Tag Archives: photos

Lake Wow-aby continued…

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For a place we never knew existed and just happily stumbled upon, it was more than a pleasant surprise.

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Lake Willoughby, 5 miles long with a max depth of 325 feet. A glacial lake parked between two fjord like mountains in Westmore Vermont.

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The path around the south end was easy walking and well marked.

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With some seriously beautiful views.

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The little beach was tiny, but I imagine it’s packed with swimmers in the summer.

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The boardwalk was a nice addition as the ground was a bit soggy.

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Shame it was so cold and windy, I could easily have pulled up a stump and relaxed here for hours.

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Even the stairs were kind.

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If you’re ever in the area check it out.

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And don’t forget your camera.

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Lake Willoughby.

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The undiscovered country is always the best.. and when we travel, we love nothing more than stumbling upon a place we never knew existed.

Enter Lake Willoughby in Vermont.

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Imagine randomly picking a road to travel home and finding this.

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Not being in any hurry, we stopped.

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And groaned at the bad grammar.

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But bad spelling aside…. wow.

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There was a path that ran alongside part of the lake and though I wasn’t dressed for hiking, I happily headed out.

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This is a glacial lake and every part of it was glorious.

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My pictures don’t really do it justice, but in spots the colors were positively surreal.

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The wind was ripping and I couldn’t feel my nose, but we pressed on.

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Being careful not to trample any seedlings.

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Mountains, rocks and a glacial lake.

Yes please.

To be continued…

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Heading home through the Kingdom.

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All good things must end and after a wonderful 5 days in Vermont our mini vacation did.

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Vermont. The state where even private driveways have covered bridges.

As we left the resort and headed for the Northern Kingdom, I found proof it does exist.

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If only I could have found the garden.

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A lonely cemetery.

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The Kingdom is another world. Rugged, mountainous and sparsely populated.

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With some rather odd inhabitants.

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And as we were heading home, we discovered a hidden, and heretofore unknown to us, gem.

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Lake Willoughby.

To be continued…

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Warning! Huntington Gorge….

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On one of our random scenic drives around Vermont we stopped at a diner for lunch. Wondering if there were any points of interest nearby, we asked the locals who promptly sent us to Huntington Gorge.

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At first glance it didn’t look promising.

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And to be honest, the second and third glances weren’t any better.

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Everywhere we looked there were warnings.

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And while I’m not normally obtuse, I was beginning to get the feeling we weren’t wanted.

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So of course… after all the Danger Will Robinson! signs?

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My mountain goat husband had to investigate.

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Right at the very edge they warned us about.

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Please note yours truly listened to robot and was well out of danger range.

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Yeah. That limb will hold you honey, no problem.

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Needless to say he survived. But it wasn’t for lack of trying.

😉

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Because I always find weird and quirky places to visit.

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The other half of the Old Red Mill building in Jericho, Vermont was what I’d really come to see.

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No, that’s not a commentary on ultra left liberals.

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Named after Wilson Bentley, the museum celebrates the life of the first man to ever photograph snowflakes.

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We take photographs of everything for granted now, but trust me this was a big deal at the turn of the century.

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They even had his original camera.

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Imagine dragging that around in the snow.

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The museum was understandably small, basically just one room.

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And judging by the fact his favorite quilt, sewn by his mother, took up a whole wall…

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Exhibits were hard to come by.

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I tried to take a selfie with Bentley, but the lighting was wrong and left me with nothing but a giant glare.

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Maine military museum part three.

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Put a Marine and a sailor together at a military museum and there are going to be some serious disagreements.

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But they’re friends, so it’s all good.

As was the collection of pins from the Vietnam era.

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Kill a Commie for Christ is probably not what Jesus had in mind.

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My husband’s father was a SeaBee, though in an earlier war. Looking at their mascot made me wish I had a few more arms. Dinner prep would be so much easier.

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As I said before, all the items in this museum are donated. Though why someone wanted them to have dirty underwear and a partial denture I’m sure I don’t know.

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This uniform parade was a little creepy, especially the headless model.

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That’s an exact replica of a cell at the Hanoi Hilton, right down to the inch.

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And the rats and bugs.

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Impressive roof patterning. wish I could talk the husband into doing that on ours.

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Our friend, pointing out his photo from his time in Bosnia.

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Maine Military Museum part two.

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There was so much to see and take in at this little museum.

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The husband with two of his old work colleagues taking about some kind of gun. 62 years of Army, Navy and Marine Corps service represented right there.

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The Nazi flag came from a soldier who liberated Auschwitz.

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This flag flew during the Normandy invasion.

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A wall of WWII Life magazines. It will not surprise you to learn my husband has them all.

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There’s a story for this fellow with the strategically placed leaf…

Of all the uniforms that have been donated and are on display at the museum, a WWII era French officer’s is not among them. All they have so far is a hat, so this poor guy is doing what any self respecting Frenchman would do while he waits…. drink wine on a nude beach.

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You have to wonder why S/Sgt. Towers kept these particular souvenirs from his war years. Good memories… or bad?

🤣

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Random Vermont

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Vermont really is a beautiful state and even after most of the leaves had fallen in late autumn we enjoyed our scenic drives.

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Since we live on the Maine coast, we always love to see the mountains.

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Lake Champlain has a bit of both.

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This is the Old Round Church in Richmond, Vermont.

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Built in 1812, it’s a rare, well-preserved sixteen-sided meeting house. Sadly it’s never open when we’re in the area, but maybe someday.

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Oh… the horror! As if the government isn’t squirrelly enough.

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I love barren, scraggly trees against a clear blue sky.

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This colorful moose was on a restaurant we tried called Piecasso. It was always packed when we drove by so I figured it would be great.

I was wrong. It wasn’t. Just an overpriced pizza joint.

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And while I’ve tipped kitchen staff in the past, I didn’t hear any cowbell this time around.

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Something tells me it’s time for a few repairs here.

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Cow!

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Creative wood stacking. You have to love that…

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The sky was too perfect here, I had to snap a picture.

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Yes.

Of course we took that road!

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He likes big barns, I cannot lie.

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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 awesome Ausable finale.

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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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