Montgomery VT

Driving up to VT this far north is a chore, 4 - 4.5 hours without stops. I instead of doing the long haul drove to our camp in Bethlehem NH on Thursday night. We have a trailer in Applehill Campground which made the Friday trip to Montgomery a more reasonable hour 45 minutes. In Littleton I went and sat with the local at the bar in the Italian Oasis and had dinner. The food is pretty decent there and there is a nice sit down restaurant separate from the bar area if you want full service. The sauce on the baked ziti was delicious and the bartender was very attentive to keeping my drink refreshed. The only drawback really was there are only stools at the bar, if you want a seat back you can take a small bar area table or go to the main restaurant area. I am not a drinker but my friends have told me the home brews that are served are very good.
On Friday I drove 91 to exit 26, rte 58 west to my next stay in Irasburg VT and the Tree Corners campground. Irasburg is still 45 minutes from Montgomery and I should have spent more time looking for a place to camp closer to my destination. It was nice though. Containing two pools one shallow and one a bit deeper, electricity and water hookups at all sites as well as the standard fire ring and picnic table. Designed for Winnebago and trailers I think I was the only tent camper there. One good thing about this is that the site although narrow was large. I asked for some shade and had some nice birch trees in my well groomed grassy site. The price of $30 a night is pretty standard for camper sites but was a bit pricey for tenting. It is even more expensive for larger vehicles. I was not unhappy with the choice but would try to find something much more secluded and less commercial in the future. Lots of children, and older folks made for a not so quite experience, also the lights scattered throughout the campground was like sleeping with a dull lamp on. If I had been in a camper I could close the shades so it was definitely a tenting in a camper place that created the problem. The other problem with the choice is there is nothing for miles around that area. I actually drove the 16 miles to Newport VT to get dinner choices. I have been eating vegetarian and there are only so many salads you can eat and the choices around the campground are very limited.
Montgomery is a small village with one supermarket, small store really, and a bunch of artsy stores that people make up business models to make a living. Surrounded by farming and now discgolf, it is a place you go for recreations, mountain biking, hiking the long trail, or in the winter skiing Jay Peak, and snowshoeing. The two course Black Falls and Cherry Hill are tough to find but here are some directions that should get you there.
Rte. 118; follow signs to Montgomery (not Montgomery Center). Right on Black Falls/N. Hill Rd. (before Fuller Bridge), 0.25 mile to a left across river on Black Falls Rd., 2 miles to course on right, 2356 Black Falls Rd. Parking area at top of driveway. If full, lot B is 400' up the road. Cherry hill is another .5 of a mile on the right for front nine and left for the back nine.
While playing in the Run for the Border Discgolf Tournament I was able to get a few pricey $8 veggie wraps from the caterer Montgomery Pizza and Subs they were good even if a bit overpriced. Everyone I ran into in stores and restaurants were friendly and talkative. In the morning on Saturday I rolled into town early and stopped into the only open place a small restaurant a few buildings east of the Pizza place on the main drag. I walked in and sat down and there were a bunch of locals talking about farm stuff and making their own ammo. No service, wierd? Then another local walks in goes behind the counter and gets a mug and pours himself a cup of coffee. He then gets me a cups explaining that the service does not start until 7am that it is self serve until then. There is a lively banter between the guys as you only hear when people know each other well. Very nice.

Montgomery VT

I am getting ready to leave on a weekend trip to Montgomery VT for the Run for the Border discgolf tournament. I will travel tonight to my place in Bethlehem NH and then onto northern VT tomorrow morning.