A Beautiful Day in Vermont

Thursday (19th) was a glorious, sunny day! It started out cold, but warmed up nicely. The weather was perfect and the countryside beautiful.

 

After asking a park ranger for directions, we drove to Bingham Falls which is very near Smuggler's Notch State Park. Since there was no sign to mark it, we almost missed the trail among the trees. I'm so glad we found it because it was a very pretty spot. After hiking less than a mile into the woods we found the river tumbling over the rocks in a series of falls. We climbed down to the riverside and scrambled along the rocks and riverbank for quite a ways downstream as each new bend brought another lovely view. Unfortunately we got ourselves into another challenging position (see yesterday's post about the Cliff Trail) when we tried to climb back up the hill from the riverbank and couldn't locate the path. Climbing over rocks and up the slippery, muddy hillside clinging to tree trunks and pushing through the brush and undergrowth, it took us a good 20 minutes of exertion and heavy breathing to find the path out. It was totally worth it though:)

Love this man. He's always there to give me a hand when I need one.

 

From there we drove to the famous Trapp Family Lodge which has a beautiful view of meadows and mountains, some long-horned cattle, and a gorgeous sunflower garden.

 

In Waterbury we stopped for cider and donuts at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill and took the factory tour at Ben & Jerry's. We sampled their new ice cream flavor, Harvest Pumpkin (yum), and bought a pint of Cherry Garcia for later.

 

Further south in the Green Mountain National Forest we found the Texas Falls, a lovely spot where the White River cascades over the rocks. This time we stuck to the path :)

 

We finished the day at Branbury State Park on Lake Dunmore. We sat by the smooth-as-glass lake enjoying the sunshine, and Mark even went for a swim.

Early morning picture of Lake Dunmore.

Back at the camper we blew another fuse when Mark disconnected us from the truck battery. Wish we could figure out what's causing that . . . Any ideas?

Hopefully we'll find a spot with wifi tomorrow. I have this blog post plus two previous ones to publish . . .

 

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