Tuesday July 12

We’re in Springfield Vt. kind of centrally located on the east side. We’ve drawn a circle around here, and we’ll stay here for a few days.

On Tuesday we headed toward Weston, the home of the Vermont Country Store. On the way we passed Okemo, and decided to see what the base of the ski resort looked like in the summer. Here it is. Note IT's a ways up the mountain! We found a road that would take us all the way to the top of the mountain. We passed the base and numerous ski lifts, each with long strings of chairs climbing up the mountain. None went all the way to the top, each dropping skiers off at intermediate spots for skiing, or transfer to another lift for further ascent. Those of you who are skiers will not be surprised by any of this, but our experience is limited to very small ski resorts in Ohio and a trip up to Burlington to see friends years ago.

We continued up the mountain, past numerous condos and places where the road went right underneath the chair lifts. As we got up to around 2,000-2300’ the signs said that we were in Okemo State Forest. The highest we could get by truck was 3200’ where we turned around, and headed down. I shot this shot at the next lookout, a couple of hundred feet down. When the road crossed a ski path, or under a lift run, we’d each look out our side of the truck and exclaim something like “OH MY that’s steep” or a reasonable facsimile. We realized what babes we are when it comes to skiing these days. At any rate the view from the top was magnificent. It was a great unplanned diversion.

We continued on to Weston. This where the Ortens started their country store. Their kids have turned it into a mail order powerhouse of all things old and long thought no longer made. It consists of the original old country storefront, and a considerable number of out buildings out back in a long string. I surmise these were probably old warehouse and shipping facilities as the business changed from satisfying the residents of Weston to the population of the US. They are now all part of the store.

This is now a destination, with a very large parking lot in the back, and a place for lunch next door. Mildred was the founder’s wife, and the food was excellent. We had a fun time sampling the old soda’s, and people watching folks from all over the country.

As we ate lunch, we realized that the goods this store offers are more than just a glimpse into the past. It’s products offer value to not only elderly people, but also those who have disabilities of any age.

On the way home we wanted to stop at Crowley Cheese, Vermont’s oldest continuous cheese maker. I had called and they assured me they would be making Cheese all day. We got there around 3, and found that their day had just ended. It was in the mid 80’s, and they were hot. They make a different type of Cheddar, what they say is a cross between Cheddar and Colby. We sampled some and loved their extra sharp cheddar. We’re using it in lot’s of great ways. This IS the entire cheese making facility. They say that Cabot (we'll visit next week) makes 100,000 lbs. a week. Crowley makes 100,000 lbs in a great year. They are now owned by a young couple who thought it would be fun to own a cheese maker in Vermont. Apparently from the awards they've won at places that know cheese, like Wisconsin, they are doing it right.