Stowe, Vermont, Monday, July 22, 2024
Nathaniel and I walked up the road to the bakery to fetch breakfast pastries; he’s interested in everything, and we saw the big wood shed, the upper village, and the bakery pasture…although the herds were elsewhere, as we were about to find out.
We all headed for the pool after breakfast. We took the short feeder trail that connects the lower village with a path that leads to the lodge, fitness center, and pool. We soon learned that skiers had to relearn the trail system, because the cattle pasture now occupies a huge area between the upper and lower villages, with the result that our trail ended in an electric fence…and a lot of cows.
So we walked around through the upper village and the group, minus the water-averse grandpa, were happily swimming and splashing. The pool sits next to one of the ponds on the property, with lovely views of the Worcester Range across the valley. It was views like this that reminded the von Trapps of the Salzkammergut in Austria.
I went up to the outdoor center and snagged a summer trail map–which is quite different from the cross country ski map.
I walked along the Greenway Loop, a mountain bike track, back through the woods to our guesthouse. The woods, beneath the lofty canopy of beech, birch, and maple, were alive with ferns and moose maple (so called because the moose love the huge leaves on this understory tree).
After lunch, Sue, Andrew, Nathaniel and I walked out Sugar Road to Picnic Knoll and then back along Russell Knoll Track. Nathaniel is a great walker, and endlessly curious!
Andrew and Emily had a date night at the new Hen of the Woods in Waterbury. They had a very good dinner, but agreed that the new location is anodyne.
Grandma and Grandpa and the boys had a nice pasta dinner, and the boys crashed: a day in the outdoors ensured a good night’s sleep!