My Fellow Letterboxers,

In 1978 Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Shop was born in a renovated old gas station in Burlington, Vermont. Today the original shop is gone, but the ice cream lives on, having moved to Waterbury. Not all the ice cream flavors lived long and prosperous lives. Those that have passed on can be viewed at the Flavor Graveyard. Makin' Whoopie Pie, Purple Passion Fruit, Bovinity Divinity, Coffee Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz! and Tennessee Mud are but a few of the dearly departed flavors. My personal favorite, Chunky Monkey, is still alive and I enjoyed every bite.

The Festival of Fools is a celebration of street theater. Performers from all over the world entertained the crowds with circus arts, music and comedy. Pet tricks, jugglers, sideshows, impersonators, and musicians were just a few of the acts. There was this one guy playing The Majestic Bellowphone, a one-man band deal. Then there was this other character, name of Eidolon, doing an impersonation of a Green Tortuga. He didn't fool anyone, but we all had fun listening to him whine about air conditioning and concrete picnic tables.

The Orleans County Fair has all your typical fair doings. Tractor pulls, cattle, sheep, pigs, and harness racing. Decades ago they had a hoot show; the fair hasn't been the same since that stopped. Harness racing is why I was there. I had my eye on a trotter that just might be the next big winner. Of course, I will not divulge the name.

One of Vermont's best hikes is the climb to the summit of Camel's Hump. This summit is also considered one of the finest peaks of Vermont. I found The Monroe Trail to be a fairly easy gradual climb. The view from the summit is outstanding, one I will never forget. But, I did not come here to talk about ice cream, fools, trotters, or camels; I came to talk letterboxing.

Sad to say there are not a whole lot of letterboxes in Vermont. Even sadder to say that out of the 200 odd letterboxes, one-third of them are drivebys. Guess that is not too bad when you consider almost half of the 19 listed mysteries are drivebys. Good news is that what is planted is planted well: good containers, good hiding spots, and good coverage. Cold winters there in Vermont; not a good idea to put stamp pads in the boxes since they do freeze. When hiking please be aware that there are many spots that have alpine vegetation zones. Many of these fragile plants are threatened by heavy use. Hike with care, walking only on rocks when possible. Moose and black bear are more at home in the wilds of Vermont than you are; respect them and their home.

Sincerely,

Investigator Francis Bacon