• Learning to Teach My Daughter to Ski at Cochran's
    Learning to Teach My Daughter to Ski at Cochran's

    I'm very excited to be a guest contributor to Ski Vermont's All Mountain Mamas blog. My first post is about gearing up to start teaching Phoebe how to ski at Cochran's Ski Area in Richmond. I hope you'll follow my adventure with Phoebe this winter! Our...

  • A Festival of Lights at Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial
    A Festival of Lights at Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial

    Need to get into the holiday spirit? Travel to a hilltop in South Royalton, where 200,000 holiday lights twinkle in the snow. The Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial showcases one of the most festive holiday displays in Vermont, with trees, bushes, and buildings illuminated in red, green,...

  • A Return to the Slopes of Vermont
    A Return to the Slopes of Vermont

    Bromley Mountain is where I first learned to ski in the 1970s. Shortly before my fourth birthday in December 1974, I wrote a letter to Santa Claus that was published in the local newspaper. In the letter, I asked Santa for a tea set, a...

  • Exploring Abandoned Buildings in Vermont
    Exploring Abandoned Buildings in Vermont

    Ever come across an abandoned building and find yourself mesmerized? I find it difficult to take my eyes off the ruins of old structures like the red school house in Dover or the dilapidated church in Bloomfield. What is it about these buildings that we find...

  • The Vermont Ghost Town of Glastenbury
    The Vermont Ghost Town of Glastenbury

    -Photo by Andy Arthur Mysterious disappearances. UFOs. A cursed forest. Paranormal activity. In Glastenbury, the legendary stories seem to outnumber the town’s tiny population. Glastenbury is an unincorporated, mountainous town in Bennington County with only eight residents. But it wasn’t always this small. A small charcoal-making industry...

  • Kelley Stand Road: Gateway to the Green Mountains
    Kelley Stand Road: Gateway to the Green Mountains

    Kelley Stand Road between East Arlington and Stratton is more than just a scenic drive in southern Vermont. This beautiful dirt road through the Green Mountains offers incredible access and options for hiking, camping, mountain biking, and sight-seeing. Three years after Tropical Storm Irene washed Kelley...

  • Best Places to Find Glorious Northeast Kingdom Foliage
    Best Places to Find Glorious Northeast Kingdom Foliage

    Fall comes a little early in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.  The state’s most rural area—Caledonia County, Orleans County and Essex County—starts seeing fall foliage as early as mid-September, with peak color arriving around Oct. 1 (sometimes earlier). Up along Route 114 and Route 105 in the far...

  • In Love with Tunbridge Covered Bridges
    In Love with Tunbridge Covered Bridges

    The town of Tunbridge is best known for the annual Tunbridge World’s Fair, a Vermont tradition that dates back to 1867. For four days in September, 20,000 people flock to this community of 1,300 for one of the most popular fairs in the state. (Here’s...

  • Vermont Marble Exhibit Highlights Local History
    Vermont Marble Exhibit Highlights Local History

    **My story about the SculptFest Vermont marble exhibit was originally published in the Rutland Herald. Kate Katomski’s family heritage lives deep in the historic marble quarries of West Rutland. Both her father and grandfather worked in West Rutland back in the thriving stone industry, when Vermont marble...

  • 6 Vermont Scenic Fall Drives Off the Beaten Path
    6 Vermont Scenic Fall Drives Off the Beaten Path

    During foliage season, there are so many Vermont scenic fall drives to choose from that it’s pretty hard to go wrong. Whether you go leaf-peeping on a meandering scenic byway or quiet dirt road, you won’t have to look very far to find glorious autumn...