64 San Diego Reader January 7, 2016 40 San Diego Reader January 7, 2016
42 San Diego Reader
Gather No Moss TRAVEL STORIES AND TIPS FROM OUR READERS
Vermont side; if you’re not local, he knows it. Checking in on Facebook? The library’s free Wi-Fi signal works on their lawn for a cheap Canadian status update. Crossing the border now involves a bit of a drive through Canadian customs, instead of walking across the street.
Summer sunset over the Connecticut River in Littleton, New Hampshire
Summer in Vermont’s
Northeast Kingdom By Tamar Fleishman
Vermont’s storied “Northeast Kingdom” was given its name by former governor and U.S. senator George D. Aiken in 1949 for its special beauty. While lots of people think of Vermont in terms of a snow-covered Christmas card, there’s both quirkiness and tastiness to the area come summer. The Green Mountains and Vermonters’ passion for preserving the environment add to what makes this region on the Canadian border fun to visit. Drive around the lakes, marinas, mountains, cabins. Check out offbeat signs, sculptures, and natural wonders. Go on a cruise! Yes, Vermont has cruises around beautiful Lake Memphremagog with Northern Star Lake Cruises. You’re welcomed onboard with a mimosa. So many cruise captains sound like the adults in Peanuts, but Northern Star’s captain is fun. You’ll see crazy fishing lodges, Prohibition hide- aways, Canada.
Swimming pools can be a little ster- ile. But old-timey natural swimmin’ holes still abound in the Northeast Kingdom! They say some folks skinny dip, but at the one I went to, people were wearing bathing suits. Swimming by the water- falls is kind of amazing: you feel free. If I’m going to be indoors on a trip, I like my museums deliciously odd. Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium is at least that. Living flowers share space with dead-bug art, Civil War artifacts, and the personal Victorian memorabilia of the founder. You’ll walk out peering into stoic New England countenances with a newfound appreciation. While security in Derby Line, Vermont, tightened after 9/11, they still celebrate their border with Canada: the town’s opera house and library straddle the two countries. Check in with the U.S. Border Patrol agent on the
Stay where people have been staying on the road from Boston to Montreal since the late 1700s: Rabbit Hill Inn. Rooms are both in a main house and also individual, motel-like layout, with Jacuzzis and fireplaces. Old-fashioned quiet getaway style means no Wi-Fi or TVs in rooms. There’s a pub onsite and a restau- rant...but if you don’t make reserva- tions ahead of time, it’s not happen- ing. Local ingredients are used in the combination served/buffet breakfasts. Littleton, NH, is actually part of the Northeast Kingdom’s “metro area.” Littleton residents call themselves “The Glad Town.” Their outdoor sculptures are pianos with covers that you can lift and play: create your own glad sound. Thayer’s Inn, right on Main Street, is over 165 years old and surprisingly modestly priced. An upstairs deck allows you to see the whole quaint town, just like movie stars and U.S. presidents have. They’ve reopened their restaurant after it was closed for years. Grille One Eleven has both casual fare and hearty dinners, with a nod toward local flavors. Guests of the hotel get 10 percent off their reasonable prices. The Northeast Kingdom has an amazing bounty of natural eats and drinks. Culinary-wise, I noticed a strict expectation for the finest qual- ity of ingredients treated very simply. Nothing — not even that staple of mac and cheese — is greasy or goopy. St. Johnsbury has a year-round farmers’ market. I was astounded by the unusual and plentiful veggies that grow way up north. There were cucumber varieties and colors that I’d never seen or heard of, crazy-looking beans, a rainbow of heirloom toma- toes that I was shocked to see so far from Dixie, locally made liqueurs, goat cheese, and, of course, maple syrup. Maple syrup is Vermont’s pride and joy!
The Northeast Kingdom Tasting Center is another place to gather the special products made in the region. continued on page 42
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San Diego Outdoors with the Museum Canyoneers ROAM-O-RAMA
INAJA MEMORIAL NATURE TRAIL This short hike explores the transition between forest and chaparral.
Distance from downtown San Diego: About 58 miles. Allow 1 hour and 25 minutes (Santa Ysabel). From Ramona, drive east toward Julian on SR-78 to Santa Ysabel and continue approximately 2 miles further, heading up the hill. Look for the Forest Service sign for the Inaja Picnic Area on your right, just be- fore the road curve, and exit there and park. CNF Adventure Pass required. Hiking length: Up to 1 mile. Allow up to 1 hour. Difficulty: Easy. Elevation gain/loss less than 100 feet. Facilities. No water. Dogs (on leashes) allowed. The best time to visit is in the spring, but it can be enjoyed year round.
The Santa Ysabel Valley is below the vista. Inset: The monument commemorates those fallen while fighting wildfires.
here are many reasons to stop and explore the Inaja Picnic Area. First, it is a great place for a picnic, with tables under shady ramadas or old coast live oaks. Additionally, a nature trail, one of the few National Scenic Trails in the San Diego area, circles the hill behind the picnic area and provides great views down into the rugged San Diego River Canyon
T
to the southeast, a contrast to the pastoral view of the Santa Ysabel Valley off to the southwest. Finally, this is a great place to learn about the transition zone where chaparral gives way to forest. At the site is a memorial to 11 firefighters who died here on November 25, 1956, when the wildfire they were combating suddenly turned and shot upcanyon before they could escape. It is recorded as one of the worst firefighting disasters in the nation. The tragedy changed forever how wildfires are fought in America. The deaths of the firefighters — three trained Forest Service firefighters, seven Viejas Honor Camp volunteers, and their cor- rectional officer — led to a new determination to understand wildfires and to develop new rules for engagement: the 1957 original ten Standard Fire- fighting Orders.
The hiking trail begins
on the west side of the restroom and extends in a loop up to the high point on the ridge before return- ing to the picnic area. In the past it was a nature trail, with numbered stops and a brochure providing information on some plant or feature at each stop, but most of the numbered posts have disappeared and brochures are no lon- ger provided.
Although the trail starts continued on page 42
Find maps for the hikes and more Roam-O-Rama columns online at
SDReader.com/roam
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