Our first full day was very low key, just checking out the immediate area and laying in supplies. Our second day had us driving over to Burlington and spending half the day along the waterfront of Lake Champlain and getting long walks with Cooper and CJ on the paths beside the lake front. The Adirondacks are visible across the lake, most impressive. We plan on returning without dogs in a few days to ride bike in the 8 mile long bike trail.
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| Burlington Lake front walk. Adirondacks across the lake |
When we arrive in a new location, we have a general idea of what points of interest the area might hold for us. Here, outside of Stowe, is the
Von Trapp Family Lodge. Of course having seen the movie "The Sound of Music" several times, we headed over to see their American home. (Cooper and CJ opted to stay back at camp.) Wow! Set on top of a mountain outside of town, on 2500 acres with a breath taking view of the valley and mountains, is an Apline Lodge that is still run by the Trapp Family. Miles of trails, nice restaurants, a beer hall and other activies are possible while there. (Note: this is not the house they started in, unfortunately there was a fire in the early 1980’s).
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| Trapp Lodge at Stowe VT |
Also in the area, beside the quaint town itself are the numerous ski resorts and heading back out towards I89, a chocolatire. This stop provided us with a supply of coco for the coming Winter.
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| ready for the cold weather |
Arriving back in the area of the campground, we went to check out a nearby apple orchard. This was a pick them yourself orchard and so we did. Lots of fun! We had never done that, even though there are numerous orchards in Lancaster County that offer the same opportunity.
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| as fresh as can be! |
Cooper and CJ joined us for our next trip. This time heading South to
Quechee to hike the Gorge at Quechee Gorge State Park and then travel over to the Green Mountains and back to our RV using local roads. The hike from US 2 down to the bottom of the gorge is posted as 4/10 of a mile is is great going down but does increase your pulse coming back up. That being said, there were numerous bus groups hiking the trail with many people in their 70’s making the trek. Cooper and CJ of course had no problems.
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| Quechee Gorge |
We stopped across the road from the Gorge and ate our picnic lunch at the State Park picnic area, then continued up the road to a cluster of shoppes centered around Cabot cheese. We sampled almost to the point where we could have skipped lunch, bought a couple of blocks of cheese, crackers and some locally produced adult beverages- wine for Cindy and hard cider for me.
Next we headed west on US 4 towards Woodstock and Killington. Part of this trip is to see America from the side roads vs the Interstate, and this route was perfect for this. Beautiful mountains, with foliage trying to pop, but not there yet due to the recent heat wave. Near the village of Bridgewater,just east of Killington, we pulled in for gas at a country store. The place was great, full of activity and charm. Oak and glass display cases from decades ago, deer heads on the wall and selling a wide variety of local items.
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| Great country store! |
On westward for a few more miles, then swung North up thru Killington and to Rochester where we picked up a township road that brought us east to VT 12 and back home. Our search for the renowned Fall foliage eludes us as it has been unseasonably warm until recently. The colors are arriving but slowly.
Tuesday found us once again heading to Burlington. This time to use our bikes and explore the 8 mile long trail along Lake Champlain. We parked at the South end of the trail and snagged some free parking, unloaded our bikes, geared up and pedaled off. The Vermont State Police Scuba Team was practicing in the area as we were starting on the trail.
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| VT SP SCUBA Team |
The trail is nicely done, takes you along the shore line for the majority of its length with a small dose of thru town and along the rail yards. We road past where we had walked last Friday and discovered that just beyond where we had turned around, the is a fenced dog park! This we will possibly use in the next few days.
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| Very nice bike trail along Lake Champlain |
We rode to where the trail detours due to construction, turned around and headed back to the North Beach lakefront picnic area to eat lunch. Here we also discovered a rather nice municipal campground. May be worth reserving in the future to be based in Burlington for a few days.
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| North Beach, Burlington VT |
Cooper and CJ were very excited to discover a place on the visitors map that offered great promise -
Dog Mountain . Looking at he visitors map, we located this paradise over NE of St Johnsbury. Also in the area is
Cabot Creamery.
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| Cabot Creamery |
Off we went, again taking some lesser roads to see the sites and by 11 AM pulled into Cabot to take the plant tour. Very nice, through the working plant tour, to see how cheese is made - plant tours are always great. Cooper and CJ waited patiently in a shady parking spot. The tour was nicely done, lots of samples :), a few purchases and then back in the Jeep and off to Dog Mountain!
The location was well marked in town and we arrived in short order. We hit a good day , mid-week, mid-afternoon and the dogs loved it! Trails, water bowls, a Chapel dedicated to pets. Nice views of the valley and a gallery selling art items created by the late founder rounded out an awesome visit. After weeks of mostly on leash time, Cooper and CJ thoroughly enjoyed running free for an hour :)
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| ever friendly CJ meeting a new friend |
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| Cooper and friend cooling down in small pond at Dog Mountain! |
We had a few small repairs crop up during this time, a cracked bathroom roof vent cover and a broken screen door latch spring were on the list. On our return back to camp on US 2, just East of Montpelier ( smallest State capital in the US, pop 7800) we came upon a RV dealer! I pulled in, went to the parts department and they had several options for both items that needed repairs. Not being certain of exactly which one would be the correct choice, I opted to return to camp and return the following morning with the damaged items to match with what was available. The following morning I removed the items, Cindy, Cooper, CJ and I got in the Jeep and headed to.....Waterbury to visit the Green Mountain Coffee visitor center (didn't know they owned Kuerig), then over to apple cider pressing near Stowe and finally down to the RV dealer. The parts were matched up and by suppertime we were back home and all items were repaired (nice when things work out that way especially before a big rain ).
Our quest for Fall color showed sign for promise as we ended the week. We were told of an interesting local item only miles from camp - a
Floating Bridge
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| Floating Bridge |
As we drove to the floating bridge, we caught glimpses of things a changing! Our next few days took us to more of the back roads and small towns that make this such a quaint place to visit, and yes, we did find some absolutely beautiful areas of Fall color!
Saturday morning was to be our last big foray to seek foliage. Cindy had researched to find that north of Montpelier on US 2 down VT 100b to VT 17W was in peak color. We combined this with a quick breakfast at the New England Culinary Institute, where we enjoyed a delightful Bear Claw and cup of coffee before driving the leaf route.
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| mmmm.....Bear Claw |
Out drive took us thru same neat small towns and villages and yes!!! the color was there, Quest successful.
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| the Vermont color is a sight to behold |
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imagine this in the Summer
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As we were heading out 17 looking at leaves, we also came across a gem - a very old , still operational saw mill! having unloaded many boxcars of lumber in my youth for our grandfather, I had to include it in the narrative!
Love the scenery there! Love all the detail, it's like we get to go along:) we must visit Vermont sometime!:!
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