Mainstreet, Brattleboro/Photo: Urjasi |
Several months ago, when I was feeling blue, I had
realized that the one thing that never failed to pick me up was the promise of
traveling. I had a three-month break from work coming up and enough savings to
live cheaply. A friend had blogged about her experience while interning in an
organic farm, which invoked idyllic visions of rural life. Those visions were
busted, faster than I could say busted, when I spent a weekend in a working
farm in Charleston, South Carolina. I named the nameless baby pig Rosalyn and
was dead on my feet by the end of day one... and it wasn’t even
summer yet.
Judy in her garden/Photo: Urjasi |
I spent my greenest summer ever, learning about
subsistence and biodynamic organic farming, and hiking in the mountains of New
Hampshire and Vermont. I ate fresh vegetables, local cheese, yogurt made from fresh
milk, and discovered that I loved painting with my
fingers. “Work” entailed helping with weeding, making plant beds, adding soil
supplements, watering the plants and such. On rainy days we would cook, read or make
art. On really hot afternoons I would take the dogs to hike in the woods where we could soak in ponds and swimming holes.
Here are 12 things that you don’t want to miss when visiting Brattleboro.
Climb Wantastiquet
Wantastiquet has a 4.5-mile switch-back trail to its 13,335 foot summit, offering great views on a clear day. If you are coming from Brattleboro, drive or walk across the bridge over the Connecticut River, going towards New Hampshire. After passing the second bridge, take the immediate left turn, on to a gravel road that ends at the trailhead. Feeling thirsty after that hike? Head over to Whetstone for a wide selection of local beer and catch a slow sunset on the Connecticut River from its rooftop Bier Garten.
Peony from Judy's garden/ Photo: Urjasi |
Visit Judy’s garden
No visit to Brattleboro would be complete without stopping by Judy Zemel’s magical organic garden at 44 Cherry Street. Judy, a 73-year old artist-gardener, encourages people to stop by and enjoy her garden, which has been a labor of love for her. She grows fruits and vegetables for herself and makes the best cold asparagus soup I've ever tasted. When I was leaving she was thinking of turning the garden into a community project.
Brattleboro Farmers Market/Photo: Urjasi |
Get some local fare at Brattleboro Co-Op and Brattleboro Farmer’s Market
Brattleboro co-op has a great collection of local cheese, microbrews and wine that you would want to get your hands on. But if you'd rather shop outdoors, hit the Brattleboro Farmers Market on a Wednesday or Saturday to grab local produce and crafts while noshing on Thai, Malian, or Indian food, locally made cheese, maple candies and more.
Hike in Pisgah
Drive the scenic Molly Stark Byway
Woodford State Park/Photo: Urjasi |
Follow the 48-mile Molly Stark Scenic Byway – Rt 9 – between Brattleboro and Bennington past covered bridges, farmlands and mountains, through historic villages and the three-state overlook at Hogback Mountain. Stop at Woodford State Park, less than 30 miles from Brattleboro, for a hike around the 2.7-mile trail that surrounds the Adams Reservoir. Dogs aren't allowed on the beach, but there's a grassy bank where you and Fido can swim and hang out.
Take an art class
Founded by local artist, teacher and author, Ric Campman, River Gallery School located on the Main Street offers art classes for all ages. The school believes that everyone has unique artistic capabilities and encourages individual expression. Through its outreach program, the River Gallery School offers weekly classes at the senior center for a nominal fee. I took the oil painting class and was introduced to “sequencing” – a technique developed by Ric Campman, where you start off painting with your fingers in a sequence of two or three. If you think you can’t paint for your life – as I did – think again. Or better still, stop thinking, take the class, and let your fingers play.
Get some Mayan mole
April and Zopa in Salmon Hole/Photo: Urjasi |
Swim among the “dumplings”
Jamaica State Park, around 26 miles from downtown Brattleboro, has one of the best
hikes in the area. Take the West River Trail for 2 miles and turn on to the
Hamilton Falls Trail just before reaching Cobb Brook. A little more than a
mile, the trail climbs up to view the 125 ft high falls. Sit on a rock and soak your feet in the cool blue pool, but don't go swimming here. Instead, head back along the West River Trail towards the Salmon Hole area near the parking lot, to find
the large glacial boulders that are called “dumplings.” The
water is warmer here and great for swimming.
