http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/ A blog with advice and tips for touring Vermont. en Copyright 2004-2005 info@grunberghaus.com info@grunberghaus.com Ublog Reload 1.0.5 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=62 fall foliage progress throughout the state of Vermont. It's written by "leaf spotters" around the state and is highly reliable.

]]> Thu, 21 Sep 2006 12:31:53 -0500 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=62 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=61 Peacham , Danville, Craftsbury, Island Pond, North Troy, etc. The leaves throughout northern VT are not quite at peak yet but they are close and the sight seeing is excellent.

Peacham is a classic Vermont village. It has been photographed by magazine, newspaper and book photographers thousands of times. It has been called the most photographed town in New England. Yankee Magazine said of it: "Of all the villages in New England, Peacham (population 665) is unsurpassed." (Sept 2005).

Peacham is an unusual name for a town and no record exists of how it came to be called that. However, there are a few theories and you can read some interesting stories about the name here.

(c) 2006 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus LLC]]> Wed, 20 Sep 2006 23:09:48 -0500 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=61 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=60
I received a "News from Vermont" email newsletter from Burr Morse at Morse Farms the other day and clicked on a link over to his web site where he has photographs of a big maple changing color. Each week, he will be posting a new photo of the tree to show the progress of falll foliage in this area (Morse Farm is about 20 miles from us I guess).

Shown here is how the tree looked October 7, 2002. Morse Farm's web site has three weekly photos posted so far this year and the color is coming right along. You can see it here.

Check back on Morse Farm's web site each week and watch this tree to see the fall foliage color change in north central Vermont.

(c) 2006 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus LLC
]]> Sun, 17 Sep 2006 21:02:30 -0500 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=60 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=59
The last few days of September and the first two weeks of October are the best foliage periods in this area of north central Vermont. Southern Vermont and the Lake Champlain valley are about a week behind us. The leaves start changing at the upper elevations and in the northern part of the state and then work their way down the mountainsides and into the southern part of the state over a one month period. The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing web site has an excellent animated foliage map which demonstrates this. Note the Pause and Play buttons which allow you study the mapís progress in detail. Also, you can click on the calendar dates alongside the map to make the foliage progress easier to understand.

Something new this year is the Lodging Forecaster . You can see where lodging will be easy or difficult to find according to date.

If you decide to come here without a reservation, keep in mind that the best rooms get taken first so you may not only have a challenge finding a place but also you wonít get the best rooms. Each year, we have people drop in who have no reservations. Usually (but not always) you can find a last minute room on week nights but the weekends are another matter. As a result, these people without reservations spend a lot of stressful time trying to find a room. If you come here without a reservation, I suggest you start looking for a place in early afternoon rather than waiting until evening. However, if you want to have an enjoyable and relaxing time here during fall foliage, make room reservations before your trip.

(c) 2006 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus LLC ]]> Sat, 16 Sep 2006 20:53:45 -0500 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=59 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=58 Tunbridge World's Fair
Tunbridge, VT
This event is famous among Vermonters and it's been held annually for well over 100 years. Old fashioned agricultural fair in a rural setting. 4-H exhibits, midway rides, food booths, free shows, agricultural exhibits, antique tractor pulls, kiddie rides, crafts, live entertainment, ox and pony pulling, gymkhana, contra dancing, field equipment museum with displays of horse-drawn farm wagons and fine carriages. Selected by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce as one of Vermont's Top 10 Annual Events.

Some interesting information about Tunbridge can be found at Wikipedia . . .

