We picked up Nephew on Friday morning at around 8:00 and headed for the hills. We arrived sometime in the early afternoon in good weather and expecting rain for the evening and through the night. We set up camp in the usual time, about one hour. We car camp and have probably the smallest pop-up camper that the industry makes, but it's plenty big enough to sleep the three of us. We also try to get campsites (in Vermont anyway) that have lean-to structures so we can put the picnic table inside and add a tarp to extend from the front of that to give us plenty of cover for when it rains. And it always rains on us in Vermont.
Birch site from the woods.
We took a walk into the Quechee Gorge after camp was set up looking at plants, ferns and other plant-like flora and then up to the bridge where Rt 4 goes over the gorge. It's a huge tourist draw, especially in the fall. It's also well known for hot air ballooning and we did see one during the trip.
Not long after this little walk, the rain began. Light at first but by the time I was cooking up the burgers (Vermont Natural Beef, of course) over the fire, I was in need of my raincoat. the tarp is a definite advantage and good add-on to the lean-to. Though I was somewhat wet, I would have been a lot more so without it. The food was still hot and perfectly cooked (I do enjoy cooking over a fire in a cast iron pan).
After supper and dishes, we settled into the lean-to for several games of Go Fish since none of us really know any other games. The rain picked up and the site was looking like a fish pond. Even the fire ring was nearly surrounded by water (see very poor image above). We went to sleep early to the sound of rain on the camper top and noticed some water intrusion on the seems of the tent above our bed. Having slept in regular tents in similar storms - a not-so-fun experience - I decided this was no emergency and there was certainly nothing to be done at that moment. Mrs and I woke during the early morning almost simultaneously to the sounds of barred owl hooting nearby. Always a treat for us. The rain had ended as promised.
Saturday morning we woke to sun! A bonus for us in Vermont. Mrs had the fire started already using coals from the previous night's fire. Despite the rain, some of them hung on and it was enough to start some paper. Nephew was up and informed us that there was water on his end of the camper as well. This appears to be a simple matter of sealing the seams once the camper is home, open and dried out.
No big whoop.
Mrs prepared and I cooked scrambled eggs (from our birds) and bacon over the fire for breakfast and we hung the few things that were wet to dry. We decided to bag any attempt at hiking since Nephew was not accustomed to such activities and we had limited time to squeeze in activities anyway.
We took a short drive down to VINS - Vermont Institute of Natural Science to check it out. Mrs and I had wanted to go there for a number of years and just haven't. VINS is an educational establishment that is host to a wild bird rehab clinic and also keeps birds that cannot be released back to the wild due to their injuries in large enclosures for display and education. Snowy owl, bald eagle, golden eagle, turkey vulture, common raven, saw-whet owl, great-gray owl, barn owl, ferruginous hawk and marsh hawk are some of the birds kept here. There is also a small room displaying some native reptiles and amphibians in tanks as well as the bird rehabilitation clinic.
VINS entrance and gift shop.
Sarah with Harris's hawk and presenter Katie with (one-eyed) eastern screech owl.
After the presentation, we walked a nature trail loop. The information throughout the walk was heavy on invasive plant species and the problems they are causing to native plant species and habitats. I like that and hope it's not lost on the average visitor.
After the walk, we stopped back into the gift store to purchase a few things. As we were leaving we stopped at a kiosk loaded with "things to do" pamphlets from area. Mrs asked Nephew if he saw anything there that he might like to do the next day, and he picked out one for a corn maze in Rutland. Ok. So we're going to Rutland to walk around in the corn! I admit, I was a little skeptical (read terrified) - I had visions of hundreds of germ-laden little children running about the farm terrorizing animals and ripping corn stalks out of the ground, but I was certainly game. This is Nephew's trip, after all. Come to find out Mrs had never been in a corn field...
We drove to Woodstock thinking the farmer's market was on the green. We drove around the central green until we found a suitable parking spot, dropped fifty cents into the meter and headed for the tents. There was live steel drum music being played and there was a strong feeling of community in the air. I have yet to find a Vermonter that was not nice, even in the Northeast Kingdom where they tend to be a little more anti-flatlander. We quickly realized that this was not a farmers market at all today, but some sort of book fair. A really big one. We found the steel drum players about half way into the green. They were actually quite good.
After walking around Woodstock a little bit and showing Nephew a covered bridge, we headed back to camp to hang out and enjoy the day. He and I took to the surrounding woods to collect sticks and birch bark so we could attempt to start the fire for the night using only things we found on the forest floor, rather than newspaper and store-bought kindling. I explained to him how well paper birch bark works as a fire starter and accelerant even when wet and we built a tipi style base for the fire. I also explained to him why we should never take birch bark directly from the tree and was able to show him examples at the site where people who apparently don't know better did just that. I showed him that if the bark was taken from the entire circumference of the tree in one particular spot, it could permanently damage or kill the tree as nutrients would not be able to pass through the broken portion.
