Two Lane Adventures: Monday & Tuesday, July 25th & 26th, 2022 … Two Lane Adventures Continue!

Today we drove to South Hero Vermont. We took Route 2, for most of the way. Route 2 is also Connecticut River Byway and America's Byway. In 1997, the states of New Hampshire and Vermont requested the regional planning commission to look and see if the roads that ran along the river qualified to be a scenic by way. The Connecticut River Junction Commission discussed the good and the bad that went along with having a byway designation. The Connecticut River is the longest river in all of New England which is 410 miles long and starts at the border of Canada and the United States and ends at Long Island Sound. The river flows the whole length of the Connecticut River Byway and past it.

The Farmer's Daughter was a gift shop in Saint Johnsbury Vermont, it is now permanently closed.

It has been said that all dogs go to heaven, and no one believed this more than artist Stephen Huneck. Huneck went so far as to build a chapel for dogs in St. Johnsbury where dogs are celebrated and remembered in this unique setting. Not wanting the chapel to be a sad experience, Huneck made Dog Mountain a place where dogs are welcomed and celebrated with wonderful hiking trails, wildflowers and dog ponds.

It's strange, but with the really dry summer, some of the leaves are changing already!

We traveled off of Route 2 onto Route 15, which is also known as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway. Vermont Route 15 is about 69-miles long. We followed it for it's entirety from Danville to Winooski. Grand Army of the Republic, is a Union Army veterans organization formed the year after the Civil War.

In the town of Wolcott, we were reminded of our "working days" as we passed a convoy in the center of town!

We came into the roundabout at Routes 15 and 108 in Jeffersonville Vermont and were at one of Vermont's largest outdoor murals. It is spread across two 36-foot-tall silos. It's a canvas well suited to the mural's message about Vermont's past, present and future: One silo portrays the face of an aging farmer, while the other shows an 8-year-old child.

"The Silo Project," by painter Sarah C. Rutherford, brought new life to the old silos, which once belonged to the Bell-Gates Lumber Corporation. I never heard of them, but my research indicates that the a community that was once easy to drive by is now on the map as a destination!

Apple Island RV Resort is a stopover place for 2 nights, so we can be close to the ferry to New York. When we arrived at Apple Island Resort we were stunned by the resort and the breathtaking views. We were guided to our site by a helpful team member and provided with more information about the resort.

It is located on the beautiful Lake Champlain. We missed our friend, Sandi Labonti, by a week. She was here visiting friends last week. But, we were able to meet her friends, Dick & Carol.

While we were driving around South Hero and Grand Isle, we found Sasquatch or Bigfoot! Bigfoot sightings in Vermont date back to the late 70's into the early 80's if not later. A professor from Castleton University and his daughter have recorded video of their sighting. Vermont is a prime location for Bigfoot and Sasquatch because it's so remote and has a lot of undisturbed private property. Places like Rutland and Hubbardton consistently have sightings due to the woods and remoteness of parts of the area. Some people do believe and others don't. Do you believe?

Then we found dinosaurs lurking in a swamp near White’s Beach. These creations are not practical but just as fantastical. The wooden dinosaurs were also created by woodworkers and placed within the landscape for fun.

According to Atlas Obscura, the owner of the property is a talented woodworker and also created the prehistoric reptiles that can be seen from the road. Don’t venture closer, the property is private and posted. You probably are looking at these pictures and saying, never mind the dinosaurs ... tell me about the bird houses!

On Grand Isle sits a town called South Hero that's home to, well... not all that much, to be frank. What visitors will find are untouched fields, stunning mountains, and lakeside views. I guy at the park , told us about White's Beach, a residential part of South Hero. So, we went to check it out and within the swamp, roughly 800 colorful birdhouses line the groves of trees - and there's a very good reason for it.

The story behind this magical spot is one that began more than two decades ago and continues on to this day. About 25 years ago or so, two neighbors, Jay and Hank, decided to wage a battle against the mosquitoes in the swamp along their land. The men built 20 bird houses hoping to attract the swallows that adore wetland environments and love to devour mosquitoes.

Hank and Jay's wives suggested painting the birdhouses vibrant colors with red roofs and the tiny village of Jelly Bean Suites was born. The first year, every birdhouse was occupied. Over the next decades, more and more homes for the swallows were built, painted, and added to the birdhouse forest. Today there are around 800 enchanting little houses in the swamp for the birds that eat the blood-sucking bugs. There are fewer mosquitoes and most of the birdhouses are occupied.