Camping + Colors + Cold = Warm Memories

Over Columbus Day Weekend, we headed to Vermont to camp at Mt. Philo State Park, on the southern end of Lake Champlain.  It's a part of the lake we hadn't seen before and just beautiful.  The resplendent foliage was icing on the cake.

Sarah brought along Flat Stanley from school and had fun documenting his adventures with us.  She is becoming quite the photographer.

There is no truly direct route between our house and the park, so we ended up on state highways winding through small towns.  We spent half an hour inching through Newfane, which was hosting a heritage festival.  It was a gorgeous drive, however.  Vermont is small in size but big in beauty.

As we approached Mt. Philo, the roads were lined with cars and people hiking in.  It's obviously a popular day-trip this time of year.  Once we reached the campground, however, we were pretty much alone.  There are only eight sites, and we had the one at the end of the road, a few hundred feet from the others.  It was the most secluded and quiet site we've ever enjoyed in a campground.

Sarah, Acadia the otter, and Flat Stanley
ready to go.

A view of the Vermont countryside through the windshield

Approaching Mt. Philo

The entrance to our camp site

We were trying out a new tent and shelter on this trip and were pleased with both.  The tent is smaller than Don's old heavy canvas wall tent but plenty roomy and much easier to set up.  The shelter is a bit heavy and cumbersome, but it sure is better-looking than a tarp and keeps leaves off the picnic table.  It will be especially nice in the rain.

Once we had the structures set up and the beds made, Sarah and I hiked up to the summit to check out the view.  It was a mob scene, but we soon saw why.  The vista was breathtaking, with a panoramic view of the lake, the Green Mountains in Vermont, and the Adirondacks in New York.

After a dinner of homemade turkey soup, s'mores for dessert, and some time by the campfire, we headed to bed.  Although Sarah and Don dropped off quickly, I was too cold to sleep.  It was in the 30s, and apparently my 25-year-old sleeping bag can't live up to its rating anymore.  I lay there shivering and worrying whether Sarah was warm enough.  

Around 1 a.m., Sarah awoke and complained that her toes hurt.  Of course, my first thought was "Frostbite!"  I had her unzip her footie pajamas and put her bare feet on my warm stomach (something I learned ages ago).  After a few minutes, she said, "Why are you doing that?"  I explained that I was trying to warm up her feet.  She replied, "My feet aren't cold -- I think my pajamas are too tight."  Chill, Mom.

At that point, I put on nearly every item of clothing I'd brought and layered Sarah up, as well.  We went back to bed and slept until morning.  I plan to have a new sleeping bag before we go camping next fall.  

In the morning, we warmed up with oatmeal then set off for the summit again, with Don along this time.

Don also bought a new camp stove to replace
his 30-year-old one.  (Apparently, we're
getting old, or our gear is, at least.)

Papa Bear's, Mama Bear's, and Baby Bear's porridge

A red eft among autumn leaves

Sarah among the cedars

After lunch, we decided to explore some other state parks in the area.  Kingsland Bay State Park is located on the shores of Lake Champlain. It is home to Hawley House, which was constructed in 1790 from stones from the ruins of Ft. Ticonderoga in New York.  It served as an inn and housed the militia during the War of 1812.  At the turn of the 20th Century, it became a monastic retreat.  It is now a museum.

Flat Stanley posing for Sarah on the steps of
Hawley House...

...and sitting on a picnic table near the bay

We hiked the trail out to Macdonough Point.  It was a magnificent trek, with stunning views of the lake from steep rock cliffs and access to the water along the rocky shore.  Don and I agreed it was one of the prettiest hikes we've taken.

Next was Button Bay State Park.  It was much more developed, with a huge campground, pool, picnic pavilion, and elaborate play structure.  Sarah played for a while, then we hiked out to Button Point (to the closed nature center), passing some fairy houses along the way.

When we returned to camp, Sarah got right to work chronicling Flat Stanley's travels.  We had chicken chili for dinner and s'more s'mores around the campfire, and were off to bed.  Fortunately, it was much warmer that night (in the 40s).  I slept like a log...for 12 hours.  I can't tell you how good it felt to wake up toasty at 8:00 a.m.

By the time I got up, Don had run out of propane for the stove and was cooking oatmeal over the fire. As I've said before, there's no better camping partner (except maybe one who packs two bottles of propane...ha ha).  

As we were packing up, Sarah asked, "Do we have to go home today?"  She loves to camp.  I think her favorite place to be is tucked in her sleeping bag, nestled between Don and me.  :)