New York and More Dambo Trolls!

 June 17, 2026

Before crossing Lake Champlain by ferry, we saw a few interesting things in Burlington, Vermont.

Black granite sculpture of two whales' tails

World's tallest filing cabinet

Burlington Earth Clock

looking through the stones toward Lake Champlain

Next, we drove up to Grand Isle and took a 15-minute ferry ride across Lake Champlain to Plattsburgh, NY.  We delivered an early birthday gift to our favorite Girl Scout, Nora.  We buy cookies from her every year to help her meet her sales goal.  She promptly names her stuffed bear "Minty."   

We spent a few days with these Luther cousins, including some geocaching.  Brian took Nora to find a Girl Scout-themed geocache.  

We stopped at an unusual outdoor sculpture garden, too.

The Last Supper

I am not sure what the firing squad and begging figures represent

We traveled on to Tupper Lake in the Adirondack Park, to the Wild Center, and found five more Dambo Trolls.  We watched river otters in their indoor tank and heard a talk about bird adaptations.  A screech owl named Luna was in the lobby afterwards.

Luna at the Wild Center

Rainy weather caused us to change our camping plans and head to Watertown to a motel.  We have many memories of this part of New York when our son, Joel, was posted at Fort Drum, and we drove up there for his deployment ceremony before he left for Iraq in 2009.

                                            World's Largest Life Saver near Watertown.

We camped at Fillmore Glen State Park near Moravia, NY, where Millard Fillmore, 13th  president of the United States, was born.

reproduction of the Fillmore cabin

On to the Green Mountains

 After leaving the White Mountains, we made a stop in Concord to visit another capitol building (our 20th one, I believe).  

sculpture of Christa McAuliffe in the plaza

"I touch the future. I teach."

St. Joseph Cathedral in Manchester

Roaming the back roads of New Hampshire and Vermont  . . . 

Sunrise at Hapgood Pond, Green Mountains National Forest, Vermont

We drove a good portion of the Vermont Scenic Route 100. passing through Norman Rockwell country - literally as he lived in Arlington, VT where, according to Wikipedia, "his work began to reflect small-town life."  We saw numerous red-painted buildings - not just barns, but houses, businesses, general stores, bridges, and sheds.  I thought they must look quite beautiful contrasted with snow in the winter.

Moving to the northern part of Vermont to the Waterbury area, we camped in a state park next to a reservoir built by the CCC and US Army Corps of Engineers.  We stopped at Moss Glen Falls and "section hiked" the Appalachian Trail for half a mile to Thundering Brook Falls.

    We were very entranced by the artistry of granite sculptures and cemetery headstones

in Barre, VT ("Granite Capital of the World"), when we visited 10 years ago.  Vermont granite has been used in several famous landmarks, such as the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, the United States Supreme Court Building, and in the construction of the Washington Monument.  We found interesting sculptures around Barre and in Hope Cemetery.  The artistry of the Italian stonemasons is very impressive, and many headstones in the cemetery are inscribed with Italian surnames.

husband and wife monuments

A small granite house - impressive detail

intricate bas-relief details on a headstone

We have been on a quest to visit state capitol buildings in the past few years. Here is the smallest in the country in Montpelier, completed in 1859.  The legislative chambers contain original furnishings still in use.  There is a beautiful dome, but no rotunda.

    We drove through the town of Stowe and the Mount Mansfield ski area, and the serpentine drive with blind hairpin turns through Smugglers Notch.  There are areas at the top and bottom of the notch that you drive your vehicle through to make sure it can negotiate the narrow and curvy road ahead safely.  Our van made it through just fine.

    After driving through Smugglers Notch, we found references to the 10th Mountain Division created during WW II and made connections to last year's visit to Camp Hale National Historic Site and Tennessee Pass in Colorado.  Many of the original ski troops came home from the war and helped to establish the ski industry in Colorado.

Quite the view from the Trapp Family Resort!