! My first thought at the news was what happened to the fountains? I wondered if  they were damaged? Apparently not at all. The fountains bounced and dazzled the crowd on the strip while the fire raged in the background.

One! Singular Sensation

The fountain show changes all the time. In 2015  when the background music was from the musical A Chorus Line, the fountains danced and swayed to the tune of One, Singular Sensation, every little step she takes…

After 2 years, I now present the Dancing Fountains!

The Pink Panther stole the show

The night of the fire the Pink Panther stole the show. Spectators thought the fire was part of the show. As the smelly smoke reached the crowd they realized the fire wasn’t  background to the fountains and the Pink Panther Theme Music.

The Fountains At the Bellagio

In true “The Show Must Go On” tradition, the shops reopened almost immediately in an annex. It wasn’t long before the same shops moved back to the Bellagio hotel. With the damage from the fire repaired, life on the strip has returned to normal. The beautiful Bellagio fountains continue to bounce and dance and entertain. If you are in Las Vegas it’s a free show that is not be missed.

 

One Waterfall Down Eight to Go!

Posted on by | 8 Comments

One Down and Eight to go

Saturday afternoon the sun came out and I ran for the car. I had several different options but would only have time for one. A drive to Royalston MA to visit Doane’s Falls was the winner. There are 9 waterfalls on the Ultimate Massachusetts Waterfall Road trip. Doane’s Falls was my number one choice. It was close (2 hours). A doable afternoon trip.

What Waterfalls are on the list?

  1. Doane’s Falls, Royalston, MA
  2. The Cascade, North Adams Ma
  3. Wahconah Falls, Dalton, MA
  4. March Cataract Falls, Williamstown, MA
  5. Bash Bish Falls, Mt Washington State Park, MA
  6. Race Brook Falls, Sheffield, MA
  7. Umpachene Falls, New Marlborough, MA
  8. Campbell Falls, New Marlborough, MA
  9. Glendale Falls, Middlefield, MA

Stone Bridge and Waterfall

I found the Falls with little trouble. The roads are paved and easy to navigate. No need for off-roading or mudding  here. There is limited parking but if you can park in the little lot the Falls start right there. The water spills out of the culvert under a lovely stone bridge. You probably just drove over the bridge to get to the parking lot.

You can hear the falls before you see them. Just a few steps onto the trail and you can see the racing water poring out of the culvert. When I walked back to the road and looked on the other side of the bridge the brook was quite calm. It’s an amazing contrast.

Doane’s Falls Recap

The drive to Doane’s Falls was pretty easy. I only made one wrong turn and that was quickly corrected. Once on the right road the falls themselves are clearly marked. It’s warming up ans the flying, biting  critters are starting to come out. I hadn’t thought of that. Next trip to a waterfall will mean bug spray (extra strength), a hat, and snacks. Fast food  and lunch places are few and far between  once you leave Framingham behind.

I didn’t get all  the way to the bottom of the trail. I think there are more falls and rapids further down but the giant mosquitoes drove me back. This will be really pretty in the fall. With a little less water and the colored leaves. I definitely need to plan a return trip.

 

What Can Possibly Go Wrong~

Posted on by | 8 Comments

Whatever can go wrong probably will!

I had a chance to work from home today because I have enrolled in a class to learn more about WordPress. Oh there’s lots of places to read about it but I felt I needed a instructor to explain it and answer my questions. Working from home would let me go directly into Boston. What could possibly go wrong?

I raced out of the house at 5 pm. My work phone was still blowing up with emails and I got a call as I dashed out the door. It’s also rush hour but the class doesn’t start until 6:30 so I felt like I had plenty of time. As I pulled onto the expressway I pressed OnStar and gave them the address. I didn’t want to take any chance of getting lost. I also wanted to know my eta.

Where’s the RUSH in Rush Hour?

Bad News. It was 11 miles and 54 minutes. WHAT?! 54 minutes to go 11 miles? That’s really bad. Turns out they were right. Shortly after I activated OnStar traffic came to a screeching halt. We crawled. I could have walked faster!

Then as if I wasn’t late enough, OnStar took me to the wrong address. I thought they were just routing me around the traffic. Nope. I have no idea where I ended up but it wasn’t where I wanted to be. After another call to OnStar and new directions I finally arrived at my destination at 7:30 pm. I’d missed half of the class.

No Need to be Rude, Dude.

I earned a really dirty look from the instructor who refused to accept my apology. His response was “Don’t expect me to hold up the class for you”.  Of course I was left without any direction to catch up. I was on my own. I finally gave up and logged into my new blog so I could follow along without messing up this space.

I picked up some tips but the most exciting thing is that I learned how to add Videos.
This is my first attempt!

I love this video of Buddy. It always makes me laugh and now I can share it! Yay!