Shelburne Falls Camping weekend continues

After Williamstown, Daniel and I headed over to Shelburne Falls. They are known for the bridge of flowers. There is a bridge that crosses the river and on both sides of the walk way there are all sorts and varieties of flowers. It is a beautiful and most colorful stroll.

Best of all you can take in the view of the River while you are enjoying the flowers.

This tree looked like it was all tangled up.

View up the river, it is so beautiful here.

The "Glacial Potholes" began to form after the last glacier age when the Deerfield River first started to flow over these rocks, about 14,000 years ago. The formation of these river-eroded features thanks to the great glacial lake, Lake Hitchcock, that filled the Connecticut Valley and also extended into the lower Deerfield Valley. While Shelburne Falls was not under Lake Hitchcock, it was under the sediments of the Deerfield River that built a delta into the lake. Lake Hitchcock drained by 14,000 years ago.

Below the hydroelectric dam lie the potholes, an incredible geological wonder. Over 50 glacial potholes are clustered in one of the largest known concentrations of these natural sculptures. Ranging in size from as small as 6 inches in diameter to the largest pothole on record - 39 feet across - the variety of shades revealed in the metamorphic rock layers make it one of the most beautiful spots in Western Massachusetts.

When the last glaciers melted, the Connecticut River Valley was flooded, creating a huge lake - Lake Hitchcock. As the lake drained, it swelled the flow of the Deerfield River. The river, carrying in its rushing waters a large load of stones, sand and mud, began to erode the hard metamorphic rock over which it flowed.

Potholes formed when stones trapped in cracks in the riverbed were twirled and vibrated in the fast-moving current, drilling their way into the river bottom. If you look carefully, you can see some of the rounded stones that carved out these potholes.
In fact, they are still carving them. The process continues slowly, especially in the Spring when the melting snow again swells the river and the rushing water turns the stones and they continue their boring into the rock.

Here is a better view of the entire Falls area.

When I first saw the falls they reminded me of  the falls in Idaho Falls, ID.

I think it is just incredible how nature works. It is interesting to learn how things are created and what causes certain effects. Boy do we live in a marvelous world!

This is the top side of the Dam which is also a marvelous view.

To top off the trip we stopped at Daniel's Aunt Lucinda's house and we had a BBQ with her family. They are such great people. They are wonderful and always make me feel welcomed every time I see them. We really are blessed to have the opportunities to meet the people we do and to learn from them. I was reflecting on the people who have passed in and out of my life and thought how many have left a part of them with me due to them being an answer to many prayers either on my behalf or the behalf of others. It is amazing the influence people have on us from those we have one interaction with to hundreds. Make every interaction with people count because you never know what you can leave behind for them.