Loving that Maple - The Sweet Side of Vermont

 

The sweetest side of Vermont is its maple syrup and sugar production . There are sugar farms, sugar houses and sugar shacks throughout the state. Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the US which is about 5% of the world's supply. People like maple. Heck, it's the official symbol of Canada.

We stopped at several sugar farms, big and small, and each offered something a bit different. Sometimes we were invited to see a film about syrup-making, view old photos or perhaps walk through a sugar house or a stand of sugar maple trees, locally known as sugarbush. Most are family operated and have been for generations. There are good stories to tell.

Other times, we tasted several grades of syrup from Fancy AA to B. The grades are based on the syrup's amber color … the lighter the color, the milder the taste, the higher the grade. Actually, I really like intense maple flavor, so I was quite happy with the darker amber colors. David passed on the sampling altogether (obviously not a native New Englander). There are actually stringent “Maple Laws” in effect in Vermont which require that even McDonald's offers real maple syrup with their breakfasts. No maple-flavored breakfast syrups here.

Early colonial settlers learned about syrup-making from their local Native American neighbors. Legend has it that a chief threw a tomahawk at the maple tree and it “bled”. When his wife collected the running sap and cooked venison it it, it rendered a sweet result and thus sap collecting and syruping began. Cheaper than molasses and readily available, maple syrup became the standard sweetener for early natives and immigrants alike.

About 40 gallons of sugar sap is boiled down to make one gallon of pure maple syrup. The going price is $45-50/gallon. They can only collect sap for about six weeks in the late winter and early spring, so the season is short and intense.

Many dairy farmers use syrup-making to augment their incomes. The farm stores usually offer cheese as well as maple products which makes it wonderful tasting experience.

“Sugar on snow” is a traditional activity during the syrup-making time. Maple syrup is drizzled on fresh snow for a delightful treat. Our timing was off for a sample of sugar on snow, but it didn't stop us from trying other samples of maple-y delights. I picked up lots of new recipes.

We even visited a Maple Syrup Museum to learn about and view all things maple. A bit hokey, but a sweet experience nonetheless.

I did have my fill of pancakes with real maple syrup before I left the state … and I'll be regretting it with each pound I have to lose next week.

Vermont's Covered Bridges

 

“A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof and siding which, in most covered bridges, create an almost complete enclosure.The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered wooden bridges have a life span of only 10 to 15 years because of the effects of rain and sun.” according to Wiki

We've visited the Bridges of Madison County in Iowa and we've seen a covered bridge or two in California. The state of Pennsylvania has the most covered bridges in the US and we've seen several of them, but Vermont has the greatest concentration of covered bridges per square mile. A century ago, there were over 600 covered bridges in Vermont, but floods in 1927 wiped out 400 of them. Due to fire, vandalism or development (some call it “progress”), nearly half of those remaining bridges have been lost. The 114 surviving bridges are among the finest in the country and, unlike many of the bridges we've seen, they're not just for show. Most of these bridges are used regularly.

The Windsor-Cornish Bridge connects Vermont and New Hampshire across the Connecticut River. This is the longest wooden covered bridge in the United States and the longest two-span covered bridge in the world.

Because of the utilitarian nature of the bridges, some are plain and drab while others are knock-your-socks-off stunning. The Taftsville Bridge in Woodstock is an example of the stunning variety and it's also one of the oldest bridges in the state (1836).

There are several “kissing” bridges in Vermont. Legend has it that if a couple kisses in the very center of the bridge, they'll be together forever. We didn't want to take any chances, so we adhered to the rules. Not to mention, it made the walk across the bridges even more enjoyable.

There is one supposedly haunted bridge, Emily's Bridge, in Stowe Vermont. Evidently, a jilted young woman died here and has haunted the bridge ever since, at least that's the local story. She wasn't around when we visited.

Feeling the solidness of the timbers as the bridge carries you across the stream or river below on wide, thick, wooden planks and thinking about the thousands of people, horses, wagons and cars that have traversed this same path in the past century or two provide a personal sense of history.

Evidently, rushing across the bridge was never allowed.

Some bridges are dark inside; others have windows from which to peer out and survey the river below.

Vermont - Roadside Americana

As we've traveled across the US in the past, we've always tried to seek out the “unique” aspects of each place we visit. We've gotten up close and personal to the largest ball of twine, visited the Spam museum (avoiding the tasting room) and climbed a staircase to get a good view of the world's largest boot. Vermont is no exception. The independent nature of its residents lends itself to some interesting Roadside Americana. Here's a sample.  

Perhaps our most unusual stop was at Knights Spider Web Farm in Williamstown, Vermont. Will Knight has been collecting spider webs from his barn for decades. He mounts them, preserves them and sells them.

We may have driven over lots of covered bridges and seen lots of barns, but this was the only barn we drove UNDER. The 19th century Ezekiel Ball Farm barn stretches across a dirt road and you must drive under to get to the other side. Pretty unique.

Barre, Vermont touts itself as the “Granite Center of the World”. Hope Cemetery there attests to the fact that granite is easy to come by and the stonecutters are true craftsmen. Here we saw the most unique gravestones ever.

Burlington was a treasure trove of the unique. In a downtown vacant lot we saw the world's tallest (and perhaps rustiest) filing cabinet. Lord help the person who needed a file folder from the top drawer.

The rhino crashing through the building at Conant Light & Metal was pretty unique as were the pumpkins decorating his horn in the spirit of the season. (Burlington)

Champ, the legendary sea monster of Lake Champlain, is obviously real since he posed for this statue.  (Burlington)

A winged monkey on the top of Union Station in Burlington, Vermont? We're told there are several flying monkeys on the rooftops of Burlington, but we only saw this one.

How about the world's tallest ladderback chair in Bennington, Vermont? David appreciated the fact that they used good sturdy rope to make the seat and telephone poles for the legs.

This huge teddy bear sits beside the road in Putney at the entrance to the Vermont Teddy Bear Company.

Way back in 1925, Wilson Bentley aka Snowflake Bentley determined that “no two snowflakes are alike”. In Jericho, his hometown, there's a tiny snowflake museum with lots of pictures of his snowflakes to commemorate his discovery.