Mohawk Trail - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 922

spend the next year or two at sea. As adults they return, fighting their way upcurrent to
spawn in the same streams where they were born—unless something stops them. And
stopped these fish were until recently,bypower dams built across the Connecticut andoth-
er rivers. But at Turners Falls, Northeast Utilities has built state-of-the-art fish ladders that
enable the salmon—and many shad as well as undesirable lamprey eels—to bypass their
dam. At a special viewing area, open in May, you can experience the miracle of the fish's
spring migration.
3. Shelburne Falls
Just beyond I-91, Rte. 2 begins its climb into the hills. Scaling the steep wooded slopes of
Greenfield Mountain, the Mohawk Trail spins on past apple orchards, pastures, hay fields,
maple-sugar houses, and old barns brimming with antiques. Shelburne Falls, the first of
the hill towns, is a huddle of rambling Federal-style houses and a historic shopping district
nestled beside the Deerfield River.
The first visitors here were Indians, who came to net salmon at the base of the falls,
whereaswirlofbouldersintheclosingyearsoftheiceagescoopedsome50circularpools
into the bedrock. One pothole, measuring 39 feet across, is said to be the world's largest.
Nearby,the400-foot-longBridgeofFlowersspanstheDeerfieldRiver.Originallybuiltfor
trolley cars, it now displays bright seasonal borders that erupt in a nine-month display of
color, from springtime's daffodils and summer's gladiolii to autumn's asters.
Did you know…
According to The History and Traditions of Shelburne, Massachusetts, pub-
lished in 1958, the trolley bridge in town was an “eyesore,” but it was too ex-
pensive to destroy. Moreover, it carried the water main to the Buckland side of
the river. Fortunately, resident Antoinette Burnham had the idea of turning the
old trolley bridge into a Bridge of Flowers. The Shelburne Falls Fire District
purchased the bridge for $1,250, and in 1928 the Woman's Club raised $1,000
and began planting.
4. Charlemont
“Thereisnolovelierplaceonearth,”onceopinedArchibaldMacLeish,America'slatepoet
laureate andsometime residentofFranklinCounty,“nothingmorehumaninscaleandpro-
spect than our hills.” He was opening the summer chamber music season at Charlemont's
prim white clapboard Federated Church, perched above the Deerfield River. In summer
the concerts and—more ruggedly active—white-water canoeing are the attractions here;