Berkshires Vacation - Mount Greylock and Hancock Shaker Village

Yesterday was our third day of beautiful weather - sunny and 60 degrees.  It was a perfect day to head up to Mount Greylock - that is, after 11.5 hours of sleep!

Mount Greylock is the highest natural point in Massachusetts - 3,491 feet!  Since Trav's back is still on the mend and my foot is still healing from all the fun it had at the WaterFires two weeks ago, we chose to drive to the top.

We had a pretty good laugh at the parking signs along the way, apparently requesting us to flip our cars up on their "butts" to make more room for others.  Could they really not think of another way to draw what they wanted us to do?

The summit was amazing, with stunning views everywhere you looked.  On a clear day, they say you can see 60-90 miles!  There is no way a camera could do it justice (or even just capture the sheer size of the landscape), so I made a collage of pictures so you can (maybe) get an idea.

There was a tower on the summit (looked a lot like a giant chess piece) that you could climb to the top of for even better views.  Everything smelled like Christmas Trees too.  Such a happy smell!

The inside base of the monument was beautiful, with a mosaic ceiling and marble floor.

We ate a late lunch at the Bascom Lodge (below), a lodge and restaurant at the summit.  The soup and sandwiches were good, but the real treat was the view while we ate.

After lunch we went to the Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, MA.  The village began in the 1780s with 100 believers and some land donated by local farmers, and operated until 1960 when it was sold to be a "living museum".  Over the years, the Hancock Shakers built many buildings on their land and produced many medicinal herbs, crops, and other handmade goods.  Today you can visit each building and see how they lived and worked.

Our favorite part was the round barn and its furry (or feathery) residents!

When we walked into the barn area, it was SO noisy.  While I haven't spent TOO much time with farm animals, I've spent enough to know it's not usually that loud.  We found that all the noise was coming from four angry pigs, and that this is their daily ritual right before feeding.  They were sooooooo mad!  Once they were fed, the settled down quite nicely.  So funny.

When we went outside, there were chickens and turkeys everywhere.  I think they thought we had food, because they followed us around most of the time we were hanging out.

It was beautiful!

Like yesterday, we got home just in time for sunset (and to relieve our puppy who had been home alone all day).

Friday, the house is going to fill up, as Terry and Jenny (Trav's parents), our friend Laura, and one of her friends are all coming for the weekend.  Can't wait!