Tunbridge has five covered bridges (all listed on the National Register)
Cilley (or Lower) Bridge ó South West of Tunbridge Village
Flint Bridge ó North East of Tunbridge Village (off VT 110)
Larkin Bridge - North Tunbridge (off VT 110)
Howe Bridge ó South of Tunbridge Village (off VT 110)
Mill (or Hayward & Noble or Spring Rd.) Bridge ó West of VT 110 on Spring Road

Tunbridge also has two other structures are individually listed on the National Register:
Hayward & Kibby (or Hayward & Noble) Mill ó On Spring Road in Tunbridge Village
South Tunbridge Methodist Episcopal Church



September 16 - 17, 2006
Hildene Farm, Food, & Folk Art Fair
Manchester, Vermont
Tractor, horse, and ox pulls, craft and specialty food tents, petting zoo, entertainment for all ages. Horse show Saturday. Hildene is the home of Robert Todd Lincoln, the only chld of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln to survive to adulthood. This is quite an amazing facility and well worth seeing. It is located on Route 7A, approximately 8 miles north of Arlington, Vermont, and 7 miles south of Dorset, Vermont.

September 15 - 17, 2006
40th Annual Bennington/Hemmings Car Show & Swap Meet
Held at Green Mountain Racetrack, Pownal VT
Car show, swap meet, craft festival, car corral, tractor pull, motorcycle show, food, entertainment. 150 acre flat venue with indoor plumbing and flea market spaces! VT Route 7, 9 mi south of Bennington

September 15 and 16, 2006
Fairbanks Museum
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
"Day 1: The 29th Annual Festival of Traditional Crafts, a celebration of the skills of rural living. Voted a Top-Ten Event by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and featured in Yankee Magazine's Book of Special New England Days. Quilters, shingle-makers, rail-splitters, bee-keepers, old-time orchardists and herbalists, dowsers, boat-builders, and weavers. Live farm animals; bygone handcrafts, and country lore."
"Day 2: A Day of Delights on Darling Hill. Return to the Northeast Kingdom's most scenic heritage landscape for brunch, a day of guided exploring, and a celebration of Elmer Darling's legacy. Begin your festive day at the Inn at Mountain View Farm."

Sept. 14 - Dec 10
Middlebury, VT
Middlebury College Museum of Art
Opening of the ìTreasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur.,î "Nearly 200 ancient treasuresómagnificent jewels made of gold, lapis lazuli, and carnelian; weapons and other everyday items forged from precious metals; and stunning art objects widely considered to be among the finest ever createdówill provide a lavish look inside the art and culture of Sumeria, the worldís first civilization, located in Mesopotamia in what is now modern-day Iraq. The exhibition will be on display through Dec. 10."

Sept 15 - Dec 17
Images of New England
Bennington Center for the Arts
Painted by artists from around the country.

Sept 17
Shelburne Museum
6th annual Shelburne Museum Goes to the Dogs
Just a real big party for dogs on the grounds of the beautiful Shelburne Museum. Dog and owner costume parade, contests with celebrity judges, dog social area, agility course, rescue societies, pet products, law enforcement dog demos, dog portraiture demonstrations, Frisbee dogs, dog dancing, massage for dogs.

(c) 2006 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus LLC ]]> Wed, 13 Sep 2006 23:12:40 -0500 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=58 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=57

September 14 - 17

"A Four Day Celebration and Salutation to the Great British Motorcar and all manner of other things British"

This Stowe Vermont event is in its 16th year and has often been named as an annual Top Ten Event by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. You can see examples of virtually all British cars from MG's and Triumphs to Rolls Royces and Aston Martins, from classic to modern.

I have attended several times and found it to be an excellent quality event. It focuses on British cars but also includes other British-themed events as well:

Concours d'Elegance- Saturday

The British Pub- Saturday, Sunday
Beverages will be provided by Ye Olde England Inne

The Notch Run Driving Tour- Sunday - a magnificent drive through Stowe's Smugglers' Notch mountain pass.

Tailgate Picnic Competition- with awards for "Most Elegant", "Most Creative", "Most British", "Best Costume", "Best Tasting", "Most Practical", "Most Outrageous", and "Most Humorous".

British Market Place & Auto Jumble- Friday noon to Sunday

British Car Corral - Friday noon to Sunday
British cars and motorcycles for sale.

The Competition of Colors - Sunday
Anyone attending the event as exhibitor or spectator can vote for their favorite car.

Also, low-speed driving competition games.

