Grout Pond / 251 Club Adventure

 

Backroads of Stratton, Vt

October is Ann's favorite month of the year. The cool autumn weather and vibrant colors always inspire Ann and I to do a road trip. This is typically the time of year that we take our chances at finding a wilderness campsite in the Green Mountain National Forest. Since joining the 251 Club we have found it enjoyable to combine our 2 favorite things; camping and road trips. We try to find a State Park or wilderness campsite in the area, and use that as our base camp. Stratton, Vt. was not in the center of our area of interest, but Grout Pond was a place we had visited, but never camped. It was a time we did.

Grout Pond

Our dog Tucker and I camped alone two weeks prior in Victory, Vt. Preparing Brutas, my FJ Cruiser for car camping is a bit of a task. Knowing I was going camping again, I decided to leave the platform and most of the gear on board. I removed our air mattress because it was too big. We had to underinflate it in order for it to fit in the back. Trying to get up in the middle of the night usually would wake up the other. We ended up buying a memory foam mattress pad that fit perfectly in the sleeping quarters. This turned out to be an excellent investment to our car camping gear.

                                                   Our car camping sleeping pad

This year has been an unusually wet summer and fall. It has drenched our camping plans more than once in 2023. Our trip to Grout Pond was no different. I gave Ann the option to bow out several times, but I was met with an emphatic NO! We camped in the rain before and have had a wonderful time she reasoned. Why should this trip be any different? Planning and having the right gear was going to be crucial. In order to give ourselves more room in the rain, we agreed to pack our SUV tent. This handy tent attaches to the back of the FJ and allows us to move freely between Brutas and our "living room".

                          Our trial run at the house                           

Packing was relatively easy and ole sleepy head was bright eyed and bushy tailed. Ann has been on a good role this year. We left early with no reservation to try and observe. This allowed us to take our time and meander our way through some of the towns we needed to check off our list.  We seldom have a plan. We just head in a direction  and follow whatever strikes us at the time. Our first stop was to take pictures of the park in Weathersfield. We had already checked this town off of our list, but the park was especially eye catching  on this rainy fall day.

   

                                                              The park in Weathersfield

Weaving our way across to Southern Vermont is always appealing to us. We take delight in traveling down roads we seldom travel. There is always something new that we missed from before. There has to be a message in there somewhere. The town of Andover was on our list and it was not far out of our way from. Rt 11 West. This was one less town to knock off before we got settled into camp. Not much to see in this sleepy little town, but the landscape was beautiful, especially on Hill Top Rd. Picture worthy on a sunny fall day for sure. This road brought us back to Rt. 11 so we could resume our meandering ways.

   

                                                          Our brief stop in Andover

We made drive throughs in towns we had been to before joining the 251 Club. One of the few rules to our 251 Club journeys is that we have to be together when we check each town off of our list. We have to at least do something in that town, even if it is to take a picture. Towns like Chester, Jamaica, Townshend, Newfane were towns we have stayed in or visited before we joined the club. A simple stop for a town sign or coffee was sufficient for us to check it off our list.

                                                      Getting coffee in Jamaica mon!

After a stop at the Winhall Market for supplies, we ventured up the hill to Stratton. We turned down some backroads, until we came upon Grout Pond Campground. Fortunately there was one good site left. Ann and I got out and started laying out the "floor plan". Once that was established we began to strategize on putting up the tent and attaching it to Brutas. The temps were in the low 50's all day, but by the time we set up the tent, the temps were starting to drop. Gusts of wind and rain made it feel 10 degrees colder. Our 2023 camping season wouldn't be complete if it didn't rain while we set up camp. The urgency to get under cover caused us to communicate and work well together. It was only the 2nd time we have used this setup together. We had issue with the skirt around the FJ, but we got creative and made it work.

                                                                  Our Grout Pond Setup

By the time we got setup we were good and hungry. Creating a kitchen in the living room caused for some very tight quarters. It's a good thing we get along and work well together. Otherwise I would probably be strung up in a tree and eaten by bears by now. The cold rainy weather called for some quick comfort food. Butternut Squash soup and grilled cheese "sammiches" was the special of the day. Darkness was settling in and the rain poured outside our tent. It sounded like a shower hitting a shower curtain. If there was any steam, it was from our breath or the hot soup. We were content to bundle up and recline in our camp chairs. Tucker was all to happy to come down from his roost and oblige us. His warm cuddles made everything good.

                                               Tucker preparing to cuddle in mommy's lap

In the morning things were wet and cold. Ann witnessed a rare occasion, where I didn't feel like building a fire or cooking breakfast over it. Fortunately we had family visiting in the area, so we agreed to meet them halfway in Manchester, Vt. The drive to Manchester from Grout Pond is 45 minutes. I found a backroad and shortcut that was absolutley stunning, even on a dull and dreary fall day. Kelly Stand Rd. traverses up and over steep hills. The South Fork Roaring Branch Brook rushes along side it. The heavy rains from the night before made the brook live up to it's name.

                                                     South Fork Roaring Branch Brook

We agreed to meet at Bob's Diner. Ann and I enjoy visiting diners and country stores while we travel through Vermont. We have found Bob's to be one of the best so far! The long line outside is proof of their popularity. We were a table of 6 and got a table reasonably quick. Our food was served quick and hot AND with a smile! The perfect trifecta! Catching up with our in-laws and their family is always met with humor and adventure. It was hard to say goodbye but we each had adventurous plans of our own.

