2013 Northeast Kingdom VT Completed

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Not all adventures or trips have to be in the back woods to be enjoyed, overlanding is simply traveling by land. With family sometimes it’s the only way to go. Along with my injury I cant simply do the hardcore trails anymore

We left home relativity early Saturday June 15 2013 to head up to the Groton State Forest area & Island Pond to get some photographs for the VT state parks which I was interning for. We decided to take along the M416 to throw all our gear in, this left the vehicle with elbow room.
The drive from home was uneventful; the kids were listening to music & the littlest one watching her movie, thankful for wireless headphones then.

We opted for the most direct path possible, Brandon Gap, Bethel Gap and so forth up I89.

We had our first great site when we broke the ridge of the Bethel Gap. I have always taken the long way around & why I had to ask myself “Why” after being in awe of the views


Seen a trail off of here I need to come back one day & explore.

The bottom section of the road before you reach Randolph and RT12 had some neat little sharp turns here & there that my youngest disliked. So I tried to go as slow as possible without heating the brakes up too bad.

So once we got into Randolph we headed for I89 northbound & down.
I89 is along the ridges of the Green Mountains & offers some nice views.


From I89 we took the off ramp into Montpelier & headed East towards I91.
Stopped off at the capital & the kids walked around, I got the feeling back in my legs & onwards we went. I can’t find the pictures of the capital for some odd reason.

So we headed out on RT2/ 215 towards Marshfield, what a nice scenic area.
There was a neat country store either in Marshfield or close by that we stopped & gas upped. The kids decided to get some snacks while we were here too.

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.Here’s some photos along the way in no particular order.

Danville


Cabot


I forgot where this was, but we could see Camels Hump off in the distance


Now right before the turn to Groton State Forest we had to stop & get this photo


We had a lean-to reserved at New Discovery, so into the park we go.



I didn’t like the site they had reserved for us, so I was allowed to drive around & find a better one to our liking. As such we found this secluded beauty


My son started to unload the trailer, while I started to get us some lunch prepared.
It was simple they wanted hotdogs, chips & the assorted salads we brought along



Once lunch was over, the older children ventured off to explore the bike trails while me & the youngest set up my hammock & played the bag of games she brought along

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A while later the kids decide they wanted to go swimming at the beach & I needed a nap, the trip there was killing me.


Kids weren’t in the water long saying it too cold, well its only June I thought to myself.

Over the next 2 days we explored the area & I got some amazing shots for the VT State Parks, sorry I can’t share those with you. However here’s some I can:
New discovery





Kettle Pond
Never seen any, though they would have made for some nice photos or video



Kids hiked down to the pond


I tried without luck to video some honey bees on this plant, GoPro failed


& my son got me this photo of the pond

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& for some reason I saved this spot in the GPS


Little Mike decide to ride his bike while we drove that next day, man O man (he slept well that night).


Another road/trail we explored, most we short lived or gated


Surprisingly there was a very nice dirt road around the area that is only for bikers, hikers &, XCskiers, snowmobiles in the winter months, but I obeyed all the rules

Stillwater:

& in front of the entrance there’s this nice scenic shot I had to have






& while the kids were exploring the beach etc I had to kill some boredom

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This serviceman agreed to let me Photograph him only from a distance, something about his face & being publicly visible might get him harmed, I thanked him for his service & got these



We hardly seen another soul the whole time we were here




Ricker Pond:



How much wood can a wood cutter cut…?

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So after exploring the area for 2 days & getting tons of great photos it was time to retire back to camp.
My son set up the horseshoes; we had dinner, roasted some marshmallows & enjoyed a sunset while it was happening, with the red flickering light against the trees.



The next morning it was time to head out; off to Island Pond we go.




The ride from here on over to I91 was very easy going and scenic.

Near West Danville we stopped at Jog’s Pond to make a pit stop & eye the small lake.
From there we finally got to I91 but sadly the kids weren’t taking any more photos fro me as I was driving. It was only a short hop north up I91 to Lyndonville, where we got some breakfast from McD;s drive through. The kids wanted to get there about as fast I I wanted to no longer hear, how much farther. To keep the attention focused off of the distance I told them about the times I was through the area on a couple of trips when I was their age.
The weather wasn’t looking all to impressive, though we brought tarps & rain suits, that’s not a fun way of camping like I did in the PNW as a teenager.



Somewhere on the way between Burke & Island Pond on the way there I had to get this video of these crazy statues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQHxnDr ... v&index=18

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After what seemed like a lifetime we finally got to Island Pond aka Brighton State Park


We got another lean-to site because of the potential threat of rain
Just as I was starting to get lunch going it down poured


So I told the kids lets go out to lunch, so we hit up a local store & got grinders etc, there was no way I was cooking in the rain, I was exhausted from all the driving & my injury wasn’t helping any
Here we are entering island pond village


Sat at the village park and ate our lunch, watching out over the lake


I decide when we got back to camp I was taking a shower at the new facility they built, nothing beats a hot relaxing shower


There’s really not much one can do when it’s raining all heavy like, so we drove around the park looking for things to do

The dreary beach



Our site wasn’t far from the beach & I got these over the night & next day



Once the kids were really bored & hungry again we ventured back into town for more food.
We found a local pizza place on the South end of RT114 as you enter town.
The place was a dive, but the food was great, never judge a book by its cover

After dinner at the local pizza place I got this video of an old Sherman tank, & left the kids thinking how the heck did it ever get up here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXWSeNc ... iR8JMw7q8v

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The next morning was odd looking you couldn’t tell if it was going to clear up or downpour again


My son kept begging me to go back South to Burke so he could mountain bike, he plead with me that he might never be this way again, how they had some of the best trails and so forth. So back South onto RT114 we go and then this. How can you resist your kid when he makes valid points & looked so sad if we didn’t. I think we all know what its like to want something so bad & only to be told “No” I didn’t have the heart basically.
Well the sun was short lived & then this


By the time we got there all that was available was a half day lift pass & that was contingent upon the rain. We were advised if there was any lightning the lifts would be shut down & we’d lose our $$, but he wanted to bike really bad, I can’t blame him & would have loved to join him if my back wasn’t all messed up.


Bike rental shop, where we waited some & watched too


Got him his decal he wanted, what’s a vacation without a souvenir


He came down all soaking wet telling us about how good the trails are & what tricks he did and so on


As he finished off the rest of the afternoon biking in the rain, me and the girls went into town and saw the sights. Grabbed some lunch etc & then headed back up to wait for him, he was the last one off the trails that night; I can’t blame him for not wanting it to end.

The resort was having some chain saw competition there, and we were allowed to bring the scrap wood back to our camp site, nothing beats dry timer in the rain.

The next morning was uneventful and I thin we were all dragging from the rain & its associated boredom. So we packed up & headed out. I was going to take RT105 West across the state & see where that led us, but since I was on pins & needles I opted for RT114 as we originally came.

When we got to Montpelier one of the kids seen a sign for Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream tour, since I’ve been past is a 1000 times I said sure let’s go.
I won’t bore you with those pics, I’m sure you all have been there.

After our tour the kids wanted to go to Burlington to get some goodies, so off on I89 we head. After all the shopping was done & the weather wasn’t half bad we stopped by the Burlington waterfront where the wind was insane off the water.


Mikie’s hat went sailing off into the lake to never be seen again


& from there it was what felt like a short drive home, where we were all exhausted and needed a vacation from our vacation