My Last Week in Vermont

Monday August 24-August 31, 2026                           Most Recent Posts:
Moose River Campground                                              Rough Week
St Johnsbury, Vermont                                        Beautiful Waters & Bingo Bust

This was my last week in Vermont and full of Finals.

FINAL PADDLE AT HARVEY LAKE

The lake is a 4 mile paddle around the shoreline.   I did that as well as back and forth depending on what I was seeing and hearing.

You can see it was a bit breezy

Harvey is a populated lake and I was very lucky not to run into the numerous boats I could see along the shore and that I’m sure are on the water on the week-ends.  This is the far end of the lake and the most populous.  The shoreline also has individual houses.  This end looks like a village.

I heard the chatter of this kingfisher and followed him zipping around until I was able to grab this not great shot of him when he was still for 10 seconds.  Gotta love the “hair” and the bill.

Turtle gatherings

Further down the far end of the lake there is an eagle’s nest.  I was on my way there when I saw an adult flying.  I don’t know if it had just come from the nest or not.

The nest is in the larger tree to the left in the middle of the swimming beach.  I guess eagles don’t care at all who is beneath them since the nest is very close to the top of the tree.

But what is the loon family doing right by the beach beneath the tree?

Here is a more distant shot of the eagle tree.  You can see the nest but barely.  It is high up just below the top of the tallest tree to the left.  that brown spot on the left side of the trunk.

I hung around for a long time trying to see if the adult would come back to the nest or if an eaglet would show its head.  No luck though I could hear the whining cry of the eaglet.  Perhaps it’s old enough now to be on its own and just wants the parents to bring him some food.

From there, I followed the loons.

Here is a short video of the adult and juvenile loon.  The juvenile is fishing I guess during the entire thing but if you listen carefully or turn up the volume you can hear the eaglet crying in the background.

This woman was snacking and reading in her sit upon kayak.  She has some sort of back support and looks pretty comfortable.

It’s the end of the summer and this loon looks exhausted.

One of the nice houses along the shore with land on either side.  I can’t imagine how much this house costs.

WINNONA’S TATOO

The most exciting thing that happened this week was Winnona’s Tattoo.
Those of you who follow me know that Winnona got a boo boo and had a scar which you can see below.

Sign Depot in St Johnsbury made this tattoo (decal) for her to make her look sharp again.  Thanks to Jodee for the idea.   I really like it.

FINAL HIKE AT DOG MOUNTAIN

This is the sign you see on Route 2 about 1 mile from Moose River Campground.  It shows you where to turn to go to Dog Mountain.

I’ve hiked at Dog Mountain several times this summer and I have developed a route to combine trails so I can get 4+ miles.  I start here at the far end of the parking lot and hike up up to the Yellow Trail.

The fall flowers are in bloom.  Queen Anne’s Lace and Gloriosa Daisies

Yellow and red leaves are falling.

This has been the summer of new bridges at Dog Mountain.

Goldenrod is amazingly bright.

I wish this were a Monarch but I’m pretty sure it’s a Viceroy.  Still I’m just happy to see any butterflies.  They seem much more rare.

Does anyone know if this is a fleabane?

Below is the major new bridge that sadly (for me) replaced the swinging rope to get over the stream.

Love the trail markers.  This obviously is the yellow trail but there are similar markers for the blue and pink trails as well.

It was a glorious day for seeing the fall wildflowers.  It has actually been a glorious summer with literally PERFECT weather.   I’m not anxious to leave.

The chapel advertised on the road is a lovely memorial to so many people’s dogs.  Pictures are all over the walls inside as I have shown in previous posts.

The Gallery displays the works of the creator of Dog Mountain Stephen Huneck.  There is a gift shop as well.   It’s just a wonderful place.  If you haven’t looked at the website, do.

FINAL SATURDAY IN ST JOHNSBURY

I’ve shown this blue house before it’s a favorite of mine for its color and especially its matching Little Library which is the best of all the ones in town for my taste in books.

I’ve shown the many colored houses in St J on previous Saturdays but I don’t think this Green one that I like.

How about a piece of art work for your mail boxes.  I assume this is a duplex.

One final visit to the Athenaeum where I returned the last of the library books they are gracious enough to allow me to borrow.

 

The Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium  is one thing I did not do this summer somehow.  I did go to several programs in 2024 but not this year.

I was able to do my first and last Labyrinth Walk of this year.  It’s a shadow of its former self and I really hope they will restore it to its previous state.   But I was glad to be able to walk it at all.    I saw the center Peace Pole standing in the side doorway of the church.  Its absence is clear in the Labyrinth’s center.

FINAL CAMPGROUND DINNER

This was not a potluck dinner.  It was what is called the “Seasonals Dinner”.  There are a number of people who have a site here for the entire season which runs from Mid May to Mid October.  Some have been coming for years.  Some are work campers.  Mary and Gary put on the dinner for them and generously include those of us who are here for 3 months are more.

I didn’t get a distance shot of all the tables.  There were 4.   But I did get a close up shot of my dessert plate.  Clearly I was unable to chose.

FINAL LUNCH WITH A FRIEND

My retired librarian friend Adele and I met at the Mooselook Restaurant for lunch on Sunday.  She and her husband have gotten a trailer and have been on two trips this summer.  Although they are not going to take it to Florida this winter.  I think she said she actually likes winter and snow.

FINAL DAY

On my final day in St Johnsbury I took Winnona in for an oil change, lube and general check over before I get on the road to drive 750 miles back to Virginia.

Lyndon Truck Center is absolutely amazing and I would love to just take the owner Tony with me.  He can do anything and really takes care of us.   He let me know that I needed a new Transmission filter and after he did that work Winnona was running better than she has in some time.  Not sure why no one before him ever noticed how rusty it was.  He also noticed that my last lube job left out 3 major spots.   I may have to come back to St Johnsbury just to have Tony take care of Winnona.

And the last thing I did on Monday late afternoon was to visit Milk House Ice Cream.  Boy am I going to miss them.

FINAL BOOKS READ IN VERMONT

I actually finished 3 books this final week in Vermont between waiting for Winnona and waiting for Sign Depot.   I enjoyed them all.  None were “high brow” literature but all 3 were wonderful stories and easy reads.

I always bring a box of books in the back seat of the car from my personal library and this one came from there. The Singing Stones was published in 1991 and is both a romance, a suspense and a psychological novel.  Phyllis Whitney lived not too far from me in  Nelson County which she refers to in many of her books or sets them there which is always fun for me

The Harvey Girl is an historical mystery and reportedly first in a series.  I have always been fascinated with early train travel and the Harvey House Hotels some of which were designed both inside and out by Mary Colter who was an amazing architect.  If you’ve been to the Grand Canyon you may have seen the Desert View Watch Tower she designed.   I want to time travel back and take the Santa Fe Railroad to Fred Harvey Houses.  So far this is as close as I can get.  In this novel Clare Wright, a Pinkerton Detective, goes undercover as a waitress at the Montaña Roja Harvey House in the New Mexico Territory.   Good read.  Sadly I doubt the series will be about more Harvey Houses but rather about Clare Wright.

How to Read A Book jumped off the shelf at the Athenaeum because obviously I love books and it partly takes place in a bookstore.  Lorraine is a 61 year old retired school teacher who volunteers to run a book club in a women’s prison.  This part is a hoot especially the women’s comments about what they read.  In time her best “student” is released and encounters the husband of the victim of her drunk driving incident.   It’s actually an uplifting inspiring read.

So that’s it for this last week in Vermont.  Let me know in the comments what you’ve been doing and reading.

Next post I’ll be back in Virginia at the Farm.