Our pre-fire set up.
We tried unsuccessfully to use my magnesium fire starter. It requires the user to make a small pile of magnesium shavings then, with tiny bits of bark or other dry material nearby or next to the magnesium, to then create a spark using a striker also on the starter to ignite the shavings. The flash fire is brief and hot and if the dry material is close by or added immediately it will catch and that can be moved to the material under the larger pile of sticks to act as the start for the main fire. Once the sticks are burning nicely and coals are starting to form, larger pieces of firewood can be added.
We could not get the proper amount of magnesium and a good spark to take, so we resorted to a match with the hope of trying again on Sunday night.
Mrs prepared chicken, potatoes and green beans that I cooked over the fire. It was a delicious meal and afterwards we relaxed, enjoyed the fire and roasted marshmallows. Yes, I actually ate one. It's not that I don't like them, believe me, I do. I just have been trying to be good about it.
Enjoying the fire after supper.
In the morning, we were once again treated to barred owl very close by and Nephew got to hear it this time. Mrs and I also got to hear and see a hot air balloon floating above and three white-tailed deer crashed through the forest and path near our site. I cooked breakfast over the fire for them, but had my homemade granola to offset the marshmallow....
So, off to Rutland we went to Hathaway Farm and the corn maze there. It was a pleasant drive over the mountains and back down into the valley. Rutland is a busy place and once of the bigger cities in the state. Not far out of town we came to the farm and followed the signs for parking. There was one other car there. Really? What of the horror of hundreds of little kids running about screaming, coughing, sneezing and snotting into their hands? The poor farm animals wide-eyed and aching to escape the same horror. Nope. Didn't happen.
Hathaway Farm is BEAUTIFUL!
The former potato farm turned dairy farm now produces grass-fed beef and maple syrup (and has since WWII). The corn mazes have a different theme each year and are laid out by Mrs Hathaway. I have NO idea how she does this and makes it work. I encourage you to explore their website and definitely visit the farm if you are nearby.
After meeting Mr Hathaway and buying our wrist bands we headed into the corn maze. This year's maze is dedicated to the 250th birthday of the town of Rutland. If you take a look at past mazes (here), you can see the patterns in them. Again, I have no idea how people do this, but I am certain I could not.
There were eight clues through the maze. A question about the town, it's founding and history at each clue with three choices, A,B and C. Choose correctly and you continue on to (hopefully) another clue somewhere. Choose incorrectly and who knows where you'd end up. We found three or four of the eight clues before we made it back to an area near the entrance. Mrs and Nephew were feeling the heat of the day (they are a tad more fair than I am) so we decided to stop and head for the barn to see the animals.
We spent some time in the barn looking at the animals and talking with Mr Hathaway. After a time we made our way back to the front of the barn where Mrs Hathaway had joined him behind the counter. We chatted for what probably seemed like forever to Nephew. They are fascinating people who give me hope for the buy local movement.
We stopped at the Woodstock Farmers Market where I stayed in the car while Nephew snoozed. Mrs purchased a few things and we headed back to camp. We decided to walk down to the gorge again and this time to the bottom where there is swimming available. Nephew seems to love the water and what better way to cool off. Mrs and I opted to stay dry.
After the time on the Ottauquechee River, we walked back to camp and Nephew asked that we toss the Frisbee we had brought along since this would be our last full day at the park. Absolutely we can do that. So, the three of us went to a nice open, grassy area behind the bathhouse and played around with it for quite a while. It was a good time.
Nephew was determined to light the fire tonight using the magnesium, so I set him up with a small piece of newspaper to catch the magnesium shavings in and gave him a knife not as precious to me as my old Buck knife to use. He made a nice little pile of shavings and I tore apart some birch bark into fine curls. We had already made a pile in the fire ring again using debris we had found in the woods.
After a few strikes of the blade across the striker he fired one directly into the pile of magnesium and it ignited! We placed some of the fine material in the super-hot flame which caught instantly and transferred the small fire to the larger pile in the fire ring. I was happy that he was able to do it and we didn't have to resort to matches again. We enjoyed a roaring fire and Mrs made a wonderful ham steak supper for us.
It was a short, but I dare say successful weekend. I am happy we did not lose the entire trip to rain. Nephew seemed to enjoy it and I was pleased to hear him talk about local farming and sustainability (who knew?) and how much he really liked not seeing so many houses and so much forest. Probably one of his most interesting questions during the stay was (and I may be paraphrasing here) "Is this a forest?" Yes, we do have trees on the Cape, but they are, for the most part, short and weather beaten and we don't have vast areas of forest without houses dotting every little bit. These are my kind of forests, too.
1 comment:
Hey that looks like a heck of a vacation. I'm impressed with the fire teepee. Love the covered bridges, good thing about Vermont. Also love the sharp chedda!
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