Vermont - Day 3

We didn't have Internet connectivity for the past few days, so I'm a little behind on my travelogue. We left our B&B Friday morning and headed for New Hampshire. There were a lot of things left to see in Vermont, but we wanted to get to our next hotel before dark so we had to bypass most of them. We'll definitely be coming back to Vermont; we'll catch them next trip.

One of the things Dick and I liked most about Vermont was the rural atmosphere and the abundance of back roads, some barely paved and some just dirt and gravel. Whenever possible, we went off the beaten path. Our rental car had 4-wheel drive, and although we didn't need it, it was reassuring to know it was available. A short way up this road we stopped to look at the map and 2 white tailed deer ran across the road in front of us. You don't see that on the interstate!

We added a few more bridges to our collection on Friday. This one was in S. Northfield, on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. The map showed a second one nearby, but we couldn't find it. Our covered bridge search was like a treasure hunt; the Vermont "attractions" map we were using gave a general area where the bridges were located, but we had to use logic and guess-work to find each one.

Just up the road, the map showed a collection of four bridges in Northfield Falls. We found two - one of the only sets of back-to-back bridges in the state. First you drove through this 1872 town lattice-style bridgewith it's lacy supports, then about 100 yards away was a queen post bridge also built in 1872. We found out later that a third bridge was just up this same road; the fourth was one street over.

We stopped at a visitor center in Montpelier, the state capitol, and found YARN! They had a display of local products and the yarn lady - who raised cormo sheep, cashmere goats, and angora rabbits - had a farm and shop about 10 miles away. You guessed where this is going, right? Turned out she wasn't home (darn! I really wanted more local yarn) but we found this poor abandoned bridge in a field nearby, along with this picturesque barn. This is typical Vermont countryside - beautiful rolling hills with lots of trees on the high ground. Gorgeous! The infamous 'attractions' map showed another covered bridge a short distance away, down more country roads. We drove through one of the most beautiful areas of our entire trip, but there was no bridge (we asked). Instead, we found this old saw mill in Kent's Corner. Saw mill, covered bridge; they all look alike to map makers, right?

It was almost 3 pm by this time, so we cut the sight-seeing short - missing 2 more bridges in Montpelier itself - and headed for New Hampshire. Its amazing how different these two states are, especially considering how close they are geographically. But that's a tale for tomorrow.