GR Praise
An article written by Joann Fitzpatrick from The Patriot Ledger, a paper near Boston, regarding the authors trip to Grand Rapids. The article speaks highly of our city.
COMMENTARY – AMERICA’S HEARTLAND – Why can’t we be more like Grand Rapids?
Hiking Camel’s Hump
A highlight of our trip to VT was hiking Camel’s Hump. Camel’s Hump is VT’s third highest peak at 4,080 ft. We took the Burrows trail to the summit which was 2.3 miles long, it was quite the hike. After getting to the top we decided to head down until we saw a sign stating that the trail junction of the Alpine and Monroe trail was just .6 miles. Bethany had alerted us that there was an old plane wing still on the mountain on the Alpine Trail from a B-24 bomber that was on a routine training mission back in 1944 that had crashed into the mountain. We were curious and wanted to see the wing so we set off to find it. Ben and Jo headed down the mountain, Ben was hurting with foot ailments so Kelly, Bethany, and I journeyed to find the wing. After coming to the junction we were unsure as to what direction to go until a hiker came along and helped us. He told us where to go and how far the wing was from where we were at, we were very close! We set off again and eventually found the wing, it was cool to see. I can’t imagine flying along totally unaware that something as tragic as flying into a mountain could even happen. The plane crash had one survivor. After finding the plane wing we were near the summit once again so we decided to go back up and over the summit to the original trail but that proved to be one of the most tense things I have ever done. I am by no means a mountain climber and when we continued our ascent we saw that this climb was going to be quite different than our previous one to the summit. We were climbing some of the steepest, bare rock that I have ever climbed with no guard rails, trees, or anything to hold onto! I was a bit scared to say the least but pushed forward and up to the summit finally (the pictures below don’t do it justice). All in all we hiked 6.2 miles for the day; we came away with some soreness and fun stories to tell.
View from the top.
Ben resting on a hump.
The B-24 plane wing.
Kel and Jason on the wing.
We were cold on the top.
Bethany and I were not happy when we saw the trail markers going up this rock!
A clear view.
Bethany and Kel the second time at the top, it had cleared significantly.
We are in VT
Well we made it to Vermont. We traveled throughout the night and made it to VT at noon on Saturday. Saturday was a blur given how tired we all were from driving all night. We were able to catch Michael’s last tball game which was great, we are all so happy to be here! Did I mention how slow 100 km is? Ask Ben about how slow 100 km is…
I’ve got Jaye in a full nelson.
Big smiles after getting a hit.
At the Waterbury Center State park.
Kel and Jason at the state park.
Waterbury Center State Park
Festival
Kelly and I had a great time down to Festival this weekend with the Kohn’s. We walked around, ate food, and listened to a little music. The musical highlight of the weekend were The Mines they are a band that Justin and Bethany introduced us to and we really like them. The food of course was good; I thoroughly enjoyed my pulled pork sandwich and elephant ear. Kelly ate some potato wedges and liked them too.
Kelly wedges
Pulled pork
Elephant ears and the Kohns
Bethany and Kelly