Stowe

I had planned to run this morning in Stowe, but we discovered that the Innsbruck Inn was located at the very end of the Stowe Recreation Path.  This 5.3-mile greenway is internationally recognized; it begins at the covered bridge behind our Inn and continues all the way into the heart of downtown Stowe, crossing West Branch River several times.  So we decided to walk to Town on it instead of running.

We were glad we had chosen to walk (in our waterproof hiking boots) because there was still snow on the trail at its upper end in several places and running would have been a little treacherous.

The greenway meanders along the rocky little river, far from the road, along the edge of picturesque Bouchard Farm, redolent with sweet-smelling manure and freshly-plowed fields.

 
It was one of those glorious hikes that we will always remember, starting off just chilly enough to make us wonder if we had dressed warmly enough but ending up in sunshine as we arrived in Stowe just before lunch.  

Just before ending in the downtown area, the greenway crosses the road; we walked under this concrete bridge that some unknown artist has decorated.  There seemed to be a lot of artists in this area, enjoying a laid-back pace of life.

The final half-mile passes by the old Mayo Farm, which we learned had been purchased in the 1980s by a developer who had planned to build a hotel, condominiums, and golf course.  In 1989, town voters approved the purchase of this 235-acre property to preserve it for all; at the time, it was the largest purchase of land by a municipality in Vermont, a very impressive and visionary planning achievement.

Downtown is filled with beautiful buildings as I noted in yesterday's post, and we enjoyed going into the shops and simply gawking at the historic buildings on Main Street.

We had lunch at a place called The Bench, recommended by a friendly young man in the Visitor Center (spot-on recommendation!), and then I decided to walk all the way back to the Inn to fetch the car, giving Martha time to shop a little.  So that turned into almost 12 miles of hiking for me, almost as good as a run!

We found dinner at an interesting place called Picnic Social, which served small plates at picnic tables.  "At a picnic," our waitress told us, "You bring enough to share.  The concept here is all about sharing small servings."  We liked this concept, and also the amounts and the price!

 
Stowe is a beautiful town and would be an interesting place to live . . . except for all that snow.  But locals seem to deal with it ungrudgingly, even pray for it, and then they ski upon it with great joy!  "We live in the mountains and have some snow in Highlands," we told a young skiier, "Sometimes as much as 12 or 18 inches.  He laughed with delight at this:  a mere dusting to a real Vermonter.