Vermont Travel Notes

The Vermont Department of Tourism is giving away $100 in a weekly drawing that you can enter online. It only takes a minute to answer about 12 survey questions and you're entered to win a $100 gas card. Nowhere else will pay you anything let alone a hundred dollars a minute!

[But wait, there's more! We'll even throw in beautiful scenery like the one above!]

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

Okemo's "Timber Ripper" coaster is a few weeks late in opening because it was so complicated to build but it's completed now and scheduled to open tomorrow, Dec 23.

The fastest $13 you'll ever spend! . . .



Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

The next time you are at Sugarbush, see if you can tell which trails are groomed by these two guys.



Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

There is a fun, new YouTube video about Dog Mountain's 2010 fall festival in Saint Johnsbury VT. Stephan Huneck, artist and founder of Dog Mountain and its famous Dog chapel, passed away earlier this year so all the events from now on are in part memorials to his life and work.

Coincidentally, Frog Hollow gallery in Burlington is currently staging a Stephan Huneck exhibit through the end of this month. It features Huneck's prints, sculptures and books including a posthumously printed book entitles "Even Bad Dogs Go To Heaven" and even a replica of Dog Chapel.

Frog Hollow is the Vermont State Craft Center and features works from 250 Vermont artisans. It's located at 85 Church Street in Burlington. Their summer hours are still listed on the website but it should be open most days during winter. You can call (802) 863-6458 for details.

Both Dog Mountain and Frog Hollow also have Facebook pages.

All dog lovers should plan a visit to Dog Mountain located just outside Saint Johnsbury Vermont. It's open seven days a week year around and has festivals each year. For your GPS, plug in the address: 143 Parks Road, Saint Johnsbury, VT, 05819

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

Photo taken in Waterbury VT, October 27, 2010

One of the great things about Vermont is its natural beauty even in seasons when you would least expect it. Right now is a good example. Most of the colorful leaves are not only past peak, they're lying on the ground. We're transitioning into Vermont's "stick season" where all the trees look like sticks. While it does not have the gaudy color of two weeks ago, the hillsides are still eye catching. At the lower elevations there are splashes of bright yellow and larger patches of rusty reds. It can be quite striking.

Yesterday was a good example. I enjoy this time of year when the sun is low on the horizon in the morning and late afternoon. It makes for dramatic natural lighting and it's especially fun to observe when the sky is a cobalt blue or swirling gray with sunlit highlights.

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

While organizing this year's photos, I came across this summer photograph of plastic wrapped, round hay bales on a Route 100 farm a little north of Waitsfield.

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus