< more recent | 22-30 September 2025 | older >
29 September 2025: Broke camp this morning and started the drive back home under blue skies. It was a nice ending to a great trip and I learned a lot (about beavers and beyond). The drive day was easy and ended with the ferry trip across the Long Island Sound from Bridgeport CT to Port Jefferson NY. Back home the backyard bunny “greeted” me and I settled in with a nice fire in the firepit …
28 September 2025: The second day of Beaver Camp was “conflict resolution” day, as “campers” helped Skip Lisle build and install a “beaver deceiver” in the field. The device keeps beavers from flooding fields or culverts and works to keep water levels safe while allowing the beavers to live and “do their thing” in the wetlands. When successfully deployed the “deceiver” helps keep beavers alive instead of being “trapped out” as “nuisance beavers.” The weekend workshop ended with a round table discussion about ways to improve beaver PR and policy, with a focus on how to influence local governments and the traditional hunting/trapping community to see the value in allowing beavers to steward the wetlands in peace …
27 September 2025: Today was the big day, the day this whole trip was built around. Beaver Camp at the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center in Brattleboro. Though it sounds like a kids camp, it is actually a very serious hands on workshop for adults interested in beavers and in working to help resolve human-wildlife conflict and advocate for nature’s engineers. A full day of learning about beavers, their behavior and the way they conserve wetlands and help protect the environment from floods, drought and wildfires. At the end of the day we got to hang out and observe some local beavers up close…
26 September 2025: The rain finally stopped and I was able to get out and do some more exploring around Brattleboro today. I also found the petroglyphs at Bellows Falls, a pretty unique sighting for the east coast, which doesn’t contain many known petroglyphs. Later in the day I made a stop at the Saxton Distillery to sample some maple infused whiskies …
25 September 2025: The rain continues today, but it didn’t stop me from doing some more exploring. In the morning I checked out some more industrial ruins in the Bellows Falls area, and then drove into New Hampshire making a stop at The Fort at No. 4, an open-air historical museum that recreates a colonial era fort. The museum was closed but I was able to drive around the property and explore it from the outside. Afterwards I continued on to visit with a historical armorer who has an extensive collection of World War II period firearms from around the world. It was a deep dive into the history and development in small arms as the modern era progressed and the circumstances of wartime required innovation. I even got to fire some of the old guns out on the range afterwards, which was fun. By then the rain was slowing down finally, and in the evening I made my way to a concert at the Stone Church in Brattleboro before returning to camp late at night …
24 September 2025: Another wet, rainy day — though the rain is much needed here in Vermont, it is still a bit of a bother when it continues for days while we are camping. Everything is damp, including me. Spent most of the day out exploring and trying to stay dry in the Jeep. Found a cool old abandoned industrial area at Bellows Falls, and the grey rainy light seemed to go well with the scenes of urban decay …
23 September 2025: Broke camp in the morning as a light rain fell, then started the drive from Grand Isle to Brattleboro, returning to the southeast part of the state. A grey dreary kind of day that wasn’t conducive to stopping en route, and the rain continued on and off all day and into the night. I managed to set up the new base camp at Fort Dummer State Park while the rain was light, but it was a very damp day all around…
22 September 2025: Up early to catch the sunrise over the Lake, then took some time to visit the Ed Weed Fish Culture Station, one of several state facilities run by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department that serve as hatcheries to help replenish the stock of fish available for recreational anglers around the state. The fish reared at Ed Weed are stocked back into Lake Champlain. Later in the day I started packing up camp, as tonight is the last night on Grand Isle…
THIS MONTH:
An overland journey around Vermont with some interesting exploration of the varied ecosystems around the state as well as a deeper dive into history and culture…
Heading to Brattleboro Vermont for the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center’s Beaver Camp — a weekend of learning and exploring with the center’s experts. Classroom sessions include: Beavers and Healthy Streamscapes, Beaver Biology 101 and Beaver/Human Conflicts and Solutions. Plus a Streamtable Demonstration and a hands on installation of a “Beaver Deceiver” flow device. Participants will also take field trips to a variety of beaver sites as they learn to identify the signs of beaver activity and assess habitat…
COMING UP SOON:
Joining with the folks from the Long Island Orienteering club to take part in three events this fall that will help hone map and compass skills while enjoying the outdoors …
Returning to the “city of light” after a way-too-long hiatus and reconnecting with friends, favorite places and some urban exploring to change things up a little bit …
Taking part in a World War Two battle re-enactment at the Museum of American Armor on November 16th. The event features some of the museum’s armored vehicles in action during a simulated combat scenario from the allied liberation of France in 1944…
December is Holiday Roadtrip time, and this year we are heading back to a few favorite locations in the southeast as well as exploring a couple of new ones…
Nesconset | Paris | Belgrade | Chittenden | Winooski | Grand Isle | Brattleboro | Bridgeport
MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
13-21 September – Vermont
1-12 September – New York
16-31 August – New York
1-15 August – New York
July – New York
June – New York
May – New York
18-30 April – New York
8-17 April – Eastbound
1-7 April – Eastbound
22-31 March – California
17-21 March – AZ to CA
8-16 March – Arizona
1-7 March – Glamis
22-28 February – Roadtrip SW
15-21 February – Roadtrip SW
1-14 February – New York
January – Paris
23-31 December – Holiday Roadtrip
16-22 December – Holiday Roadtrip
18-15 December – New York
8-30 November – New York
1-7 November – Roadtrip South
23-31 October – Roadtrip South
15-22 October – Roadtrip South
8-14 October – Roadtrip South
1-7 October – Roadtrip South
Archive
ROADTRIP
An epic journey crisscrossing the USA from east to west and back again, exploring some of the beautiful wild spaces that make up our “public lands.” The roadtrip covered almost 15,000 miles, much of it off-grid and off-pavement, focusing on the deserts of the American southwest. Some locations were truly “iconic” while others were little known, and the segments of independent exploration where punctuated with some fun events across the region… [read]
SPECIAL REPORT
All about exploring ghost towns and abandoned places in the USA and beyond, with tips, and information on the many different types of sites to be found across the globe, including detailed guides for eight specific sites… [read]
