Vermont, Land of cheese & Green Mountains

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We are now in Vermont, our point of entry is the northwest corner bordering NY and Quebec. We drove south on the peninsula to Grand Isle SP. After a stop at Ethan Allen Homestead (ho-hum), we took a scenic road in the ski area to Smuggler’s Notch SP. Stowe Mt. Resort is quite a lovely town, ultimately we found the Trapp Family Inn. Yes the Trapp Family eventually found their way to the mountains of Vermont, not Austria, although it does look like the Alps. It is a large complex with a grand hotel, cabins, brewery/bakery and yes we did sample the “Austrian-Vermont” beer.
We are following the scenic Rt. 100 and made a stop at Ben and Jerry’s. We got the “scoop” on Ben and Jerry and then got a real scoop, before stopping at Gifford Woods SP. This state park in located on the Appalachian Trail (AT) and the Long Trail (LT). Since both trails run together here, we decided to hike to the point where the AT and the LT separate. With the rain coming down we began the trail, which is an Extreme hike UP in the mountains. It took us over an hour to climb ½ mile up the mountain, rock scrambling through the mud and rain. After a mile of so the trail became more level and we were determined to hike the 5 mile round trip. My hat is off to friends that have hiked the entire AT from GA to ME!!
After drying off, we continued to Plymouth, the birthplace of Calvin Coolidge; this Historic Site has remained exactly intact with farm, barn, church, etc.
Bob located the Long Trail Brewery so we enjoyed some pub food and a brew before stopping at Calvin Coolidge SP.
Woodstock, VT is the home of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park and Billings Farm and Museum. These two separate enterprises work side by side to tell the story of conservation history and the evolving nature of stewardship in America. A very interesting stop with excellently maintained buildings and farm.

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