Intentional Wandering

Clark Art Institute grounds

Williamstown MA

Today a Jesuit friend and I took a day trip to the Berkshires. It was his first excursion to the area; I hadn't visited in quite some time. The weather turned out better than we had expected; instead of clouds and showers, we were blessed with clouds and sun. Our journey included brief stops at Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and also Kripalu, a yoga center housed in a former Jesuit novitiate. We enjoyed a longer stay in Williamstown, where we visited the Clark Art Institute, a remarkable institution which includes a room full of Renoirs, and sprawling grounds traversed by wooded trails. We encountered natural splendor in a state park established at an abandoned quarry, and also in the views from the famous hairpin turn on Route 2, both in North Adams. In the sunset hour, a gentle descent from the main road brought us to Shelburne Falls, home of a famous bridge of flowers: an abandoned trolley trestle that was reclaimed as a garden by local residents nearly 85 years ago.

Natural Bridge State Park, North Adams MA

I'd heard of each of these landmarks before, yet would not have visited them if my friend and brother hadn't raised the idea. He would not have seen them if it weren't for my familiarity with the Berkshires, gleaned from some earlier wanderings, whether accompanied or alone, in the northwestern corner of Massachusetts. Even our itinerary that day was somewhat haphazard: choosing activities in a given town based on not only what was there but also on the weather and our mood at the time. As much as I may strive to follow routines and strict plans in the course of my work– an approach to middle school teaching that it has its advantages and its drawbacks– it was a refreshing change to set out on the road with little more than a good companion, a sense of direction, and a notion of the hidden treasures to be sought once more, or discovered anew.

Bridge of Flowers

Shelburne Falls MA