We slept in until about 9 today and then Melissa, Joe, Joey, and I did a short hike to Quechee Gorge.  It was a bit of a steep path with switchbacks but was definitely doable.  We saw and heard lots of birds.

Here is the downy woodpecker.

And this chickadee with a caterpillar in its beak.

We also saw a decent sized snake that I think Melissa got a picture of.  Sadly I did not see any moose but I was on the lookout for them!

Here is the gorge:

There were interesting plants like jack in the pulpit.

Quechee Gorge had a visitor center which we explored a bit before heading back to the campsite.

Those staying at the campground have special trails in and out of the gorge.  It was kind of weird because it felt like we went down more than we went up but I won’t question it!  I’m glad it didn’t feel like we had to climb that much. 

Back at the campsite all 5 kids piled into a single hammock!

We ate ramen and sauteed imitation crab for lunch.  Then we realized time was getting short to visit both national historic sites we wanted to visit.   Joe and Joey removed the kayaks from my roof so I could cross the covered bridge on the way to our first stop.

This site was the summer home of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, a sculptor who did most of his work in the years after the civil war.  This property had copies of his work, some of which we will see later on this trip. 

Lincoln (original is in Lincoln Park in Chicago).

Farragut Monument (original is in NYC)

Shaw Memorial (original is in Boston)

The kids worked on the Junior Ranger worksheet which was created by an artist and was mercifully short and easy to complete.  Some of the kids are getting tired of these workbook while others are extremely into them. 

I took these pictures of the flowers for my mom.  The gardens were beautiful and most of the flowers were about to bloom so they will be even more beautiful in a week or so. Irises, poppies, columbine, and lots more. 

The next three pictures are the yard, the “little studio” and the house. 

These pictures are inside the house. 

The painting below was done by Saint-Gaudens’ wife Augusta, who was an accomplished artist as well. It depicts the room pictured above.

I thought the story below was interesting.

Below is a bust of Augustus, himself. 

Joe studied sculpture so it was great to have his insight at this site.

The girls got their first badges of the day and then we remembered we needed to leave if we were going to make it to the other historic site before they closed. 

The second site was Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park.  I took a picture of this explanation of the heating and cooling system for Nole.  They use geothermal technology in some of the buildings!

We only had about an hour to look at this site.  The mansion was closed for visitors by the time we got there so we took the Junior Ranger trail around the grounds and checked out the visitor center.

The ranger swore everyone in with their second Junior Ranger Badge of the day.  These badges are unique because they are the only ones made from trees on the property!

On our way back to the campsite, we stopped at the campground office and turned in their Vermont State Parks Junior Ranger booklets and they each got a badge.  It was a Junior Ranger hat trick!

We made grilled cheese over the fire with free wood given to us by Phil, the grounds guy, had s’mores, and did some packing, including reloading those kayaks.  It was a pretty great day with beautiful weather.