It turns out that (at least in the expanse that is the combination of New Hampshire and Vermont) New England, U.S.A. amounts to a conglomeration of small towns that pride themselves on having their own unique schtick. You know, that thing that is meant to make them unlike anywhere else. Each town is quaint, with a very country-esque sort of charm, but blended into this commonality is a slightly different feel, and very different local attraction to each. At least, that's supposed to be the idea.
Driving on US 4 across Vermont this weekend the 10-year old and I happened upon Killington, Vermont, the town that celebrates itself through hay. I was taken with the absurdity of it--from what I could tell the area isn't actually overwhelmed with hay harvesting, but they pride themselves on hay sculptures nonetheless.
Killington calls itself "the heart of the Green Mountains" and does sit in a beautiful area. In the winter they have a ski and boarding area. Spring offers the Maple harvest. Summer has water sports, and the Autumn has Vermont's multi-color foliage.
We discovered this weekend though that Autumn also brings The Killington Hay Festival during which the area celebrates an enormous Motorcycle Rally, and a Hay Maze. Local businesses get in on the hay celebration by using enormous round hay bails to construct enormous hay sculptures of various types of animals. A drive along Route 4 offers several miles of the hay animal extravaganza. Here's a few pics from this year's sculptures. Apparently, they generally stay up till the first snow fall.
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