Vermont 10/9/1998

At St. Johnsbury I passed the Maple Grove Factory and wheeled into the parking lot. Here eleven others joined me on the step for a well organized tour of the factory. After the tour and a brief walk through the little museum it was into the gift shop. This was what I had originally planned to buy as trip souvenirs so buy I did, wonderful little maple candies and syrup.

Soon after entering Vermont I noticed how it took on an entirely different flavor from New Hampshire. The mountains are interspersed with lush green pastures and the paint scheme seems to be rustic red. I passed many black & white cows and old barns along the way. As I passed through small towns each seemed to have a town hall, an antique store, a general store and old houses. I got a feeling the people take life easy around here - I would - and marveled at the environment all the while. My ears were not accustomed to the variation in elevation and at times I felt like I had gone into another dimension. On the radio they were announcing a snowmobile swap to be held and told me that the lows should be around 25.


I marveled in Montpelier as to how a state's capitol could have a population under 10,000. The shiny gold capitol dome sat behind a charming old red rock or brick building. It is in the center of granite-quarrying industries, one being at nearby Barre.

I have seen people wearing buttons all across New England which told me from which direction they came - Ben and Jerry's at Waterford. What a tourist attraction and no wonder. Everything about it is bright and cute. The waste baskets are in cow patterns. I would later be discouraged to realize that somehow my roll of film from Vermont got exposed and no pictures turned out.

A few miles north on 100 and I came to the lovely Golden Brook camping area. I am settled on a grassy field staring at the mountains. Two nights of chilly weather and I decided it was time to follow the geese and head south. As I left the campground the next morning I saw geese circling overhead looking for a landing spot. Seems that I got ahead of the geese.

Emily's Covered Bridge in Stowe Hollow was a delightful off the main road treat.



Then I was off for the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. Some day I will return in January via airplane and go for a sleigh ride.


God's autumn glory had been dimmed today by the cloudiness but it was a day filled with solitude. Burlington, settled in 1775, is on the bank of Lake Champlain and with a population of only 39,000 is the largest town in Vermont. I drove past Sherburne Farms which I might enjoy but not today. It was beginning to look like it might rain and this was a 1400 acre agricultural estate built in the 1880s. It is a working farm and the landscape was designed by the creator of Central Park in New York City, Frederick Law Olmsted. There are 37 historic structures, many moved from different parts of New England. A look at the parking lot let me know they wouldn't miss my visit.




While the ferry traveled across Lake Champlain in cloudy, windy weather I sat in Ziggy, enjoyed the view, and ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The geese were going south and so should I. It was time to start returning home. I had completed leg 3 of my journey.