Bennington-why did I wait so late?

Friday August 27, 2021                                              Most Recent Posts:
Camping on the Battenkill                                         Prospect Rock
Arlington, Vermont                                    Lye Brook Falls and Its Wilderness

In my previous life I was more of the museum goer.  We lived relatively close to Washington DC and were members of the Smithsonian where we spent many thanksgivings eating in their members cafeteria.  But in this iteration of my life as a nearly full time RVer, I seldom do museums preferring to be outside rather than inside.  So that is my explanation for putting off visiting the Bennington Museum only 18 miles away, until nearly too late.  What a mistake.  I should have come on day one and several times over the month.

The museum is wonderful both inside and out.  Just Beyond  the parking lot is the George Aiken Wildflower Trail,  a large woodland garden showing the many native plants and ferns that Aiken, a two term governor of Vermont and 6 term senator, “loved, grew, sold, wrote about and urged others to grow”.  This trail is actually a series of connected trails winding through 6 acres of towering pines.  I could have spent the entire day there and should have but didn’t want to miss the museum and didn’t want to have to do either on the upcoming week-end.

I love both the idea of this trail and the reality.  Though late in summer there are fewer wildflowers blooming, I suspect these trails would be spectacular with the spring wildflowers and the unique benches.  More about them to come.  These trails were developed and are maintained entirely by volunteers individual and from groups.  If I lived in this area I’d volunteer immediately.  What a wonderful community treasure.

The next thing unique about these trails are the benches.  There are 18 quilt benches along the trail created Jackie Marro.   They were wonderful and reminded me of that time in my life when I was a hand pieced quilter as was my Great Aunt Carrie some of whose quilts I have inherited along with her quilting frame and for whom I honored my daughter with her name.  She was a beloved figure in my life as her younger sister, my grandmother, died when I was 4.

I know Sue, who is a superior quilter, will enjoy these and the ones to follow.

I was particularly enamored of this bench which uses designs from the Jane Stickle quilt which is owned by the Bennington Museum.  From the sign below I learned that it was made during the Civil War by Jane Stickle, a Shaftsbury Vermont farm wife who was an invalid.  She embroidered her name and the words “In War Time 1863” on a corner of the 5602 square piece quilt surrounded by a scalloped border.  The sign providing this information also said that because the quilt is so fragile it is only exhibited for a short time in the Autumn.  I was so very sorry to have missed it but happy to learn all about it and see these patterns.

Even though I have provided all the information I learned from the sign, I include it for the picture of the quilt itself.

On down the path, I’m surrounded by ferns.

I arrive at what I came to call the crow area just beyond this lovely spot for a picnic with the tall flowers around.     Look closely in the far background.  That’s a crow sculpture.

Under the trellis were the metal crows and the crow quilt bench.

Like the other benches, the crow bench had not only an information card about the quilt pattern but also a poem by a Vermont poet.   This one by guess who.

This path was lined by White Snakeroot

Also blooming in the garden while I was here were yellow and pink coneflowers, butterfly weed, Joe Pyeweed, and goldenrod among others.

Among the trails that go off the main one is the Jennings Brook Trail which goes along the brook and through the woods.   No time for this unfortunately.

I did take the trail to the Secret Garden which promised logs to sit on, fairy houses to discover and eight butterflies in the trees.

I didn’t find all 8 of the metal butterflies but it was fun searching for them.

They didn’t mention that there were eatable berries on the trail.  I was tempted but left them hopefully for a child to discover.

I did spot at least two doors to fairy houses.

Near the end of the trail were pages showing the story The Flight of the Honey Bee.

For sure Celia and Colin would love this and I wish they and their parents were with me.  I have spent nearly 2.5 hours enjoying this garden and there is much more to experience but I need to get inside and see what is sure to be a fantastic museum.

Prospect Rock

Tuesday August 24, 2021                                      Most Recent Posts:
Camping on the Battenkill                          Lye Brook Falls and Its Wilderness
Arlington Vermont                                                  Visit to the Sugar Shack

At the trailhead for Prospect Rock I read this sign and got very excited though I knew my chances of seeing an American Marten were slim to none and I was right – none.  But it was fun to imagine it.

The Prospect Rock Trail follows the old Rootville Road up along Downer Ravine

I could see the water through the trees and hear it as I climbed.  But in order to get better pictures of it, I had to climb down a steep cliff. 

I managed to get down and take this video since I wanted the sound of the falls in the post.

I climbed further down to get this picture and another video.   I had picked a good day for this hike since it had rained the day before.  The falls were more full than would be typical of late August.  Though the rain made the trail somewhat muddy.

*aside – when I viewed these videos before uploading them, they were clear as a bell but looking at them through these links they are a bit blurry.  What do you see?

The trail is all up hill and crisscrosses several mountain streams.  The sound of the water is absolutely wonderful.  Water running on either side of the path is so very peaceful.

The road gets rougher and steeper.

At about a mile and a half  the trail meets up with the Appalachian/Long Trail. Just past the junction it is VERY easy to miss the  spur trail on the right that leads 200 feet west to Prospect Rock.

I saw this sign and did the requested look up.

Ok…….. what am I supposed to see?

Didn’t seem to me that there was a good reason to look up until I saw the small white sign posted much too high on the tree with an arrow saying Prospect Rock.
You have to look closely in this picture to see the signs and how far apart they were.

Here’s a better look.   Very easy to miss this and just head on up the mountain thinking the view is at the top rather than on a spur trail.

The trail at first  led into the dark woods but shortly lightened up.

When I arrived one lucky hiker had Prospect Rock all to himself.

The elevation on the Geological Survey marker wasn’t clear.

The view too was a bit cloudy.

The rock has a  view of the Manchester Valley. They say to the west is the prominent Mount Equinox, the tallest mountain in the Taconic Range. The lesser peaks of Little Equinox (south of Mount Equinox) and Mother Myrick Mountain to the northwest are also visible.   I couldn’t tell clearly which was which.

Unfortunately for me, it got more and more hazy as I stayed.

I left when another group of hikers arrived.  Interesting that I hadn’t seen anyone on the trail.

The trail is up hill the whole way, steep at points and very rocky and gravely which made the walk down more difficult than going up.  Still a wonderful morning hike I would very much recommend especially on a clearer day.  Who could ask for more than waterfalls on one side of the trail, streams on the other and a view as the prize.