Wordless Wednesday: Wind Towers Over Crystal Lake

August 3, 2011

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Sheffield Wind Turbines

I-91 Southbound between Exits 25 and 24

After years of legal fighting, the windmills are going up on Hardscrabble Mountain in Sheffield. These are the first photographs that I took on July 7, 2011. There are about 8 turbines up now, and as I proceed through my photograph editing, you will be able to follow the construction as it proceeds. There will be a total of 16 turbines installed when this construction is over.

After years of protests, I am now accepting the towers. They are beautiful in a way. I still mourn the loss of two hundred acres of habitat and I still am concerned about birds and bats (what are left of them). But moaning now won't change a thing, so I'm going to sit back and enjoy photographing them. I hope to visit the site in the future.

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Scott Wheeler: Giving a Voice to Vermonters in Montpelier » Sad Story From Barton

Scott Wheeler: Giving a Voice to Vermonters in Montpelier » Sad Story From Barton

I'm friends with the family who is suffering this awful loss and the entire town of Barton — indeed, the entire Northeast Kingdom — is shocked and sad. Please help my church help the family. The moose collision took place at Sheffield Heights on I-91, the infamous section of the road where the weather is horrid and the moose are many. I constantly worry about my family when they travel that road.

Sad Story From Barton
swheeler at 5:47 am on Saturday, June 12, 2010

Although outside of my district, I can’t help but feel for the family of a young woman who was killed when her car hit a moose. She leaves behind three children from nine years to six months. I can not imagine their pain. If anybody wishes to donate to a fund for the family they can mail it to the “Larose Fund” to the Barton United Church, PO Box 306, Barton, Vermont 05822. Hopefully the Save the Pete people will now refocus their lives from a moose (who, no, contrary to some people, is not a human, does not talk, and isn’t running for governor) onto this suffering family. My heart goes out to them.

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From Sheffield Heights to New Hampshire

Somewhere at the top of Sheffield Heights (the highest point on I-91), traveling south.

When I drove home from Barton, Vermont on Sunday, I held the Canon camera in one hand while I steered with the other. The photos show windshield dirt and are poorly composed.

The Heights has notoriously bad weather winter or summer. It was snowing everywhere north of this point.

Approaching Lyndonville at mile 134 traveling south. Barton is north somewhere around mile 155. The snow is gone and the clouds are higher. Wikipedia has a great article about the mile markers and exits on the entire route of I-91 from New Haven to Canada.

Further south, it is dryer.

Somewhere after Barnet the road looks even better.

I love ribbon of highway winding around the mountains in Vermont.

Finally back on Route 11 in central New Hampshire, the sun was nearly out, and setting. The tiny bit of mountain here is Ragged Mountain.

Technorati Tags: I=91 Vermont Del.icio.us Tags: I=91 Vermont Flickr Tags: I=91 Vermont

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Before and After the Bugs

The photo above is a photograph taken from the library parking lot when we were beginning to make our bug shirts. We heard thunder and moved inside. Click here to view another, later photo of this storm.

The storm was so violent that it took down one of the trees in front of the library. All of us had decided to wait out the storm because the wind was so violent that the windows of the library were bulging slightly. We had a great time that hour all together with the shelves of books.

A storm earlier that day (Friday, July 18) caused lightening to strike the bell tower of the Sheffield Federated Church. These photos are Wingnut's photos when we visited the church on Saturday to pay our respects — as did many other people.

Click here to view my photos and text about the fire.

Technorati Tags: Barton Public Library, Sheffield Federated Church
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Sheffield Turkeys

Seen today in Sheffield, Vermont

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Easter In The Kingdom

Photos: I-91 Northbound, Sheffield Heights (Sheffield), Vermont, 4.7.07, 4PM

The best thing to be said about April snow is that the roads usually remain clear. That's good because it is still snowing today.

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Highest Elevation on I-91

Interstate 91 runs from New Haven, CT to Derby Line, VT on the Canadian border.
1856 feet or 565.7088 meters
Sheffield, Vermont
Between exit 24 (Wheelock/Sheffield) and exit 25 (Barton, Vermont)

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Barton Mountain Alliance

go to http://bartonmountainalliance.org/

I was afraid I had missed all the hearings but there is one more (date unknown, cancelled due to weather). And now the fake tree tower is a fake fire tower.......something to make the mountain behind me very ugly.

In Sheffield they want to put thirty-five towers, and each will be 398 feet (and the Statue of Liberty is only 151 ft. tall!)?? Time to start writing letters.

See also Ridge Protectors! This is the site for Sheffield folks and it is new and under construction.

Technorati tags: Northeast+Kingdom Barton+Mountain+Alliance Ridge+Protectors Barton Vermont Mountain wind+power cell+towers
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Duck Pond Road

I took a birthday ride this afternoon after brunch in Newport with Amy, Dwight, and Andy and all of the little dogs. It was nice.

I had wanted to see Duck Pond and I still haven't seen it: the road became too hazardous for my car. Seeing as I have never changed a tire, and that I am now taking the importance of tires in Vermont very seriously, I decided not to risk the rough trail to the pond.

Duck Pond Road begins in Barton, off of Rte 5 and ends up going parallel to I-91 all the way into Sheffield. The homes are what you would expect; some single-wides, double-wides, and some framed homes. The woods are deep. But many lots are cut for camps. There are a lot of trash sites, which is a damn shame. The road was bad in places with boulders cutting underneath the car. On one steep corner I nearly collided with a young woman who thought nothing of taking the road and the conditions too fast. She scowled at me.

In Sheffield, Duck Pond Road travels underneath I-91 through two huge culverts. You travel right through the median. The highway fence is on either side of this section, and obviously this helps wildlife travel from one side of the highway to the other.

I turned left after this section and came upon a large sugar bush. It was after this section that the road became bad and I turned back

I drove down into Sheffield, then into Wheelock to reach Barton through Sutton on the Underpass Road. Sutton reminded me of Brownington. The town is off all of the state roads. It is clean and has old trees lining the roads. The houses are not like in Barton but more like Connecticut. There seems to be money in Sutton. On the way out of town I found a waterfall by the side of the road:

And finally I went through the underpass off of Rte. 5. This is the infamous underpass where last summer's Agway bandits, who stole a truck at the campground at Willoughby, crashed the truck, breaking the driver's legs. Both legs. He was taken to Dartmouth hospital but not arrested. Nobody knew who had jurisdiction and he was heavily medicated so there seemed to be no rush. But the next day the bandit wheeled himself out of the hospital and escaped. He was found the next day hiding out in Lyndonville.

It was an enjoyable ride. It calmed me down.

I never would have completed it with those old winter tires.

Technorati tags: Duck+Pond+Road Barton Vermont

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