Village Bridge in Waitsfield

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 100 covered bridges across the state. An informative website with details about Vermont's covered bridges is www.virtualvermont.com.

 

Elmore Mountain and the Fire Tower

Elmore Mountain is the northernmost and smallest peak of Vermont's Worcester Range. The mountain, which has an elevation of 2,608 feet, is a popular hiking destination and home to an accessible fire tower.

Start your hike from Elmore State Park off Route 12, located along the mountain's eastern slope. At the summit is a fire tower that was manned and operated between the 1930s and 1970s (the original tower was destroyed in the hurricane of 1938).

According to the Green Mountain Club's 360 Degrees: A Guide to Vermont's Fire and Observation Towers, 38 fire towers once stood in Vermont. Today only 12 fire towers and five observation decks remain, including the Elmore Mountain tower.

If you're hiking Elmore Mountain, make that extra climb up the fire tower and take in stunning views - above the trees - from every direction.

Creativity Through Grief

It's hard to believe that 12 months have passed. Last year Dave and I were expecting our first child, a daughter we named Charlotte. She was due in July but died halfway through the pregnancy, leaving us stunned and overwhelmed by grief.

Today is the first anniversary of Charlotte's death, and I want to take this opportunity to honor her.

While our lives were filled with tremendous pain after the loss, the support and kindness of others helped us move forward. Losing Charlotte also gave me a new sense of openness, encouraging me to embrace the world around me and express myself through writing and photography.

She is the reason I eventually started this blog, which has turned out to be an incredible and unexpected gift.

February Light in Vermont

The increasing amount of afternoon light is something to be celebrated this time of year in Vermont. On a brisk February afternoon, the sun lingers a bit longer and you can feel the dark days of winter beginning to wane.

Deep down we all know it will still be a while before spring arrives. But with a little more daylight in our lives, the snow and cold feel just fine.

A Splash of Color

A colorful landscape in Lincoln, Vermont.

Lately things are looking a little stark and gray in northern Vermont. The mountains are getting snow, but it's been pretty quiet in the valleys. I've been out with my camera every weekend, but taking photos this time of year can sometimes be a challenge for me.

For inspiration, I've been combing through some of my photos from last summer and fall. I recently came across the above photo, which was taken in the town of Lincoln over Columbus Day Weekend. (See related post: Columbus Day Weekend.)

It will be a while before the grass is green again and even longer before the leaves change. In the meantime, I'll be taking a photography class at Burlington City Arts. Nothing like a class to fuel some creativity.

Roadside Attraction: A Concrete Gorilla

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 1980s by sculptor T.J. Neil, who wanted to build something that would really help the auto business get noticed. Looks like the plan worked. The statue is one of the most photographed roadside attractions in Vermont.

Route 100A in Plymouth Notch

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 term (1923-1929).

Across from the village and east of Route 100A are steep hillsides and rolling meadows. I occasionally take this route in the summer and fall to admire the landscape. But on a recent winter afternoon, it looked more beautiful than ever.

A Snowshoe Trek to Slayton Pasture Cabin

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 to trek three miles through the snow up to Slayton Pasture Cabin, which the von Trapps built in 1971 deep in the woods behind the main lodge.

After winding through a series of trails and working up quite a sweat, we finally climbed one final hill and saw the cabin in the distance. At the time it felt like a huge accomplishment, as if we were crossing a marathon finish line. But we were quickly humbled after a couple of 8-year-old kids zipped past us toward the cabin on their cross-country skis.

Still, reaching the cabin was a great reward. Maybe we didn't make record time, but the journey and the destination made it all worthwhile.