Trip 2

Cairo heads for the island in the middle of Island Pond in the town of Brighton.

Follow Cairo (and us) to Island Pond, Canaan and Norton...

Finally! We got back up to our camp and made a foray out into the Northeast Kingdom for our second 251 Club trip. First stop: the village of Island Pond in the town of Brighton (history, demographics). We've driven through Brighton before, but had never taken the time to look at Island Pond--surprising, really, given that we always have Cairo the Swimming Dog with us. Factoid: Island Pond village gets its name, logically enough from Island Pond, which is named for, well...the island in the pond (the Abnaki called the pond Menanbawk, which, you guessed it, means "island pond").

This seemed a fitting place to take our shot in Island Pond/Brighton: both my parents have been librarians at various points in their careers.

The man opening the door to the right of us is the librariansome random guy. Stef chatted with the librarian (not pictured) while I was setting up--I didn't talk to him, but Stef said he was nice. I had to shoot this from across the parking lot, which made things interesting. Cairo eventually tired of my fiddling with the camera and the timer, so she started to leave!

After our stop, we headed up Route 105, then hooked up with Route 3 in New Hampshire for a little change of pace. We got onto Route 102 to cross the Connecticut River back into Vermont:

Of course I had to shoot the covered bridge we took--Cairo desperately wanted to go swim in the river, but she stayed in the car with Stef.

Apparently Vermont has more covered bridges in proportion to our area than any other state (76). Sadly, less than 1/5 of all the bridges are still standing. Most were built in the late 1800s, and many have been strengthened and embellished over the years. Here's what will likely be the first of many we'll see (and hopefully cross) in our travels:

Covered Bridge #33, the Columbia Bridge, in Lemington, VT. A Howe Truss construction spanning 148 feet, built in 1912. Shot from the NH side.

Next stop: Canaan (history, demographics), which is spitting distance from Canada. We actually considered briefly heading north of the border just for fun, but figured that might not be too bright.

I didn't know I owned a hill in Canaan. Cairo didn't believe me until I pointed to the evidence.

We drove up my hill because the sign promised a "splended [sic] view". I don't think this wooden sheriff guy was what they meant.

Last stop: Norton (history, demographics). Uh, there's really not much to Norton. It's also wicked close to the border.

We thought this would make a better picture than the Norton Country Store.

We thought there wouldn't be anything cool to photograph, but boy were we wrong:

The nice people who live on the other side of the train tracks apparently are pro-war.

Or maybe they're just at war with Dick, Andy, Rol and Ron, who allegedly owe them money. According to a sign attached to this display, the folks living here won't recommend using the aforementioned Gang of Four (for what, we have no idea, and did not ask) until the debts are paid. Weird. Here's another of the myriad signs in their yard:

Not sure what makes Dick a dictator [update: I see at this reso you can't read the sign above Dick's name], but notice the nice people have helpfully highlighted the 3 sixes in his phone number (out of courtesy, I've blurred the rest of the numbers).

For some reason, Matthew 7:1 springs to mind. Oh, the nice people also set out free bibles wrapped in manila envelopes addressed "to whom it may concern" on an ironing board.

We certainly had an interesting and fun morning!

ntodd

[Update: made some minor edits.]

Comments

[Jesus Freak]

Christians need to stop endorsing GOP!
Seriously. Actions speak louder than words:
War is a collective sin.

[NTodd]

I absolutely agree.

[vaara]

Hey, I've been there! (The Island Pond/Norton/etc. area, I mean.) And what I remember is seeing several Québécois-looking hitchhikers in the middle of nowhere, presumably looking for rides back to Sherbrooke or Magog or wherever. Weird.

Oh, and when I crossed the border at Norton, I received the most thorough going-over I've ever received from Canadian customs. Good times. :)

[NTodd]

when I crossed the border at Norton, I received the most thorough going-over I've ever received from Canadian customs.

Oh my, the rubber glove treatment?

[vaara]

Not quite, but the agent gave my car a very thorough going-over. Even went into the fuse box. Maybe she was just bored.

[gootch]

Thanks for the homage to libraries and the folks who serve in them!!

[NTodd]

Maybe she was just bored.

It sure must be lonely on some of those remote crossings.

Thanks for the homage to libraries and the folks who serve in them!!

Even with the rise of Google, libraries are still important!

[Brenda Otterson]

Hey, I finally found you! 'Didn't know I'd find the great shots of Cairo and family, too! What's the 251 club?

[NTodd]

What's the 251 club?

Hi Brenda! To answer your question, read this. You might recognize some people in the article...