Since we weren’t in a huge hurry to get home, we took the longer scenic route back and that meant driving through the Northeast Kingdom.
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It’s a rural and mountainous region of Vermont, similar to areas in northern Maine with its low population density and differing political views.
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Unspoiled and undisturbed.
Beautiful? You betcha!
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This region takes their designation seriously so you’ll find “Kingdom” gas stations and “Kingdom” diners scattered throughout the area.
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There’s even a covered bridge staircase.
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While the majority of Vermont is an environmentally friendly, liberal, churn your own butter, Birkenstock type of place… the Kingdom is a bit wilder and leans much farther right. It’s often said there are two Maines, southern and northern.. I find that’s true of Vermont as well.
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And if you’re wondering how far north we were?
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I could see Canada from my window.
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And though we didn’t cross the border, Verizon let us know we might as well have.
As you know, the husband and I have a timeshare and it’s through that we do most of our traveling. In the six years we’ve owned it we’ve been to some fabulous resorts…. Sedona, Williamsburg, Palm Coast… all wonderful. Killington, not so much. Our choice this trip was Smugglers Notch, a ski resort in Jeffersonville Vermont we’ve visited twice before. Our first stay was marvelous, our second less so. It’s a bit of a crap shoot which unit and community you’ll be assigned, and seeing that this was a last minute booking at peak leaf peeping season, there wasn’t any wiggle room.
The resort is tucked away on the side of a mountain and is quite large.
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We like peace and quiet and prefer the condos on the edges, away from the center village’s restaurants and shops. So naturally they booked us into Evergreen, right behind the main office.
Pro – we got the top floor and could see the mountain from our balcony.
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Con – we were right next to the chair lift.
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Pro – the unit was large. Two bedrooms, 2 baths, fireplace and full kitchen. Solidly built, we never heard doors closing or noisy neighbors.
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Con- the decor hadn’t been updated for decades and was extremely plain.
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Pro- the king size bed was very comfortable.
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And there was a free box of maple cookies to munch while reclining.
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Con- there was a jacuzzi tub in bedroom. I’ve seen this at a quite a few other resorts and it never fails to surprise me. Tubs belong in bathrooms, period.
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And by the way…
The eighties called, they want their wallpaper back.
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Mirrors?
Oh yeah, there were plenty of those.
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Damn. That was a whole lotta me to wake up to every morning.
Since resort check in wasn’t until 4:00pm we had some time to kill. And when you have time to kill in this area of Vermont? You drive through The Notch.
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It’s basically a road cut right through the mountain and it’s one of my absolute favorite drives.
Twisty, turny and littered with glacial granite boulders…. it’s a rock lovers dream.
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Not that it’s the easiest road to navigate mind you. The switchbacks are breath taking, the proximity to boulders cringe worthy. In places you’re absolutely blind and are left crossing everything you have that nothing is coming the other way when the road narrows so tightly only one car can pass.
My husband drives it like sport.
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On the other side of The Notch? Stowe… a lovely village I’ll highlight later. And in Stowe?
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An amazing local brewery.
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We had to stand in line half an hour to get in, on a Tuesday, at 2:30 in the afternoon. It’s that good. I was willing to wait longer to sit in one of the artfully decorated dining rooms (the giant velvet cow print couch was calling my name) but the husband snatched two seats at the bar as soon as they became available.
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One flight in…. on an amazing polished copper bar, we were already loving this place.
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The Kolsch was delightful, the Pink and Pale seriously puckering.
And since we were at a brewery….
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I had to try the monster soft pretzel. Not only does Idletyme brew their own beer, they make their own beer cheese and grind their own mustard. A win win.
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As was this hot spiced cider with rum. Hey, when in Rome…
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My chargrilled mushroom Swiss burger with crispy onions and Caesar salad was good, but my husband’s choice?
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Ooh la la! So beyond the normal pub fare … we might have drooled. Butternut squash ravioli with maple cream sauce, sliced almonds and a hint of cayenne for bite. It was utterly fabulous.
Too stuffed for dessert, we headed back through The Notch and it’s amazing selection of rocks.
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And mini waterfalls breaking through at random intervals.
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And by then, it was time to check in.
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Yes, the resort is named after The Notch… which was originally used by smugglers and bootleggers. Yet another reason to love it.
A little history if you’re interested…
With cliffs on either side that sometimes reach a height of 1,000 feet, it’s also easy to see how very few people would have been caught on their way to and from one country to another. The landscape looked completely different in the early 1800s and there were far fewer people – and towns – meaning this region was even more remote. After former president Thomas Jefferson passed the Embargo Act in 1807, the restriction of trade between countries had a drastically negative impact on the state of Vermont. As the state shares a border with Canada, this trade route was by far the easiest to use, and once that was cut off there were many citizens and businesses that suffered in the northern part of the state.
This route was not only used for trading. Fugitive slaves would also utilize the route to make their way through Vermont and into Canada, which gave it another historic purpose.
The use of Smugglers’ Notch didn’t just end there, though. As Vermont progressed into the 20th century, they would be subject to yet another restriction – this time, on alcohol. When Prohibition came about in 1922, the state was lucky enough to have opened Smugglers’ Notch to automobile traffic. This meant that those using the route would no longer need to cross on foot or horseback, which opened up even more illegal trade route options. In this case, it was Vermont’s loophole during the time when it was legally a dry state.
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*Not my photo , but it gives you a better idea of the scope*
The Notch is closed to tractor trailer trucks due to the precarious turns, and though there are ample signs warning them not to enter, a few idiots try it every year, getting stuck and causing horrible traffic jams and back ups.
The entire road is closed for the season starting in mid October so we were lucky and slipped in right before the gates came down.
We set off early Tuesday morning and it was a perfectly beautiful day. Sunny, with a delightful bite of crisp fall air.
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We hit the western Maine mountains before 10….
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And the New Hampshire White Mountains shortly after. Leaves were just beginning to turn and it was wonderful.
At 1:00?
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Hello Vermont! We’ve missed you.
And you’re welcome, though I’m not sure what we did to deserve your thanks.
If you’ve never been to Vermont? I have one word for you… go!
Verdant green fields and barn red barns. Gentle rolling hills and well tended farms. Picturesque mountain villages and of course, cows.
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It’s gloriously scenic, delightfully quirky, and utterly addicting.
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We were sad to see The Farmer’s Daughter gift shop had lost its daughter. There used to be a large sign out front of a farm girl with her skirt blown up… but all that’s left now are the hands, hanging disembodied and more than a little creepy.
We did see a giant hammer wind mill down the road…
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But it doesn’t bring the same smile to your face as that saucy wind blown wench.
When we headed north and west towards our resort, the weather took a turn.
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Eerie, ominous skies dominated the rest of the way and by the time we arrived in the little town of Jeffersonville?
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Rain. And so much high fog you couldn’t see the mountains.
River's world..... 