Stuck Trucks
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| Picture taken from Vermont Transit web page |
Last November, I wrote about the stretch of Vermont's Route 108 between Stowe and Jeffersonville. The story was about how truckers and bus drivers ignore the warnings to avoid the narrow boulder-lined section through Smugglers Notch, and end up getting trapped with no way out except for a complicated tow. (Click here for November story).
Smugglers Notch is closed to thru traffic in the winter months because there are just no shoulders for plows to push the snow into, but it should be opening for the year again within the next few weeks. So, the question after opening day will not be a matter of "if", but "when" will that first big rig driver of the season try to tempt fate and get his/her vehicle wedged into the road's outcroppings.
The Stowe Rotary Club has decided to capitalize on the situation with it's first ever Stuck Truck Pool. For $10 a ticket, participants can guess the date of the first incident. The winner gets half of the money collected, while the other half goes to the Rotary's scholarship fund.
Interested in entering? You can find more information AT THIS LINK.
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Solar Eclipse
A year from this Saturday (April 8, 2024) parts of North America will witness a total solar eclipse, its path starting in Mexico and crossing northeastward from Texas all the way to Maine. As it turns out, here in Randolph, we'll be only about 10 miles south of the path, experiencing almost 100% totality.
I remember the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, which crossed the US from Oregon down to South Carolina. Hotels and campgrounds along the eclipse's path were booked in advance as hoards of pilgrims migrated to those locations to witness the full event. I imagine the same will happen next April, although I don't expect to see a lot of campers around these parts during what may still be the tail end of Mud Season. That said, put in your bids now and we can arrange for indoor accommodations here for a handful of folks! Heck, we should just have an eclipse party! Time to order those special sunglasses!
More information at these links:
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Maple Creamies
Maple season in Vermont, soon coming to a close for this year, has been a long one - the unseasonably warm December and January meant that some of the sap started running early, and March brought perfect sugaring weather with below freezing nights and above freezing days. As a reminder, Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the country, and production in the world is only exceeded by the province of Quebec. Maple syrup is - as some of you may not know - considered a "super food" (Yes, reallyl! See THIS LINK)
All that in mind, we couldn't think of a better way to spend an early April Sunday afternoon than with a visit to the local Silloway Farm during their open house weekend to view their production and sample some of their great maple creamies!
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| Silloway Maple in Randolph Center, Vermont |
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| For the uninitiated, maple creamie is the local term for soft-serve maple ice-cream |
