Sunday: Copper and I started our time in Vermont with a hefty hike to the top of Mt Ludlow- about 2k of elevation in 3 miles. The trail itself was scenic but the entire hike up was shaded and you did not get any views until you were basically at the top. You could feel you kept climbing and climbing and could see where you were, but there were never breaks in the trees to verify how far you had really come. The views at the top of course were spectacular. What I didn't get a picture of was an additional firetower I climbed to get the true 360 views and gets you above the trees. Copper climbed up to the top of the tower, but then got scared and got carried down until the last flight of stairs which he did walk down. So he was perfectly capable just scared of the heights I suppose. The wierd thing that happened at the top was suddenly there were more people than I witnessed hiking. Then when I was at the top of the tower I noticed a ski lift in the distance was operating and asked someone about it. We both
had an awkward moment where he was wondering how I got to the top of the mountain without using the lift and thought my question was very strange and of course I was assuming he had hiked up as well :D So apparently I could have taken a scenic chair lift to the top of the mountain but we did the hike both ways 😊Monday-Thursday: When you're staying in a town with population 467 and then next nearest town with at least a grocery store is almost 20 minutes away and is still less than 2 thousand people, there's not much to do after work during the week. I am, however, staying on a beautiful farm which is 275 acres. There's a mile long road (1 way) that stays on the property plus lots of other mowed areas for tractor access etc. The landscape exactly where I am is just gorgeous.
I'm also just in shock about the population distribution and density of Vermont. There's 625k who live in the state, but the largest town is Burlington (2 hours north of me) and only has 45k people living in it. Vermont is just so scattered
with people with no major "hub" of any sort. Where I am in southern VT Burlington is 2 hours north and Albany is 1 hour 40 minutes west and Manchester 2 hours east. Even with that Albany and Manchester are both right around 100k people. Driving around the state it really feels like people all just own a large chunk of land and live on it. Truly is the state where you can live among the trees but not among republicans :DFriday: 25 minutes away is Okemk ski resort. It's the same mountain I hiked to the top of on Sunday. At the base of the ski lifts they have a summer concert series on Friday nights on their law. Their restaurant opens for a BBQ with burgers, hot dogs and meat skewers and of course sides and New England IPAs on tap. The band playing was a bunch of old guys- they had been a band together since1974 gives a little context to their minimum age :D They also said the last time they performed at Okemo, the ski resort only had 3 lifts and now there are 20!!!
Saturday: Day trip to Merck
Forest and Farmland. It's a large farm that is actually a non-profit with the mission of teaching sustainability for forest management and farmlands. They have a variety of farm animals and crops. During the week in the summer they run a camp for kids and on the weekends they have regular open houses with an education focus for the community. This open house was ecology so they had 8 exhibits around the farm with demonstrations and information. Everything is just donation based too and you can even pick berries for only a few dollars. Those blueberries and raspberries were delicious!On the way back from the farm it was time to explord manchester VT (not to be confused with Manchester NH lol). With a population just over 4k it had quite a vibrant downtown. Also one of the most dog-friendly downtowns with shops I've experienced. It seemed shop owners were surprised I asked if copper could come in. There was even a 3 story bookstore where copper was given not only a treat upon entry, but 2 treats from workers in the shop and another treat as he exited. Later on, we walked by the bookstore heading home
and he made great effort to return for more treats :DOh and a really exciting Saturday evening was spent at the local laundromat. One of the lovely perks of living on the road... bleh. As many might know I have collected shot glasses for over a decade now. I've limited myself on this adventure to generally getting 1 shot glass per state and it needs to say the state on it rather than the town or place I'm visiting. This newest shot glass had me cracking up. I really have noticed how little fast food there is on every corner compared to the rest of the US :D