Cake and more at Amy’s Bakery Arts Café
On a rainy day, we baked: Chocolate cake with chocolate-cardamom buttercream frosting |
Watch
some rising stars
Hairspray at NEYT/Photo: Urjasi |
Reach the pinnacle and stop by at Sowing Peace Farm
The Pinnacle was one of my favorite places to hike in
Westminster West. It’s the highest peak in Westminster, Vermont, with views of Mount Snow
and Stratton Mountain. Managed by the Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association that was formed to conserve the land around Pinnacle, it has more than 1,800
acres of protected land for public use and 14 miles of hiking, with plenty of options for easy to moderate hikes. The Holden Trailhead at 1026 Windmill Hill Rd North is a great place start, and there’s
a lean-to available for overnight camping at the summit, as well as an
outhouse. Having spent
many quiet afternoons at the summit, I can imagine how beautiful it would be under starlight.
On your way back from Pinnacle, stop by Tatiana Schreiber's "Sowing Peace Farm" at 3532 Westminster West Road. Don't be fooled by
the sliver of a garden that you see behind the quaint old house.
There are at least six vegetable gardens in the lower and upper levels, and one of them even has a rice paddy! Try
to call ahead to make sure Tatiana is available, or if the farm stand is open,
ring the bell. An environmentalist, farmer, teacher, and a beautiful
person, Tatiana loves to share her knowledge about bio dynamic farming and
sustainable agriculture. She sells
seedlings in spring/summer, as well as a wide variety of canned products, exotic herbs and hot peppers. Variety is a big thing for her -- the summer I worked with Tatiana, she had planted 35 different types of tomatoes. "Many of the varieties are prized for distinct flavors that are associated with distinct cultural preferences... and underlying all this is an interest in conserving the genetic diversity of plants," she explains.
Growing seedlings at Sowing Peace Farm/Photo: Urjasi |
Learn about 350 Vermont’s work to keep Vermont tar sands free
So what’s the deal with pipelines through Vermont? Have you heard about the Keystone XL Pipeline? It’s all part of that big
hot mess. The first and second phase of the Keystone Pipeline System are
operational, carrying Canadian tar sands oil – a form of petroleum – to the
Mid-West in the United States. It has crappy pipes and has spilled more oil in
its first year than any other pipeline in the U.S. within the first year of
operation. “Keystone XL” is the proposed extension of this pipeline to connect
Canada’s tar sands to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico. The oil would then
be exported to Chinese and Latin American markets.
The proposal has met with bitter opposition from the get go, and with good reason. Tar sands oil is the most “viscous, sulfurous and acidic form of oil produced today.” Spills are more than likely, and costlier to clean up than conventional oil because it sinks, instead of floating. There's a formidable environmental cost of allowing the Pipeline to go through six U.S. states, across major rivers, and the Ogallala Aquifer that supplies water for drinking and irrigating America’s breadbasket. Contrary to what the promoters of the pipeline claim, the XL pipeline may even increase gasoline prices for Americans, and the profits and jobs it would create would not come close to off setting the environmental risk. President Obama has yet to make a final decision about the Keystone XL Pipeline. Currently, that decision is stalled as the State Department awaits the Inspector General’s investigation into conflict of interest complaints.
In the meantime, oil companies are trying to get tar sands oil to
the ports and oil refineries in the east through the Portland-Montreal
Pipeline. If allowed, the dirtiest oil in the planet will flow from Montreal
through land, rivers and lakes of Quebec, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. The
Montreal Pipe Line and Port-land Pipe Line are both owned in large part by
Imperial Oil, a Canadian subsidiary of Exxon-Mobil. The pipeline has recorded
spillage in the past and is unlikely to be able to handle something as
corrosive as tar sands.
Learn more and take action to keep New England tar sands
free at http://world.350.org/vermont/current-campaigns/tar-sands-free-vermont/.
There’s so much more to do in Brattleboro that I could go
on forever. Leave a comment if you want more information, or post some of your favorite Vermont jaunts.