Vermont - 2025

The drive from New York into Vermont was really pretty. It wasn't quite peak colors but fall was definitely settling in due to the lack of rain.

We drove to Bennington stopping at Hogback Mountain viewing area and checking out the Hogback Mountain Country Store.

We visited Bennington Battle Monument that commemorates the Battle of Bennington during the Revolutionary War. The monument is 306 feet 4 and 1/2 inches tall and features an observation deck with views of three states. The cornerstone was laid in 1887, and the monument completed and dedicated in 1891.

 

 

 

We drove past this beautiful Church, Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales, a Roman Catholic Church.

We also visited Robert Frost's Stone House. The Stone House, built in 1769, is the site where Frost wrote, among other notable poems, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” “Fire And Ice,” and the book New Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes. We had Echo so we opted to walk a little path posted with a handful of his poems and meander through an orchard in which four of the apple trees are descendants of Frost’s.

We found two covered bridges, Paper Mill Bridge and Henry Bridge.

We also drove to Rockingham to check out one of the locations of the Vermont Country Store. You can drive through the Kissing Bridge.

Our visit to the Springfield Armory National Historic Site was impressive. Learning the history and viewing the collection of guns including the gun organ was amazing. For almost two centuries, the US Armed Forces and American industry looked to Springfield Armory for innovative engineering and superior firearms. The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until its closing in 1968.

Pistols

Additional demands for workers during the two World Wars in the Twentieth Century could only be met by hiring women. Women Ordinance Workers contributed to the high productivity of the Armory and were known for their distinctive bandannas (Rosie the Riveter).

John C. Garand was a designer of firearms who created the M1 Garand, a semi-automatic rifle that was widely used by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps during both World War II and the Korean War.

Ernie holding an M1, the serial number was in the 800,000's probably built in 1948 according to one of the knowledgeable volunteers walking around the museum.

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