15 September 2013 - Gale Meadows Lake near Bondville VT
The ride at Killington didn't result in many pictures because it was hazy but Trox reported it to be a fun and challenging ride.

Trail map

Near the top - hazy

At the top

Along one of the lift lines

On the way back to the campground we stopped at a local brewery. We had tried their beer before and found it to our liking so decided a stop would be fun!

The brewery

Yee gads! I would be at the brewery too!

Our new Growler!

Our search for power took us to a KOA in White River Junction VT. We normally avoid KOAs but our need for power required us to not be picky. Ended up this is a really nice KOA with well spaced kinda private spaces. Because the weather had turned hot and muggy we were also grateful for the power to run the air conditioner! Camping can be pretty rough! The owners of the KOA recommended a paddle spot and our final morning there we packed up and headed to the confluence of the Ompompanoosac and Connecticut Rivers to paddle the Ompompanoosac. We had never paddled a river before and had fun but I can't say I am excited about the next river. This one was muddy and shallow in spots and of course the current added a level of challenge. The up side was the birds. The river is located along a major flyway and is known for its bird watching.

The Ompompanoosac River

A different view of an interstate

A muddy river

Butterfly

Kingfisher

Heron

A Heron

After paddling we headed up to the Moose Mountain Lodge. Many of you reading this blog know or know of our friend Nancy. She lives in Cuyamungue NM and is a very good family friend. Ends up her sister and brother-in-law have a Lodge near Hanover NH. It is an old Ski Lodge built in the early 1900s that they purchased 30 or 40 years ago and renovated as an Inn that they ran for 35 years. They just recently retired when he turned 80 but are still living in the Lodge. Nancy told them we were in the area and they extended an invitation to use their parking area as a camping spot so we did! We had a marvelous time. Kay and Peter were very gracious and made us feel very welcome. We traipsed around their many acres and met their pets as well as some of their wildlife. My next post will be dedicated to them. We spent two nights there and the first day was rainy and cloudy so we decided to do some touristy stuff that would be mostly indoors. Our first stop was King Arthur's Bakery and Cafe where we had lunch and then on to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science which is a raptor rehab center.

King Arthur Bakery & Cafe in the rain

1790 - today

All the windows into the bakery had
quotes or information

I love bread!

Ravens at the rehab center

A broken wing has made this guy
a permanent resident

Sleeping on a stump

He was part of the show

This Great Horned Owl suffered head
damage in a collision with a car. They
think that is why he calls all the time

When we left Moose Mountain we headed west and south. Ended up at a nice state park on the west edge of the Green Mountain National Forest. The park is named for the lake within its boundaries - Emerald Lake State Park. We arrived fairly late in the day so weren't able to do much. So, when we got up this morning I paddled and Trox hiked and then he paddled. From there we headed out and are now parked next to a lake named Gale Meadows where the fine print on the sign says we aren't allowed to camp so we are just parking for the night. We are hoping we don't get hassled but doubt if we will. One of the locals said it should be okay - we'll see.

Butterfly
We need to get a bunch of butterflies
submitted for identification

View of Lake from Trox' hike

Hairy Woodpecker

Two different views of the same island

11 September 2013 - Killington Ski Area
At the close of the last post Trox was off riding the Kingdom Trails located in and around Burke Mountain Ski area. We were camped nearby at Brighton State Park. Trox had a great time riding the trails and was gone for about 5 hours riding up and down. On the 8th we headed out of Brighton to Little River State Park.

Pair of Cedar Wax Wings
He is brighter colored

Views from Burke Mountain Ski Area
while riding the Kingdom Trails

Little River State Park is situated on the shores of Waterbury Reservoir near Waterbury and Stowe VT. The area is known for such things as Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Green Mountain Coffee, Stowe Maple Farms, and Stowe Mountain Bike Trails. We spent two nights at Little River and Trox got in a few rides and I got in a great paddle on the reservoir. We also played tourist a little. The morning we were leaving the area we went to the visitor center for Green Mountain Coffee and had some great coffee and then went Maple sugar shopping! We had left the campground in rain that morning and it continued to rain while we touristed so we figured we would spend the day traveling but it ended up clearing up a little so Trox was able to ride the Stowe Mountain Bike Trails. He came back VERY MUDDY. From there we headed to White River Junction which is near the New Hampshire state line.

Paddling Waterbury Reservoir

Stowe Mountain Bike Trails

Salamander spotted on his ride
Don't ask me how he sees stuff like
this while riding helter-skelter on a mountain bike!

