Last stops

When it was time to leave the hotel on Friday morning, the front
desk staff suggested we stop in Quechee, Vermont.
It was on the way to where were heading, so off we went.
Ron had found there was a store that sold fudge.  He is always
on the quest for penuche. The main ingredient is brown sugar instead
of white.  It is something that is known on the East Coast.
While Ron was looking for fudge, I was checking out other things, one being
this sweet Alpaca.  There was a store selling Alpaca products, and had
a small pen with about 7 Alpaca's in it. They were just munching on
breakfast and taking it easy.

The main attraction is the Quechee Gorge,  It is 165 feet above the "rushing waters" of the Ottauquechee River. Not so sure you can tell, but those waters were not
rushing.  There has been a drought in the East, the same as we have had at
home.  The postcard I picked up considers this "Vermont's Little Grand Canyon."
It was impressive.

Not far down the road was this interesting stop.
Ron was gracious to let me stop for a bit so I could
wander around the grounds.  It was a place I would have liked to take more
time at, but I will take what I can get.
This is the Vermont Institute of Natural Science.
I was in time to see a lecture "Predators of the Sky."

The first bird they had up to talk about was a Rough Legged Hawk.
Checkout the feathers on his legs.
Most of the birds that are part of this program had been brought
here with an injury that could be fixed, but would not allow them to
be released back in the wild.

What a majestic bird.

The next up was this Turkey Vulture. They are considered the "garbage bird". 
The interesting thing, and one I did not know, the vulture can fly on thermals
for up to 6 hours at a time.

The featherless head is what seems to turn people off, that it is a ugly bird.
I found out too, that their feathers have an iridescence to them. 

This last bird is the Harris Hawk.  It is considered the "winged wolf".  This particular
bird is not a rehabilitated one.  It was brought to the VIN campus to show visitors how it
goes after it's pray and to survives in the wild.  The handlers let it fly free in a demonstration.
It flew directly over my head.  I have to say, a little too close for comfort! 

There were about 20 additional birds on display.
I was able to take pictures through the fencing.  

Here is a golden eagle.
A few have begun to show in our area. I think they are
more common out on the west coast.

On our way to our next stop, we saw a couple more covered bridges.
This one was a one lane bridge.  

We have been receiving catalogs from the Vermont Country Store for years.
We found out where in Vermont  was one of the 3 stores closest to our return
route an made a stop.

It is just like the catalog.  It has all those wonderful, old time things for sale.
So many I remember from our living in the east when I was young.
In the food area, you could eat your way through it.
All sorts of cracker, cookies, cheese, jelly, and dips are there for you to sample.
There was so many things to look at.
It was a fun and interesting stop.

The afternoon was getting shorter, we were going to have to get on the move
to be in Burlington for our last hotel stop.
Along the way we got to see a lot of interesting barns and buildings.
Cedar Shake is the siding on so many of the buildings.

In the distance as we when through the White Mountains you could see
the ski runs that are carved out of the trees on the mountains.

In one area we saw a waterfall.  Had to make a stop to
stretch our legs.

Ron happened to notice this Heron fly up from the creek running along
side the road.  What a surprise.  Would not have expected seeing
him in this area.

What a pretty setting.  Well worth the stop.

Ron was intrigued with the setting. 

More of the interesting barns along our way.

We had one more stop before the hotel.
We had started our week with the first stop being at Ben & Jerry's.
I decided that needed to be our last stop!
We got a quick bite for dinner, and saved plenty of room for ice cream.
We came in from the backside this time.
Check out the semi's and the tanks for milk.

This time I got to see the ice cream graveyard.
As they discontinue a flavor it is honored by its own tombstone!

Who knew!

Ron's sundae, hot fudge.

Check out the price of the last one on the list.
Now there is a challenge!

There it is.  What a great week.
A lot of fun and adventures were had by us!

Hope you are having a great fall.
Mary