Day 54, Hadley, MA

After breakfast, we walked the Village shops which included the Vermont Spirits craft distillery.  10:30 am and we are sampling spirits including a maple infused bourbon which was excellent.  Did not buy any but I did get a free souvenir shot glass with logo.  Head south to Artisans Park in Windsor VT.  Located there is the second Harpoon Brewery (the original is in Boston).  Sampled some beers but did not buy any.  Also located there was the Sustainable Farmer (more samples and more purchases) and the Silo American Crafted Spirits (more samples including a gin aged a short time in bourbon barrels but no purchases).  Headed further south to Brattleboro VT and the Saxtons River Distillery.  More samples including a maple liqueur which was so good we bought a fifth.  Headed further south and checked into the Hadley MA Walmart.

Day 53, Quechee, VT

Headed east on the Crossroad of Vermont Byway toward Woodstock.  Did not see any hippies.  Arrived at the Billings Farm & Museum and adjacent Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park.  The park is 550 acres of woods and mountains and includes tours of the mansion built by the Marsh family in 1806 and extensive additions in 1869 by the Billings family.  An heir of the Billings family inherited the property and married Laurance Rockefeller (son of John D. and brother of Nelson).  All three, Marsh, Billings and Laurance were instrumental in the conservation laws now in effect and in preserving the environment.  Marsh who wrote “the book”, “Man and Nature”, in 1864, Billings who initiated professional farming to sustain the land and Laurance who lobbied for environmental protections and who bought up many properties and donated them to the National Park Service to preserve them.  Acadia National Park owes its existence to Laurance as well as several other National Parks.  On to the farm which is an actual Jersey cow farm.  We actually visited the cow barn which actually smelled like a cow barn.  Got to watch the milking and even petted a cow.  Farm also has sheep and horses.  Left the coach at the farm and headed to the Sugarbush Farm about 6 miles away.  Good thing we took the car as the road was dirt, narrow and with low tree lined.  Sampled cheeses, maple and other goodies and bought more.  Then headed to Quechee Gorge, the “Grand Canyon of Vermont”.  We walked over the gorge bridge 165 feet above the floor.  The gorge is over a mile in length and we walked both south and north paths to the river below about 1.5 miles.  I swear it was uphill in all directions. After the hiking we visited the Quechee Gorge Village, a collection of shops including more cheese samples.  As it was about 5:30 and no Walmart nearby, we inquired of the ownr of the Village if we could stay the night in the parking lot.  Permission was granted in the adjacent grass overflow parking area.  So back to the farm to collect the coach.  The Village proved a quiet spot.