While at Little River we discovered our house batteries are not getting charged by the engine and therefore we decided we needed to head to a campground that would have power. We have noticed our batteries haven't been holding a charge recently and in the process of discussing whether or not they are still under warranty and where the nearest Costco is to get new ones we started doing some sleuthing which led to the discovery of the problem. We had been without hookups for 9 nights and they were only being charged when the generator was on which we try to keep to a minimum so we are actually lucky we had any battery power left at all. Our cupboards were also getting kind of bare.

The weather has definitely turned towards autumn and the hills are starting to show just a little bit of color. Not enough to be pretty yet but enough to hint at what is to come. It has been rather cool with at least one night below freezing and the days have been in the 60s. NOT TODAY! Today it is HOT and MUGGY so about noon we headed up into the mountains and are currently at Killington Ski Area. This is the biggest ski area in Vermont and it boasts 45 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails so guess where Trox is (pictures on next blog post!). Tomorrow the weather is supposed to return to the 60s and very low 70s and Saturday the predicted high is actually only 54.

We would love to stay up here in Vermont and New Hampshire where it is nice and cool but we do need to push on. Unfortunately the direction we are traveling is still hot. Oh, well, we will still be here for a week or so. Tomorrow we think we are going to visit our friend Nancy's sister in New Hampshire and from there will head towards Syracuse.

7 September 2013 - Kingdom Trails VT
And then we arrived in a closed state park .... Actually we left the Diamond Ponds and headed towards Vermont and a state park named Maidstone on Maidstone Lake. We entered the information into the GPS and it sent us on the shortest route which looked just fine with good roads and even according to the map it should have worked all except for one hitch. The bridge across the Connecticut River (the state line between Vermont and New Hampshire) was a covered bridge that we were too heavy to cross.

Sitting in New Hampshire
wondering how to get to Vermont

Easy walk to Vermont but there
Merlin sits still in New Hampshire while I am
in VT taking his picture

Due to that little snag we headed further down the NH side and finally came to a place we could cross a "regular" bridge. We arrived at Maidstone State Park shortly thereafter to find a sign on the office that said "Closed! See you next season." BUT the gate wasn't closed and it sure wasn't locked and there was no where it said we couldn't stay so we figured maybe it was like National Forest campgrounds that we could stay in even with no amenities. We found a real nice campsite - we were the only ones there so it wasn't real hard - and set up camp. Trox went for a paddle on the lake while I went to see if the bathrooms were open. WELL, not only were they open they had flush toilets and HOT water and showers! Sure didn't seem like a closed park to me! Trox got back from his paddle and while I started dinner he went and had a nice hot shower. Next morning we got up and had breakfast and I went for a paddle. While I was gone the maintenance/caretaker person came by and talked to Trox. First words out his mouth were. "Parks closed. Didn't you see the sign". Well, Trox is good at playing dumb and so said we saw a sign saying office was closed but since gate wasn't down we figured it was okay and after all we're from Utah and rules are different there. The guy ended up to be really nice and when Trox told him as soon as I got back we would leave he said we could stay for the day. I got back before the guy left and we all had a nice chat. He left and we broke camp and also left. One of the things he told us about was a state park a little to the north that we would enjoy.

Maidstone Lake on my paddle

Maidstone Lake on Trox' paddle

These little guys were everywhere
Like the residents competed to have the best
Made of Stone on Maidstone lake

We left the Maidstone area and headed toward Gorham NH. I had blown the keyboard on my laptop and we needed a Walmart so I could buy an external and Gorham NH was the closest we could find. Near Gorham is Moose Brook State Park. We had stopped there on our way to Maine back in May and decided this time to spend the night. Trox got a nice couple of rides there as they have some nice single track. He encountered a bear on one of the roads!

Leaving there we headed back into Vermont to the park the guy at Maidstone mentioned and this time we didn't have as much trouble getting across the river. Along the way we stopped for lunch at a little pond, Cedar Pond, where I paddled the perimeter in about 45 minutes. Our destination was Brighton State Park and it is also located on a small pond, Spectacle Pond, right near a larger body of water, Island Pond. We arrived in time to set up camp and for Trox to paddle. On the road to Brighton we stopped at a farm and bought fresh-out-of-the field sweet corn so we had fresh corn for dinner. We met a couple of mountain bikers camped next to us and they told Trox about Kingdom Trails which is a ski area with a large network of bike trails. That is where we are now and Trox is out riding. Before we left Brighton I paddled Spectacle Pond and it was like a mirror - my favorite!

Back in VT again heading for Brighton

Cedar Pond Lunch Break

Greenish Butterfly

A pond of mirror water