Vermont is a land of constantly changing scenery, a place where the weary arrive to witness the peaceful calm of changing leaves.

We are simple people here, dedicated to our trade and committed to the vibrancy of our small communities. Take a drive through the winding roads – we hesitate to even call them highways – and you will find pockets of dairy farms, intensely orange and red hillsides, and small towns welcoming strangers into their B’n’B’s.

This morning we drove north on 22A, from Fair Haven (the name says it all) to Vergennes, effectively tracing the western edge of our neck of the woods.

Fair Haven is a town with a population of only 2,734. Originally chartered in 1779, it became a center for mills and eventually developed a flourishing slate trade in the 1800s. Now it is fondly known as the Slate Center of the Nation, and this trade still flourishes today.

Next, we drove north, passing through Benson, Orwell, and Shoreham. Along the way is the famed Devil’s Bowl Speedway and a very quaint “adventure course”. Although you could probably get some adventure on this wooden climbing wall, we also recommend veering right and heading into the Green Mountain National Forest. On the way, pass through Orwell, and picnic in front of one of their colonial churches.

Lastly, we continued our trek north to Vergennes, a picturesque community just off Otter Creek. It is the smallest and oldest chartered city in Vermont. It was first settled in 1766, and is where the fleet that would defeat the British on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812 was constructed. The water from Otter Creek provides power for mills, and allowed the city to develop as an industrial center.