A quick fun trip up to Vermont
I have always loved the vigorous sport of cross country skiing. It's phenomenal exercise and a really great way to enjoy the outdoors. My snow-covered farm in Bedford is the perfect place for skiing, but I wanted to find out how to groom manageable trails through my fields and woods. Robin Marino, my CEO and her husband, Bobby, suggested I visit them in Vermont. Nearby, where they have a house, is the Viking Nordic Center in Londonderry, Vermont, a beautiful wooded area with 24 miles of impeccably groomed trails used for cross country skiing and snowshoeing. Rob MacGregor, who works at Viking Nordic provided us with a good lesson on how all the miles and miles of their trails are groomed.
Later, we got to ride in some amazing utility terrain vehicles made by Argo. What fun! And after a long day outdoors, we went to Verde, located at the Village Square at Stratton Mountain for fine Mediterranean fare. Chef Rogan Lechthaler's creations are inventive, locally grown, and delicious. My day in Vermont was really fun!
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- Here I am with Robin, Bobby, and their friends – Chuck and Linda – we are discussing the art of grooming trails with Rob MacGregor, who works at Viking Nordic.
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- Ghenghis Khan was not so interested with these machines – he wanted to romp in the snow.
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- Here is a map of the Viking Nordic Center trails. Oops! – do you see the very bright yellow notice? No dogs!
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- So we left and went to Bobby’s friend’s house – He showed us some terrific Argo Utility Terrain Vehicles.
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- Everyone loved the dogs and played with them while we went for our ride.
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- There were two vehicles – one with six wheels and the other with eight.
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- Frannie and Sharkey loved the heavy-duty treads.
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- The dogs loved posing with the kids – Their names are Robbie, Cory, Samantha, Maggie, Nick, and Mitchel. Robbie is a really great ATV driver.
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- Ghenghis Khan loved sitting in the six wheeler.
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- Away he goes – and so fast! I guess he has about 24 miles of trails to groom.
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- Rob makes it look very easy to groom the trails – I am impressed with their nice corduroyed finish.
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- This contraption – a SNO-MASTER 48 – is hitched onto the back of a Ski-Doo or a Kawasaki – it can be weighted down with a cinder block or two on top. It compacts and corduroys trails.
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- Francesca and Sharkey enjoy all sorts of transportation. This was their first time out on a Ski-Doo.
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- Rob explained a lot about snow mobiles, trail grooming, and the sport of cross country skiing.
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- We even studied the engine of the Ski-Doo 500 series.
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- You’ll find a large assortment of skis inside the center.
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- There’s also a good assortment of boots. They look so easy to get on and off!
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- They also offer a great assortment of apparel. Interestingly, this old outfit was hanging on the wall – an ode to years gone by – it looks very much like what I wore when I first started skiing.
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