A Visit to Emily's Bridge After Hours

The June 30^th blog post was a trip which included a drive through the reportedly haunted, Emily’s bridge. (http://vermontcoveredbridges.blogspot.com/2013/06/emilys-bridge-really-haunted.html) 

We got together with several of our friends a couple of weeks ago and picked a date to revisit Emily’s Bridge, AFTER DARK. Our plan was for midnight, but when all was said and done we headed out at 10pm.  We loaded up our two vehicles and headed up the mountain towards the bridge, it was a clear moonlight night. As we crested the last little rise we caught sight of the bridge. To our surprise, there was an illumination blasting out of the south entrance of the bridge which was lighting up the whole corner off Depot Street. What the heck?  Emily, putting on a show?!

Slowly both vehicles kept traveling past the entrance of the bridge, hoping that the Stowe Policeman, who was now apparently responsible for the light, did not notice us. We stopped at the top of the next hill for a quick conference and realized; it being a Saturday night nearing the end of summer, the youth might be coming out to play! We took a roundabout way home and came at Emily’s Bridge from the other direction, finding the same officer sitting in the parking area, spot light aglow, patiently waiting for the evening to unfold. (Nan thought he was playing Candy Crush.) As we did not want to be included in his plans, both vehicles passed slowly through the bridge. We made our way from whence we started and called it an evening. First attempt: no luck.

You can learn more about Emily’s Bridge at https://www.facebook.com/EmilysBridgeVT and the story of the bridge at http://www.emilysbridge.com/. Happy hunting, if you are up for it!  Dan

Hidden Treasures and a Surprise

Friday, August 23, 2013

Summer is speeding by and autumn has been in the air. We took last weekend off to trade cars so this Friday morning we headed off to Rutland in a brand new Subaru Forester.

Our first stop just north of Rutland was the Twin Bridge.  Not much to see.  It has been on dry land and used for storage since it was washed downstream in 1947.  May of 1947 had had 21 days of rain followed by 3.7 inches of rain on June 3.  A flash flood sent a 15 foot wall of water down East Creek knocking out bridges in its path.  (Sounds familiar.) The twin bridge was rounded up and moved to this location beside East Creek.

Twin Covered Bridge in Rutland

Had to snap a quick photo of bootscaping!

Finding the Brown Bridge in Shrewsbury was a bit more of an adventure. It is a surprise that this bridge survived Hurricane Irene. Signs, signs everywhere signs!

Just amazing the bridge didn't wash away!

Big Brother is watching. Power? Who needs power?

Oops. We crossed the bridge to see  this sign! 

Just a short drive from Route 7 in Clarendon is the scenic Kingsley Bridge.   To the surprise of the senior trying to get her portrait taken this bridge was quite busy for a Friday afternoon.

Kingsley Covered Bridge in Clarendon.

We decided to leave the southernmost covered bridges in Vermont for another day so we headed back north on Route 100.  And SURPRISE: a covered bridge that was not on our list!

This is the Riverside Covered Bridge in Pittsfield. This bridge is not built in the traditional style but a covered bridge nonetheless. I loved the recycled wooden sides.  Riverside Farm is a working farm slash wedding venue.  The bridge is used for photo ops I'm sure.

Riverside Covered Bridge in Pittsfield.

Our final stop of the day was halfway up the road to Mad River in Fayston.  The Battleground bridge was built in 1974 as an access point for the Battleground condo development.  It is a pretty bridge in a pretty setting.

Battleground Bridge in Fayston

A battleground in Fayston? What?  I sent Dan to do some research. 

How the Battleground

Got Its Name

"According to Edan Long, this is the spot where her great uncle was involved in the incident that gave The Battleground its name.

She states that one winter a man gave his son, who was not yet twenty-one, permission to "get out" some logs and sell them for his own profit. After cutting a good amount of timber and making it down to the clearing, the young man struck a deal with a local mill owner, who was Edan's great uncle.

