northern Vermont

It seemed if we stayed in Montpelier we should visit the capitol, the oldest one still being used for that purpose in the United States. The town has less than 10,000 residents!


Then a few miles down the road we spent some quality time in Waterbury. At the Apple Cider Mill we sampled jams, jellies, mustard, apple cider and got a free apple cider donut. It was interesting to see how the apples were compressed in the big apple press.


For dessert we sampled Ben & Jerry's new flavor after a tour of the building. They were not making ice cream today.

The Green Mountain Coffee Shop and visitor's center in Waterbury offered fresh coffee on a chilly day with the high forecast to be 45. The blustery wind did not help. We watched video presentations as to how the coffee is harvested in Peru and roasted and processed in the factory nearby. In the park across the street we accomplished the first Vermont geocache.

It was a good day for my new mittens as we strolled alongside the river on the recreational trail.

We even got to watch the corn being harvested as we left.


A few miles up the road we arrived in Stowe, a well-known ski resort. A tour of the ski museum was interesting and brought lots of memories back to Leon.

The trip north from Stowe was breathtaking. The leaves seemed to be at peak along many sections of the highway that led to St. Johnsbury. There was just never a spot to pull off for the best photo.


Again we have located an Elk's Lodge that is happy for us to stay in St. Johnsbury. Another fine day.

Central Vermont

After a peaceful evening at the Elk's in Rutland, Vermont we continued east. In the Killington, Vermont area I slammed on the brakes to investigate further the cows made from hay! There are 32 arrangements made from bales of hay for the Hay Festival. We found them scattered along several roads. How clever they are.
The bears seemed to be the most common although we saw a tiger, tinman, Pinocchio and more.

Then I had to brake hard and fast so as not to miss what turned out to be a wonderful farmer's market. The fridge is loaded with fresh vegetables. How about these swan neck gourds.

Woodstock received the acclaim in AAA that it is the prettiest town in Vermont. And it was most enjoyable. There are plenty of old houses dating to the early 1800s that delighted me. We had a really nice walk through the town. Later in Montpelier we were told that a bunch of rich snobs live there. Perhaps so!

On our way to Sugarbush Farm we went throuhf the Taftsville covered bridge built in 1836.

This calf would have liked for Leon to hang around longer.

The Belgian horses like crabapples and thought I might have some. At one time they were used to pull the wagon through the woods in March where the syrup buckets on 6,000 maple trees would be emptied into a large vat each day.

A visit to Sugarbush farm was a fun way to sample some maple syrup and cheese. This is the syrup house where the sap is cooked and turned into syrup. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of pure maple syrup.

A walk among the maples allowed us to see how they now run tubes through the trees rather than using the buckets as they once did. We met a woman here who was letterboxing, a hobby similar to geocaching but no gps required.

A few miles further east we came to the Quechee Gorge. The bridge is 165 feet above the Ottauquechee River.

We then continued further north traveling alongside the eastern boundary of the Green Mountain National Forest. The small two lane road provided us a broad array of colors even though it was misting rain most of the time. All flavors of sherbert came to mind: peach, lime, strawberry, raspberry, pineapple. We settled for the night at the Montpelier Elk's Country Club, high on a hill overlooking the golf course and distant mountains.

Ticonderoga, NY

Ft. Ticonderoga is a reconstruction of the old fort that played an important role in our history.


The original fort was constructed in 1755 by the French to control the narrow portion of Lake Champlain used for shipping. It also played a role in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.

In 1775 Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys took the fort from the British. It is stocked with artifacts and artwork.

This young lad dressed in period costume explained how five soldiers were assigned to a bunk. Three manned the cannons outside while two slept in the bunk.

It was our first day of rain but at least it was a slow drizzle that did not stop our tour nor dampen our spirits.



The one person in period costume seemed to do it all!





The King's Garden is a restored formal garden enclosed in a brick wall on the shore of Lake Champlain. It demonstrates 18th century gardens used by the troops.

Just down the road is the ferry from Ticonderoga, NY to Vermont. We debated taking it and decided to try a bridge instead.


The evening was a most delightful experience as we drove back west a few miles to reconnect with my high school friend Stephanie. She and Tom were fabulous hosts at their Adirondack cabin.

We did the best we could to catch up on the last fifty years.

I enjoyed sitting on the porch and watching the sun attempt to come up over their pond.

After sweet potato pancakes we exited the Adirondacks in a myriad of fall colors: lime, peach, rust, red, yellow, melon, and peach as we drove along the Schroon River watching the mist rise. We crossed the border and got free coffee and wifi at the welcome center.

