Quechee Gorge, Vermont's Little Grand Canyon

This post is kind of a continuation from yesterday's post. But I wanted all of Hilary's visit to be on one post.

We fueled up in Rutland, Vermont. $4.14 a gallon diesel, and we are running at 16 MPG almost every time we fill up. That's really good! With the Safari motorhome, we used to get between 7 and 8.

After we left Hilary's beautiful little farmyard, reluctantly, we headed further east. She told us of something very interesting that we needed to stop and see if we were traveling on route Hwy 4.

Sure enough, we found it on our GPS and she said to pull over to the little gravel roadside turn offs either before or after the bridge. The before one was filled with construction equipment and closed to the public. So the after one by the Visitor Center is where we ended up. 

We made our way over through the parking area to walk on the opposite side of the road to get to the bridge. This is known as the Quechee Gorge - the Little Grand Canyon of Vermont. 

We found it interesting that it was originally a railroad bridge and then converted over to a traffic bridge in 1911. It is still the original bridge, and placed on the National Historic Register. 

We walked out along the bridge and crossed over to the deepest side. The one to the south is deeper than the side to the north. I do not like heights at all but it was okay to be there...  safely held back and protected by the mesh fencing. Pictures cannot adequately capture the depth of this gorge or the ferocity of the river. 

Of course, I had to try and capture it with a video that I put on YouTube:

We did the silly little tourist thing of taking our picture by the gorge. Take note of the high mesh fence curved towards the road to prevent anybody from climbing up and jumping to their death. We also saw on both sides of the bridge signs and kiosks with cards to take for counseling and telling any potentially despondent people basically don't jump, it isn't worth it, and that everything can still be solved. 

We did go inside and walk around in the visitor center to gather some other information for the area. Behind the counter in the visitor center was this absolutely gorgeous quilt! I've been meaning to make one with this leaf pattern. Maybe that will go on my "Quilting Bucket List"?

We found out that there is a state park just a short walk from the gorge. And we were able to secure a campsite for the night. $32 no hookups. Ouch! 

The weather wasn't looking too great. 

Our site #11 was very deep into the woods on it's own little private drive. Once we got into that clearing, we could even turn around the motorhome and come right out towards. Just beyond those trees was the edge of the huge Gorge, so we didn't dare go any further!!!

We snuggled in for the evening and enjoyed the peaceful quiet woods.

Steve went over to the shower house to take a shower as we were running a little low on fresh water in our tank. We knew we would refill it in the morning as we were leaving the park.

He said that they were very nice showers, individual rooms, and took coins. He plugged in 75 cents and had quite a long shower ... he said he really could have gotten by with just 50 cents.

The next morning, while Steve was perking the coffee, I grabbed my coins and headed off to the shower. I figured with my longer hair and needing to use conditioner, I could probably get by with a dollar's worth of coins.

So I got over there, and all four shower stalls have been recently used, dripping wet and the floors were pretty sandy and muddy. Glad I was wearing my flip flops. 

I got all ready in the shower, plugged in my four quarters, and began my shower. The only problem was, the water never got hot enough. It was lukewarm all of the while. No matter which way I turned the dial. So there went my four quarters! I was able to wipe down a little bit and that was about it. Glad I didn't get my hair wet or was stuck with shampoo or conditioner in my hair. Oh well, after we refill our fresh tank I could take a shower at our next stop.

And that is why I don't like public showers!!!

It is so hit and miss, you never know if you get a clean one or a dirty one. You never know if you get enough hot water. You never know if they're crawling with bugs and moths and mosquitoes.

I guess I will just plan ahead and use the shower in our motorhome which is more than adequate if we have enough fresh water on board. Our tank on this Winnebago View is only about 30 gallons. On the Safari motorhome we used to own it was 100 gallons. So we have to adjust a little bit.

So that does it for my blog bringing us up to Wednesday the 16th.

76 Miles traveled today 

1,335 Miles traveled overall