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No matter where you are in Vermont, there are barns.
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And if you’re traveling with my husband, there is envy.
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Because no matter how much he improves his own Barn Mahal/ man cave, somewhere someone has done more.
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This barn had an apartment.
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This barn was haunted. It’s hard to top that.
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The white barn didn’t really look like a barn, but it was.
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Barns with cows…
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And barns without cows. He loves them all.
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The husband and I were invited to a fundraiser at the Maine Military museum by an old friend who worked with him at the FAA.
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There were numerous items for sale, as well as a silent auction, 50/50 raffle and donation box.
There was also free food, beer and wine.
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You have to love a museum with a bar.
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The museum itself is small but jam packed with memorabilia, all acquired through donation. I’m amazed that we never knew it existed but seriously glad we do now.
We strolled around for an hour and could have spent all day. The collection of military history was impressive and the passion project of one single man. We tagged along on a portion of a tour with him and were blown away by the encyclopedic knowledge he had of every single piece in the building. As you can imagine, most of the stories were heartbreaking.
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There were sections for the Revolutionary War.
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The Civil War.
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And World War I.
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Never let it be said war doesn’t inspire song.
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The quality of song may however, be disputed.
To be continued…
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Yes, there really was an end to our visit. Much as I didn’t want to, we had to leave eventually.
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And leaving meant walking the rim trail.
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Which follows the edge of the chasm but from a much higher level.
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The grand flume.
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Most of the trail was through the woods with a few peaks of the water like this.
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When a tree falls in the forest? Doesn’t matter if you hear it or not… let it be. The critters will thank you.
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One more scenic vista..
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One more cross walk…
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And you’re back on the main road bridge.
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Which affords one last beautiful view.
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If you’re ever in Keeseville, New York visit the Grand Canyon of the East at Ausable Chasm.
It really was awesome!
👍
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No, I didn’t buy myself a gift, but it seems someone did.
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It may be the most magical time of year, but it’s also the most popular time for criminals to hack your credit card.
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Thankfully my bank was right on top of it, cancelling the card and refunding the bogus charges. The amounts were low but that’s how they start, hoping you won’t notice. Ironically it was the fact they made multiple low purchases at the same place for the same amount that tripped an alarm. Weirder still? My last legitimate charge was $18.96.
Be careful out there. Being without my debit/Mastercard for a week until the new one arrives is a pain in the *ss this time of year.
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You thought you were done looking at rocks?
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Not quite.
I forgot one of the best parts of the Inner Sanctum trail at Ausable Chasm….
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The wall of moss.
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The husband went in for a close up… so you know it had to be good.
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A solid wall of perpetually wet moss. It was amazing.
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I loved it.
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Me.
Loving it.
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Thankfully it was a warm late October day and the bridge wasn’t iced.
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And though I didn’t want to leave, we’d reached the end of the trail and it’s giant knee pain inducing stairs.
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A final look at the trail from above.
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Are you tired of rock filled posts?
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Then you’ve come to the wrong blog.
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The Inner Sanctum trail at Ausable Chasm is well named as we were surrounded by cliffs and rushing water …. blissfully alone with the grandeur. A veritable rock sanctuary.
But all good things must end and this staircase was the beginning.
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One last look around before we climbed up.
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And I won’t lie, it was hard to leave this fabulous trail.
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Spending the day here made us feel small, in a good.. we’re just tiny specks in the universe… way.
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Mother Nature is a marvelous architect.
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And we enjoyed every minute.
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Humor me. As well as everyone else…
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As I’m sitting here after dinner craving dessert, I’m going with the Good Humor truck.
No sound was more iconic to the summers of my childhood. We kept a bowl of change on the kitchen counter in anticipation of those glorious chimes. Doors would slam all over the neighborhood as every kid within hearing distance would run to the corner before it drove away.
My treat of choice?
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Seeing the picture I can almost taste it.
Ice cream on a stick. What’s not to love?
So what sound don’t you hear anymore?
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I know it feels like I took picture every time I took a step, and okay… maybe I did. But I’m not posting all of them, I promise.
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The rock faces and cliffs were just too spectacular not to share.
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Thankfully we didn’t have to cross this bridge.
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Though my husband sure wanted to.
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I’ve often thought he was part mountain goat.
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The power of water and erosion is hard to miss at Ausable Chasm.
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It’s literally everywhere.
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As was I.
Shown here loving on some rocks… with the sun’s rays giving me a high five.
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A truly glorious place.
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I have a friend who does a different type of Christmas tree every year. Some years it’s weird and funky, some years it’s traditional. This year I made a suggestion I wish she would have followed…
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She was not amused, but damn. That’s epic.
Every couple of years the lazy Susan cabinet in our kitchen goes off track…. and every few years my husband asks why we need so many cans.
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Someday I’ll have an answer.
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I need this in my life.
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Who needs pie when you have martinis?
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Isn’t it sweet my cat loves rocks as much as his human mother?
And finally, a Christmas tree for Mark who has an affinity for awkward pink birds….
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Ausable Chasm is awesome, no doubt about it.
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And the Inner Sanctum trail is one of the most awesome I’ve ever taken.
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It literally hugs the edge of the rocks and affords some fabulous views.
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Bridges cut back and forth across the canyon..
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And even my non picture taking husband was happily snapping away.
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It was stunning.
Gorgeous.
Impressive.
Remarkable.
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And yeah, most definitely awesome.
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Me. Enjoying the rocks and awesomeness.
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Visiting off season was perfect. We almost had the whole place to ourselves.
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Rocks!
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There’s the husband, still upset he couldn’t do the rope bridges and rafting adventure part of the chasm.
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River's world..... 