Kampfires Campground- Dummerston VT

 Kampfires Campground- Dummerston, VT

We had to leave Tamworth Campground earlier than we had planned.  Our reservations got messed up and we had no where to go on our last day.  We finally found a park, Storrs Pond Recreation Park,  where we could stay for one night.  It was a City Park in Hanover, NH, the home of the Dartmouth Indians.  It was a nice little park but was not built for a motorhome the size of ours.  We did work it out and had water and electric for the night. Part of this nomadic lifestyle is learning to adapt when these little snafus happen and maintaining your sense of humor. One of their solutions was for us to just park and stay overnight in their parking lot. Luckily, Mark can park this big beast on a postage stamp and was able to squeeze into a space designed for a much smaller RV. 

In the park where we were staying, there was a ski jump owned by Dartmouth College.  The ski jump is no longer used but there are several small hills that are still used for skiing. We only spent one night there before we were back on the road to Kampfires Campground. This was our first one night stop, but we were just thankful we found a place to stay on short notice.

Quechee State Park in Quechee, Vermont is on land originally owned by the A. G. Dewey Company, a major wool processor in the 19th century. Mr. Dewey settled in the Quechee area around 1869, establishing a woolen mill. The Dewey Company was a very successful processor of wool and employed as many as 500 people, many in the mill village. They made wool for army blankets and even baseball uniforms, in addition to other things. 

The park was established soon after the park closed in 1952. The Corps of Engineers took over the property to control flooding in the area prior to the state of Vermont dedicating area as a state park. 

We had a nice hike through the park to enjoy the fall foliage colors so abundant at this time. 

Holes in a dead tree created by the Pileated Woodpecker.  We saw many of these rather large holes in  many trees on the hike. The park had several interesting tidbits of information posted along the trail bringing attention to nature found within the area.

We loved the views from the top of Putney Mountain.  This was a moderate 2 mile hike, but getting to and from the trail head was a different matter.  The GPS helped us find the park, but the roads getting there was a challenge. The roads are gravel roads not maintained by anyone. There are signs posted stating roads were not maintained but signage was otherwise nonexistent. 

We spotted this unusual tree in the woods.  We learned when the leader on the tree is damaged or destroyed, one of the branches becomes the new leader.  In this case, the leader was either damaged multiple times or the branches were fighting over being in charge. Our world is full of so many interesting things that we often miss and overlook during the hustle bustle of our busy lives. We are so thankful we have the time to slow down and finally appreciate the splendor found in nature. The Lord created so much magnificence and beauty but people are determined to spoil it and only see the ugly created by men.