Held at the Top-Notch Resort field on Route 108 a few miles from Stowe village. ]]> Wed, 13 Sep 2006 21:16:28 -0500 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=57 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=56
I managed to carve out some time the other day to go fishing with a guide I know. It was just my second time out this year. So, other than a very rusty casting technique, and slow reaction time to strikes, I had a great time fishing for rainbow trout in the riffles of the Winooski river just a few minutes from the inn.

I have been fly fishing for about 15 years but never got out enough to become good at it. However, it's still a source of great enjoyment. I once read a line that went something like "I fish for trout because they live in such beautiful places." That's how I feel so, even though I'm missing more fish than I catch, it's a great experience just to be on the stream.

Of course, you can be on the stream without a fishing pole if you just want to enjoy the beautiful scenery. But if you're standing in a stream without a fishing pole, you're gonna look pretty foolish. As the comedian Steven Wright points out, there's a thin line between fishing and standing in the water looking like an idiot.

Here is some advice I wish someone had given me years ago. The biggest mistake I made in fly fishing was becoming a gear collector. I should have spent more of that money on casting lessons and fishing guides. I would be a far better fisherman today.

Guides look expensive but they will save you years of trial and error type learning that is really more expensive. And you will learn the right stuff instead of just spending a ton of time teaching yourself how to do things incorrectly. And fishing with a good guide is fun too. A good quality rod is important (my personal favorite is a Sage rod) but beyond that, my advice is to scrimp on everything else and spend most of your money on instructors. Most people do it the opposite way which I know from personal experience is the wrong approach.

There are a number of guides and fly fishing shops in Vemont. The most famous shop is Orvis which is headquartered in Manchester VT, in the southwestern part of the state, close to the borders with NY and MA.

A favorite local fly shop is Green Mountain Troufitters. And for a guide, I recommend Lawton Weber. He is extremely knowledgable about habitat, trout, many rivers and streams in Vermont, casting, insect hatches, etc. He is the editor of the latest edition of Northern Cartographic's Vermont fishing book. His web site has excellent and honest stream reports. He likes Scott flyfishing rods and supplies them to his clients when guiding.

(c) 2006 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

]]> Sat, 09 Sep 2006 19:19:55 -0500 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=56 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=55 Vermont Archeology Month The next six events listed here are part of the Vermont Archeology Month:

September 8 (Friday), 7:30 p.m.
Bellows Falls VT: Bellows Falls Waypoint Center
ìSong of the Drum: Maine Petroglyphsî
Mark Hedden, an archaeologist with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, will introduce and present a film that summarizes thirty years of field work and analysis of Native American petroglyph sites in Maine. Mr. Hedden will locate the petroglyphs at Bellows Falls in the context of New England petroglyphs by other Algonkian groups.

September 9 (Saturday), 1:00 p.m. ñ 3:00 (or 4:00) p.m.
(rain or shine)
Dorset: Emerald Lake State Forest
History of the WoodsóPart 2
"Industrial archaeologist Victor Rolando will lead a guided walking/hiking tour of the grounds and remains of the Curtis Blast Furnace (ca. 1825-45), the Allen Stove Foundry and Machine Shop (ca. 1840ís-90ís), S. L. Griffith Saw Mill (ca. 860ís), and an innovative waterpower system in the Emerald Lake State Forest. If time, weather, and interest allow, the tour will continue with a 2-mile drive north to inspect the remains of the Vermont Lime Products Companyís three lime kilns (1922-30ís) alongside Route 7 in Mount Tabor and/or a quick visit to the Dorset Iron Company (Draper)
blast furnace ruin (ca. 1845-50ís).

September 9 (Saturday), 11:00 a.m. ñ 12:30 p.m.
Burlington VT
ECHO at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
Flint-Knapping Demonstration
Archaeologist Charles Paquin will demonstrate and discuss materials
used for flint-knapping, how flint fractures and how to work it, and
make a projectile point.

September 10 (Sunday), 11:00 a.m. ñ 1:00 p.m.
Burlington VT
ECHO at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
Native American Pottery Workshop
Charles Paquin, archaeologist and artist, will do a ìcome and goî
program for all ages, talking about and showing how to make clay
pots like those made by Native Americans. Learn the craft or just
come and watch.

