Vermont - Day 16 - Lake Champlain

Maple Grove Campground
Saturday, 16 June 2018

today's route

I've heard people wondering about the hippies that moved to Vermont in the '60s and '70s, and from what I can see, they're still here.  And passed a Karmann Ghia that looked like it was still running fine after all these years.  Reassuring, in a way.

President Chester Arthur Homesite
Oddly, both Vermonters who were US presidents were elected to the vice-presidency and became president when their presidents were assassinated: Arthur was president from 1881-1885 after Garfield was killed; Coolidge was president from 1923-1928 after Harding was killed.  Both lived in extremely rural Vermont (which is saying something) and were highly regarded in their times.

view on the way to the home

Arthur was the son of a Baptist minister and not a lot seems to be known about him.  Historians aren't even certain where and when he was born, which seem like fairly basic facts not to know.

The house I visited was a reconstruction of the original but is in the original location, which is over a mile from the nearest town (a small collection of buildings at a crossroads).  Vermont has paved the road up to the house, but just beyond it's dirt.  Granted it's been quite a few years since he was alive, but we know a lot more about presidents from long before him - and he took over the presidency at a time of crisis (the assassination).  It all seems odd to me.  The road to his home consists of one dairy farm after another after another.  I think those are the Green Mountains in the distance in my photo - we're fairly far north, as you can see from the route map.

On my way to the Lake Champlain area, I drove through St. Albans and was stunned.  I didn't expect to see anything particularly interesting so wasn't prepared to stop to take photos or anything and very much wish I had.  It's a lovely little town with beautiful buildings, and I don't know anything about it.  Another trip, I'm definitely going to make a point of coming for a visit.

Odd little fact: Vermont owns almost all the islands in Lake Champlain - New York lost out.  (Along the same lines, New Hampshire owns the entire Connecticut River, right up to Vermont's bank.)  So the nice little driving trip I took today in Lake Chaplain crossed a peninsula attached to Canada, North Hero Island, Knight Island, Grand Isle, and South Hero Island.  The land was originally part of the payment given to the Green Mountain Boys for their efforts during the Revolutionary War; the "heroes" were Ethan Allen and his brother Ira Allen, I was told today by the docent at the Hyde Log Cabin.

Hyde Log Cabin

housing - old and new

I was impressed by the fireplace.

This cabin was built around 1783 and is one of - if not the - oldest existing log cabin in the US.  Very interesting place; many original personal items inside.

Lake Champlain area

Lake Champlain from the Vermont side is just as beautiful as from the New York side. 

These were taken from South Hero Island.


I stopped at a grocery store on the way back to the campground and found a Vermont license plate at the same time I had a camera to take its picture.

Then there's this point of view:

Finally, I took this photo of Arrowhead Mountain Lake, north of Milton.  Really a beautiful lake.