Further east in Rutland we located one stop shopping at the Walmart store where I am connected to wifi. Within a block are several restaurants, a movie theater, and TJ Maxx. What a deal!

Adirondacks in NY

The Adirondacks include both private and state owned land and about two-thirds of upstate New York. Nearly half of the 7 million acres of the park is wilderness. We decided to spend a couple of days exploring the region and it was time well spent. We only scratched the surface of opportunities in the region. There are 42 mountains over 4,0000 feet high, 2,800 lakes and ponds, 1,200 miles of rivers, and more than 30,000 miles of brooks and streams!

We stayed on Lake Durant in a state park campground near Blue Mountain Lake and enjoyed our first campfire. Walmart camping in the Adirondacks is rare!

A nearby hike was the first order of business the next morning. It was a lovely trail through the forest among the ferns and birch trees.


We soon arrived a grassy pond, our destination.

In Blue Mountain Lake we spent three hours at the Adirondack Museum and could have spent many more. It is one of the best museums we have ever visited. We learned much about the history of the area. They had displays pertaining to boats and boating, logging, trains, sleighs, skiing and outdoor activities, adirondack history, culture and architecture and so much more! One of my favorites was the display with moving magnetic boats that showed how visitors flocked to the area on train and then caught steamboats to deliver them to various hotels, lodges, or homes in the days before automobiles.

The hillside across from the museum was just a sample of the myriad of colors we viewed for several days.

Several of the campgrounds are already closed but the second night we stayed at Wellington Notch near Lake Placid and experienced a 27 degree night. Good thing we brought our coats and hats.


We stopped in several small towns including our visit here to Hoss's in Long Lake. Always nice to visit with some of the locals.

As we drove into Lake Placid we noticed the frost on the grasses and trees.

The 1939 and 1980 winter olympics were held in Lake Placid. These are the ski jumps used in 1980.

After a nice breakfast and a wander through town we took the 2.7 mile walk around Mirror Lake.
What a gorgeous day.

Do you see the woodpecker in this tree on the shore of Mirror Lake?

Who knew that John Brown lived in Lake Placid? I surely did not, but he moved to this farm 1855, after trying to help free blacks establish a settlement in North Elba. Brown was later found guilty of treason in Virginia for leading the raid on Harper's Ferry and hanged in 1859.

His wife brought his body back to the farm where he was buried on December 8. We visited the farm before it opened so did not take the tour.


First time I ever saw sheep upstairs but that is where they were in this barn. Also where the hay was which might explain it! They were watching us as we were watching them.

The fall colors were quite lovely but changed with the elevation. We lost the colors as we descended to Ticonderoga, where we were happy to spend a night at Walmart. We could not have a campfire but we did not have to pay $20 for a place to park without electricity either.

The Erie Canal

An early morning exit from Niagara Falls, New York, and we were passing through the finger lakes region. The scenery on the New York thruway was beautiful and got us excited about changing leaves as we rolled along gentle hills past farms with corn that is still green, changing colors on the sumac and poison ivy, purple flowers, goldenrod. We are starting to see some colors in the leaves.

An unplanned stop was the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse. The old town, formed in 1805, was a major shipping port for salt. The Erie Canal flowed through what is now the heart of town. The only remaining weighlock building, which is now the museum, served us well. This was where they would weigh the barges as they traveled down the canal from 1825-1923 on what is now Erie Street. There are plenty of old photograhs.


A replica of a canal boat had displays throughout. I had no idea they were so large or that the canal played such a major role in the development of our country. Many immigrants traveled westward from New York on the canal. This is another replica.

We did enjoy a walk down to Clinton Square for a geocache where I marveled at the old buildings still in the downtown area. Imagine water flowing between those two buildings and across the park where I stood to take the photo!

This painting shows what it looked like when the Erie Canal ran through downtown Syracuse.

The museum included small vignettes with period furnishings which made one feel like she had stepped back in time.

Leon waited for a bartender to come along but it did not happen!


Once we left I REALLY wondered what the Erie Canal looked like! We located the Erie Canal State Park in DeWitt a few miles east. Here we got in an afternoon walk even though the temperature was 80!


The towpath where the mules once pulled the barges along the canal led us to an aqueduct that allowed the canal to cross over Butternut Creek. Quite impressive!

This bridge is over Butternut Creek adjacent to the aqueduct. Of course there isn't much water flowing in the canal now but it must have been a busy place at one time!

So on to Utica and an overnight stop at the Elk's Lodge before heading north into the Adirondacks. The locals recommend we eat greens, chicken diggies, and tomato pie!