Vermont 2021 {10/11: Beebe Spur Rail Trail}

On Monday the 11th we did some school and work in the morning, then loaded up our bikes after lunch to hit the rail trail in Newport along Lake Memphremagog. This was one of my favorite rides last year and we were excited to show the McClungs the true pleasure of riding the rail trails. The weather was perfect, the leaves were amazing, and we had a simply marvelous time!

Just checkin' on the tree in the backyard.

Art Start Monday was this project chosen by Cal
and taught to us by Art For Kids Hub on youtube.
We had to make some modifications to the procedure based
on supplies we had (like using white, yellow and blue
construction paper instead of orange and sewing the paper
together instead of stapling) but I think they turned out cute!

Just a Monday morning walk through the neighborhood.

And off we go on the Beebe Spur Trail, 
which if we kept riding for 5 1/2 miles from
where we started, we'd end up at the Canadian
border.

Lots of green leaves still, but the ones
that were colored were really colored!

Lots of Canada geese - they really made it far south
on their migration!

Most Lake access along the path is private, but one nice
owner made a sign that said anyone was free to rest on their
little deck overlooking the lake. So we made sure to take
advantage of that for our snack and water break.

Monarch on clover!

Timmy and Sammy

Zachary

We rode about 3 1/2 miles and then
turned around when we came to a road.
Maybe next time we'll make it all the way
to Canada!

It was fun to watch this heron out in the lake as we rode by.

A perfectly purple bridge in someone's backyard.
Cal needed a photo op there, since she's quite the purple-lover
these days.

These boys were speedy! They pushed each
other and pedaled like crazy!

This cute Halloween set up in someone's yard was entertaining
and festive.

The witch was motion activated and had a whole bunch
of little messages and cackles and stories to tell.

The kids loved it! (Thanks, kind folks
for setting up a little holiday fun for the
trail users!)

I accidentally took a wrong turn on the way home through Newport,
but then we stumbled on this amazing reflection on the lake, so it
was a-okay.

Doesn't really fit in with the day's activities shown above, but I finished it today, so here it goes. Started listening to this one on libby (had to bump up the speed for sure!) but then finished it on kindle (the only options available from my library, but it worked out well for this time with no library access!). It was good, definitely an entertaining voice, and some good ideas. It was nice to read it as part of an online book club and to read others’ ideas for implementing the principles, especially in a homeschool setting. It’s basically a self help book to help you “be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don’t”. I like that it lets you decide which is which in your own life. One of the points that has stuck with me most is what she calls “the magic question” which is asking yourself what you can do now to make life easier in the future. She also has a podcast you could try (I listened to one a long time ago after I heard her on what should I read next, but I don’t remember much about it).