Thendara : Part 5 - Lake Champlain

Part of the appeal of Thendara is being situated right on Lake Champlain. Even with the threat of the local Lake monster, Champy, and the temperature of the early summer water, we take full advantage of being able to swim and boat to our hearts content. Thendara is fully stocked with canoes, row boats, sail boats, and floats. Even though as teenagers Luisa, Andrew and I did sailing in Haverhill, we never attempt to take the sail boat out, because it is much more complex than the sunfish we sailed in Plugs Pond. Last year when I took the kids out canoeing it was a choppy day on the water, and with a voice full of skepticism in my being able to handle the canoe Cam said "Momma, maybe we should go back and wait for Papa to take us." Well, we neither drowned nor capsized, but they have been reluctant to go solo with me since.

Dad getting the kids situated before they set out for a little rowing.

I used Alex as a guinea pig to play with a continuous sequence feature on my camera.

Here he shows off his diving "ssskillzzz

THE JUMP

THE ARCH

THE SPLASH

Caleb, our Thendara neighbor, and Cam searching for toads

Brooke trying to gain the courage to jump in with Nana

Cam figuring out how to navigate the ledge for a more extensive search of amphibian

Thendara : Part 4 - The Summit, continued

Here are some pictures of the Hikers enjoying hanging around at the top.

Mom - contemplating the creation of Earth . . .

or just catching her breath.

Mom and Brooke - discussing how Mt. Philo was once covered in water and how glaciers placed the colossal rocks all around it . . . or just catching their breath.

Somehow these two little monkeys still have the energy to climb trees. I am standing on a rock that made me equal to their height.

Looking at the group.



Cameron is in that tree somewhere.

Brooke yelling for everyone to see her accomplishment.

The two littlest hikers, they were totally not into the photo shoot.

Thendara: Part 3 - The Summit

WE MADE IT!!! At the top of Mt. Philo is a nice park, camping spots, a covered picnic area (where we have even witnessed weddings) and view points. We relish sitting in the sun with a cool breeze and taking in the view.

Melanie and Jocelyn

A view of Vermont, you can see Lake Champlain in the far right corner.

Lake Champlain and the New York Adirondacks.

I love all the various shades of green and blue.

We have come on really clear days and seen twice as far.

After our hike we make an annual trip to Dakin Farms where we rejuvenate our blood sugar with samples of honey, maple syrup, cheese and sausage. A family favorite is maple frozen yogurt, and we never leave without summer sausage, aged cheese, maple butter, crackers and salsa dip for late night card games. It's turned into quite the tradition.

Thendara : Part 2 - The Ascent

Every couple of years our family decides that we really are made from strong stock and that despite our various stages of "out of shape" we can perform extreme feats of athleticism. Enter Mt. Philo, a very small mountain in Vermont, only 968' elevation, but the view is gorgeous. The hike takes about 40 minutes and is no where near extreme in the attempt to climb it, even Cameron and Brooke climbed it this year without any help on the way up. It's a fun little climb and brings out the adventure in us, even the aging and feeble.

Here we are mid-hike. L-R: Dad, Mel, Mom, Alex and a little bit of Jocelyn


More of the group.

Cameron and Brooke kept up well,

even if they did linger near the back of the pack

I think I used the self-proclaimed title of "hike photographer"
as an excuse to linger near the back as well.


Cam investigating some bugs.

Brooke maneuvering a giant rock

Me, Mel and Jocelyn Reyes checking out some glacier moved giant rocks

in the middle of our hiking path.

***OK, so I somewhat exaggerated our level of un-fit.

We all did just fine climbing this baby mountain.