The Road through Vermont

I am in love again - it's Vermont!  I cannot believe what a beautiful state this is.  We loved our trip through New York on the thruway (NOT the freeway - it costs real money!) especially our roadway today.  I took the first shift driving and we stopped near Oneida for gasoline, coffee, and water.  As we journeyed we entered the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains and drove through magnificent vistas of rolling hills dotted with small farms tucked into the folds of the hills.  We left the thruway at Amsterdam and drove on smaller roadways toward Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls and on into Vermont at Fair Haven.

Dennis at the welcome center in Fair Haven VT.

I could not believe that Vermont was even more beautiful than the stretch of road in the Adirondacks.  We drove through and into the Green Mountains.  Sometimes we were up on the heights and other times we were surrounded by towering, tree-covered hills.  It was spectacular.

The section of Vermont through which we drove was not very wide.  We drove from Fair Haven to Quechee on U.S. 4, a little over 60 miles.  We saw lots of markers for trail heads and the roads obviously accommodated bicycles.  I kept trying to capture it all with photos, but I am sure that my photos do not do it justice!

Covered bridge near Bridgewater VT.

On the way to Quechee I noticed a brewery on the map in Bridgewater Corners.  It was the Long Trail brewery (http://www.longtrail.com/) and brew pub and I pointed it out to Dennis in case he was interested in stopping.  It was only about 20 miles from our destination, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to stop.  It was a fairly large operation and I encourage all of my beer-loving friends to try Long Trail if they ever get the chance.  We sampled a flight of their beers and bought some for our travels and to bring home.  The Pumpkin Ale was especially good, and on this cold, fallish day, especially appropriate.

When we reached Quechee, we checked in to the Quality Inn near Quechee Gorge.  After we got settled, we headed out to Quechee Gorge to see and photograph the Gorge, the bridge and the surrounding area.  It was really great.  The water is dammed up and still used to generate electricity and the bridge over the Gorge is quite the engineering feat.  Again, I can only hope that our photos capture the beauty and grandeur of the location.  Dennis took lots of great pictures there.

Quechee Gorge, the bridge, and the hydro-electric dam.

We finished the day at the Fire Stones restaurant which provided a fabulous beet and goat cheese salad and pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven - delicious.  Tomorrow we will visit the King Arthur Baking Center and Shop and then drive on to Old Orchard Beach in Maine.  The trouble with traveling is that I keep falling in love with the places we visit.  I know we could move right to Vermont and be perfectly happy.  I wonder how I'll feel about Maine.