September 10 (Sunday), 1:00 p.m.
(rain date Sunday, September 17)
Charlotte VT
Thompsonís Point
Imprints of the Past: A Walk on Thompsonís Point
Archaeologists and local historians present a walking tour of Thompsonís Pointís past, which includes archaeological evidence of a Native American chert quarry, the local poor farm, and the sites of sunken vessels.

September 11 (Monday), 7:00 p.m.
Danby: Mount Tabor/Danby Historical Society
ìRelics &Ruins at Old Jobî
Archaeologists David Lacy and Victor Rolando will give a slide presentation about an archaeological field school held at the 19th-century logging village known as ìOld Job.î

September 8
Classic Packard car rally
President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site
Plymouth VT
The Mid Atlantic Packard Club will have several dozen Packards at the Coolidge hometown during the Vermont portion of its tour. .

September 9
Cheese and Harvest Festival
President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site, Plymouth directions
Plymouth VT
Vermont Cheese Makers ñ samples & product for sale. Wagon rides, sheep shearing, historic farm demonstrations coordinated by Fred & Ursula DePaul, farmers in residence. Andy Plante with ìHarris & Ford,î his team of oxen. The Wilder House (site restaurant) will have a special meal. Traditional craft demonstrations ñ Fiber Arts in Vermont with several artisans spinning, weaving, quilting, etc. Irene Ames ñ one of the stateís premier basket makers. Vermont Division for Historic Preservation ñ ìHistoric House Doctorî with demonstrations of building restoration techniques. Adam Boyce ñ old time fiddler. Area restaurants with harvest food tasting displays.

Sep. 9, 2006
Woodstock VT
Traditional Craft Saturday at Billings Farm & Museum
Rug hooking & braiding Saturday.

September 10
Justin Morrill State Historic Site, Strafford directions
Wild Mushroom Hunt
Autumn is the perfect time to hunt for edible mushrooms. Join mycologist Faith Hunt, who will teach which mushrooms can be eaten and which are better left alone on the forest floor. Afterwards, enjoy a ìmycophagy,î an opportunity to taste a variety of cooked wild mushrooms.


September 10
Chimney Point Sunday Afternoon Special
Hands-on activities and period games. Learn about ancient stone tools or how to throw an atlatl, play period games, or enjoy other fun for all ages.
Chimney Point State Historic Site, Addison directions

Sep. 9, 2006
Norwich VT
2nd Annual Norwich Antiques Show
30 quality dealers offering fine country to formal antiques.

Sep. 9, 2006 to Sep. 10, 2006
Essex Junction VT
18th Annual Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival
Festival of fiber animals and their fiber.

Sep. 9, 2006 to Sep. 10, 2006
Orwell VT
15th Annual Civil War Weekend
Brookside Stock Farm, VT Route 22A
Civil war re-enactors set up an encampment with artillery, cavalry, infantry, hospitals corps and more.

Sept 10, 2006
Ferrisburgh, VT
Lecture - Sister Societies
Rokeby Museum
A presentation on female anti-slavery societies in the 1800's.

Sept 10, 2006
Wardsboro VT
The Town Photographer in Vermont
Forrest Holzapfel discusses the village photographer in 19th century Vermont, and how the tradition is carried on today. Wardsboro Town Hall

Sept 10, 2006
Shelburne VT
5th Annual Vermont Small Farm Food Fest
"Celebrate local farms and the apple harvest. Eat great food, listen to live music and pick apples."

Sep. 10, 2006
Stowe VT
7th Annual Stowe Marathon
"A premier running event that covers miles of Vermont's classic rolling roadway."



Sept 14 - 17
Stowe VT
British Invasion
An excellent car show featuring all British cars including Austin Healy, Bentley, Morgan, M.G., Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Sunbeam, Morris, Rover, and more. Triumph is the featured marque this year. Topnotch Resort Lower Meadows Event Field 4 miles north of Stowe village on Route 108.

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 22:53:19 -0500 http://www.grunberghaus.com/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=55