Every spring Dave and I set aside a day to visit Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock. The operating dairy farm, established in 1871 by Frederick Billings, offers agricultural exhibits, educational programs, and special events throughout the year. The farm's rural setting is beautiful and the...
[caption id="attachment_2279" align="aligncenter" width="648"] Doug Bragg works in his sugarhouse in East Montpelier.[/caption] Doug Bragg of Bragg Farm Sugarhouse is optimistic about this year's maple season. The weather in Vermont is cooperating with freezing nights and warm, sunny days, and Bragg is already spending most his...
The size of Harriman Reservoir is impressive, but its history is what grabs your attention. Along the reservoir's floor are remnants of an old logging village that was flooded in the 1920s when the Deerfield River was dammed to generate power. Harriman Reservoir, also known as...
[caption id="attachment_2268" align="aligncenter" width="576"] Goshen Town Hall[/caption] Town Meeting, held the first Tuesday in March, is an annual tradition in Vermont. Residents gather in town halls and school gymnasiums around the state to vote on local budgets, debate community issues, and elect town officials. Attendance at Town...
The Village Bridge in Waitsfield is one of my favorite covered bridges in Vermont. The bridge, built in 1833 and restored in the 1970s, spans the Mad River. This is one of the oldest covered bridges in Vermont and includes a pedestrian walkway. Vermont has about...
In the small town of Leicester, Vermont, the gorilla statue on Route 7 is hard to miss. The 19-foot concrete gorilla, known as "Queen Connie," stands in front of Pioneer Auto Sales proudly holding up an old VW Beetle.The statue was crafted in the...
Travel along Route 100A in Plymouth Notch, Vermont and you'll come across the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site. Plymouth Notch is where President Coolidge was born, assumed the presidency, and governed the country for a brief time in the summer of 1924 during his...
Dave and I went snowshoeing on a recent Saturday afternoon at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont. Owned by the von Trapp family (of The Sound of Music fame), the lodge has a world-class Nordic ski center with 100 km of terrain. Our goal was...
The small but wonderful Snow Valley ski area in Winhall, Vermont operated between 1938 and 1982. The mountain had 15 trails with memorable names like Steeple Chase, Bulldozer, Boomerang, and Misery (a tough trail!). Growing up in nearby Manchester, I was fortunate enough to spend my...
The first time I visited Merck Forest and Farmland Center in Rupert, Vermont was in the early 1980s during an elementary school field trip. I've returned to the 3,100-acre forest over the years, but never in winter. On Saturday I stopped by and saw quite a...
