the Way of the Turtle

GREEN MOUNTAIN TURTLE, Part 6 -
A VERY Brief Visit to Button Bay State Park
Sunday, February 7, 2010

I definitely wanted to visit the Lake Champlain shoreline before heading back to New York, so I chose two places in my trail guides that were somewhat along the route home - Kingsland Bay State Park and Button Bay State Park, both in Ferrisburg. Kingsland Bay apparently is home to part of Vermont's small population of loons, and Button Bay boasts rocks rich in fossils as well as the remains of one of the oldest coral reefs in the world. Unfortunately, by the time I reached the Ferrisburg area it was getting near sunset, so I decided not to drive out to Kingsland Bay (about a half an hour round trip) and headed straight to Button Bay instead. I arrived at the park entrance to find only one gate open and decided that it would probably be best not to linger, just in case someone arrived to lock the gate for the night and didn't bother to check if anyone was parked down at the picnic area on the lakeshore.

Once I got out of the car I discovered another reason to make the visit brief - it was really freakin' cold! The wind was blowing off the lake and I wasn't wearing my windblocker gloves which meant my hands were aching in a matter of moments. The view of the mountains across the lake in NY was well worth it, though, and the sun sinking down behind them only made it even more beautiful. I doubt the photos I took will do the scene justice.

Jumped back in the car, turned the heater on full blast, and headed back out of the park through the still open gate, then down the road toward home. A short distance down the road I passed the Button Bay boat launch, which promised more views of the lake and the mountains, so I pulled in and once again froze snapping photos. But after that it really was time to make the 3 hour drive back to Albany.

JMH