The young man's father was not satisfied with the deal that his son had made. Since the boy was not yet twenty-one the father took the matter into his own hands and sold the same logs to someone else for a better profit.

Both father and son were paid cash, so which purchaser would get the logs was in question.

Edan's great uncle, intending to capitalize on his good deal, arrived at the site with his men at 4 am expecting to get the jump on his competitor. To his dismay, the other mill owner had come for the logs in the middle of the night.

Neither men knew the other's intentions, but the neighbors knew. They gathered at the clearing expecting to see a good fight when Edan's uncle found out that he had been outsmarted. No battle ever took place, but the spot has been known as The Battleground ever since."  http://www.battlegroundcondos.com/explore.php

Sights from the day:

Mill Brook, Fayston

 

 

That's all for this weekend.  I have found a new pastime. Genealogy! Using my Ancestry.com free trial to its fullest I have discovered my Woodward/Decker roots go straight back to the arrival of colonists to the New World in the 1630's and 1640's.  Wow. One of my great grannies was born in 1625 in Charlestown, Massachusetts Bay Colony. I'm pretty sure I will find a combination of Loyalists and Patriots when I get to the 1700's.  Working on my mom's family today. Any guesses on Nichols/Miller?

Bridge count: 106 - 13 more to go.  Enjoy your weekend.

Nancy

The Longest Covered Bridge in the US

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Another beautiful Saturday morning.  We again headed east and south.  Off of route 106 is the Titcomb Bridge.  It was a bit tricky to find.  (We only had to turn around twice! lol) But to give us a little credit it was a tenth of a mile off the main road way back in a field! Loved the old machinery nearby.

Titcomb Bridge in Weathersfield

Fancy Gate.

Downers Bridge over the Black River in Brownsville

Nice detail.

Salmond Bridge in Weathersfield.

A sign along the way.

Mill Brook in Reading

Mill Brook Covered Bridge is a private Multiple Kingpost bridge built in 2008 by owner Kevin Osgood. Very nice to see the covered bridge tradition being kept alive. While viewing this bridge we happened to glace up the nearby hill.  Do my eyes deceive me?

Nope! It's a zebra!

Loved the weather vane on top of the barn!

Best Bridge in West Windsor

We saw two new bridges today and one very newly restored bridge.  Check out the following video about what happened to the Bowers Bridge during Hurricane Irene! Bowers Covered Bridge Restoration 2012  We aren't sure why it wasn't open yet. The Bowers Bridge and the Best Bridge are just a few miles apart and look almost alike. There was a third bridge in the area but the Twigg Smith bridge is gone.

Bowers Bridge in In West Windsor

Dan couldn't resist!

Tied arch bridge.

Lunch was served at the Brownsville General store.

Nice sandwiches! Pleasant employees!  Glad my drink matched the plates!

AND NOW DRUM ROLE PLEASE.... 

The Longest Wooden Bridge in the United States!

And the longest two-span covered bridge in the WORLD!

Cornish - Windsor Covered Bridge

That's a long bridge. You can hardly see the other end.

Martinsville Bridge in Hartland

The Twin Bridges of Hartland 

2001 West Twin or North Hartland

The East Twin viewed through the West Twin.

1871 East Twin  or Willard Bridge in Hartland

1871 - Town Lattice

2001 - Town Lattice

Covered bridges are every where! 

This mailbox belongs to some friends of ours.

This painting is theirs as well.

 We made a side trip back to Northfield to search for the elusive Chamberlain Bridge. We had a mislabeled map and two different sets of directions to use.  Just after we (I) had given up and photographed something we thought might be the bridge we found the real deal just seven-tenths of a mile further down Chamberlain Road. I just can't imagine why it was so difficult to find this bridge.  Can you say camouflage?! 

The Chamberlain Bridge in Northfield

Dan wouldn't give up on finding this bridge!

Native wildlife, this time.

Another day done.  We have seen 101 covered bridges.  17 more to go.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend.  Happy trails.  Nancy