On the way to the FMCA Rally

On the drive to the FMCA Rally in Essex Jct., VT, I took Route 8 up to Lee, MA, and then Route 7 the rest of the way up to Burlington, VT. Route 8 was emotionally tough because it is the same route we took to get to the cabin. I miss that trash heap more than you can ever imagine. Route 7 wasn't much better in the emotional department until I got up past Rutland. It's the Manchester/Dorset area that Billy and I went to for nearly every vacation before we got the cabin.

Not much has changed in the Dorset area. Even the Maryville Campground is still there. There's a piece of land that sits right next to the campground that was for sale six years ago. It is either still for sale or it is on the market again. It was a nice piece of property with a barn and large, cleared trails going down to a winding brook at the back of the property.

This is a picture of a house that I just happened to like the look of:

And here's a picture of a fellow Cowboy Action Shooter's trailer that I happened to pass by. They must travel to a lot of shoots:

Driving north on Route 7, somewhere between Rutland and Burlington, I passed the most dilapidated farm I have ever seen -- at least as dilapidated as it can get while still being a working farm. The barn was huge and was in the shape of a round circus tent. And what was out in the field next to the barn? A camel! A Bactrian Camel, the one with the double hump, native to steppes of north eastern Asia (thank you Wikipedia). And what was behind this Bactrian Camel? A BABY camel! I turned around as soon as I could and went back to the farm to get a picture of mamma and baby. They were nowhere around. Apparently they went in to barn. I pulled onto a side street and stayed there for quite some time viewing the area through my binoculars, but they never came back into view. Ever have one of those moments where you wonder if what you think you saw was what you really saw??? Oh, my! I thought I would Google "Bactrian Camel Vermont" and here it is: Ollie the Camel

and thanks to the Internet, here are a couple of pictures I stole (thank you to Bill Owens of Granville, MA and sacoo)