                                                                   Busy at Bob's Diner

We felt the day was a wash and that staying at our base camp would be boring. We don't do boring! There were a couple of towns that I had been to that Ann had not been since joining the club. In order to be true to ourselves, we decided to pick off Woodford and it's welcome sign together. Ann and I had already camped at Woodford State Park some years ago, so driving through and getting the sign was enough for us. Since we were in the area, we thought we would pick off Somerset and Glastenbury as well. The big loop would eventually bring us back to our base in Stratton. Last November I did some wilderness camping in Somerset and tried to find Glastenebury without Ann. I wanted to show her the beauty and remoteness of the area. She was not disappointed. Somerset

                                                                    Somerset Reservoir

When I returned home from my wilderness camping trip at Somerset, I learned that there was a forestry road that I neglected to explore. It had great potential in bringing us to Glastenbury's deep wilderness. I had to satisfy my curiosity and convinced Ann to explore it with me. The only signs that identify Glastenbury are the V.A.S.T. snowmobile signs. It was a slow scenic drive that followed mountain brooks and lead to remote wilderness bogs. Our eyes were peeled for moose and other wildlife. The road went on forever and we had other places we wanted to explore. After 3+ miles we turned around. We were elated when our GPS showed that we had crept inside the Glastenbury borders. I took a screen shot as proof of our visit. I still want to go back and follow that road to the end, thinking it leads to Glastenbury Mountain and it's fire tower. 

                                                   V.A.S.T. sign Glastenbury Mountain

Glastenbury was first chartered in 1761 by New Hampshire Governor, Benning Wentworth. Settlers did not begin trickling into this rocky, forbidding mountainous area for some years after. At the time of Vermont's first census as a new state in 1791, only six families inhabited it. As of the latest census, the population had grown to a whopping 9 people. Needless to say it is mostly wilderness. A mining industry along the mountain side did exist for a short time but failed. Later the buildings were turned into a resort and people traveled by the old freight rails to stay there. It too failed. remnants still remain, but I have yet to find them.  I found this info on Glastenbury to be very interesting.

Glastenbury, Vt
 

We still wanted to visit Stratton before settling in at base. We spotted an interesting store on our way to camp that peeked our interest. The Stratton Parsonage sets at a T in the road. If you are traveling East or West, The Stratton Parsonage seems like an odd place for a store. It's remote surroundings and name causes curiosity. There is no church next door that would indicate that there was ever housing for the clergy. If you are coming up the hill and to the T, you have come from the bustling ski resort area of Stratton Mountain. To many, it is probably a quick relief from the bustle of the slopes down below. At the intersection lies some historical buildings and markers that are worth checking out. Our stop was delightful, and the store clerk was all too kind to offer us free samples of some locally made sweet treats.

                                                        Stratton Grist Mill Wheels.

The evening at camp was cold and damp. We did not re-attach Brutas to the tent when we returned. Instead we sat in our chairs in the "living room" and relaxed with Tucker. It was an early night as we fell asleep reading in the bed. The next morning was still cool but partly sunny. A good fire and a hot breakfast was in order before we picked up and made the long journey home. We still had plenty of towns to pick off. Some we had visited before joining the club and only required finding the town's sign, if they had one. We had camped and visited Townshend several times, so we just drove through on Route 30. We had been to Newfane too, but we were hungry for lunch and the Newfane store was a place we hadn't visited before. We had a delicious sandwich that deserved dessert. Down the road is one of our favorite places to stop. Dutton's farmstand is a fruit and vegetable stand that sells some very tasty pies. It seems we never have a fork and always end up eating our pie with a spoon. A weird Parsons tradition!

                                                                Newfane Store

Dutton's was as far south as we were going to go. With a full stomach and our sweet tooth satisfied, we were off to find the long skinny town of Brookline and then north to Athens. A few weeks earlier, while at the 251 Club banquet, we learned through a trivia contest that a round brick schoolhouse existed in Brookline. Impressed by the scenic valley landscape to my right, we nearly missed the building that this town is most famous for. I caught a brick structure to my left as we were driving by. I suddenly remembered the trivia contest answer and turned around to see if what we heard was true. Sure enough, this cute little oddity stood just feet off from the road for our careful inspection.

                                                     Brookline, Round School House

We continued north on Brookline Rd. Athens was a quick stop. Rt. 35 might have had a town sign but we had a long drive ahead and still some towns to visit, so we did not go on a search. Grafton is a town we had visited while on our Vermont covered bridge tour with our in-laws, Chuck and Sue. We needed a town sign and a pit stop, so Grafton Village Store was our place. This town is a bustling town that is historic and very scenic. It has all the tell tale signs of a quiet "muckity muck" town. 

                                                        Scenic and historic Grafton Village

We had been to Grafton before, but we had never traveled on Rt. 121 that leads to our next town of Windham. This scenic road has everything you could want in a Vermont country road. Although it is a State highway, there are parts of the road that become dirt. It's one of the few State highways that actually have dirt portion to it. Rt 121 winds alongside the narrow Saxton River valley before it climbs up rather steeply to a notch like pass. It would be a perfect ride during the peak of fall foliage. The dirt portions of Rt 121 accent the backroads feel of Vermont. 

 

                                                      A scenic Vermont backroad

We were satisfied with out trip when we located the town of Windham and the Windham Meeting House. We didn't have time to explore the town, but we did find an unsuspecting town sign on the way out as a bonus. It was 3:30 pm. and we had a 3 hour drive ahead of us, and that's if we didn't let ourselves get sidetracked. That seldom happens! When it was all said and done, we had picked off 12 towns from our list. leaving us with 3 towns left to get. Because of our spontaneity, time, and plain practicality at the time; the 3 towns that remain are scattered all over Vermont. On this trip, Marlboro was close by, but not practical to get with the time and plans we had left. Vernon, Marlboro and East Haven remain. This will cause for some interesting and creative trips to be able to to complete the 251 Club checklist. Interesting and creative is what we do best. Our ETA for home was 6:30. We didn't arrive home until 8 O'clock. Interesting indeed!