August 28 - saratoga to bennington

southern history is saturated with the civil war.  i think they forgot that there ever was a thing called 'the revolution.'  it wasn't televised.
but we yankees know better.  and it is a sad thing to me that my wife and daughters cannot answer the question concerning the battle of saratoga.  when i was young, i found a couple of books my father had from his navel academy days.  they were 'arundel' and 'rabble in arms' by kenneth roberts.  the first told the tale of the american attempt on quebec by traveling up the arundel river in maine.  if i remember correctly, benedict arnold led that campaign and almost pulled it off.  the second book dealt with the battle at saratoga.  at which benedict arnold also played a significant role, helping to pull off a significant defeat of the british.  the first defeat of the british by american forces and one that helped bring the french over to our cause.  it was arguably the most important battle ever fought by the u.s., because if we had failed to defeat the british there, the united states would probably not exist.

i still have those books in my library.  i used to love to read 'drums along the mohawk', 'last of the mohicans', 'ethan allen and the green mountain boys', etc. about the northeast and the french annd indian war and the revolution.  i always thought that new england was the place i would end up living.  that's why this part of the trip is so interesting to me.

maurice and i toured the battlefield this morning and watched the short movie that gave an overview of the battle.  then we headed down the road and crossed the hudson.  we passed the county fair that was in progress in schaghticoke (pronounce that one if you dare), headed up the hoosic river, and eventually crossed into vermont and ended up at a cafe in bennington.  for the first time in about six weeks, i'm back in the mountains.  riding here is just like east tennessee with the steep little climbs mixed in with the rolling hills.  ah, three cafes in a row, and maurice is putting away the espressos and chais.  it was a nice place, though, and they served sandwiches as well, so we could get something to eat.  we sat outside on the sidewalk tables.

after a good rest, we headed out for the final 12 mi to our camp ground for the night, woodford state park.  the twelve miles included a significant climb into the green mountains, 1500 - 2000 feet with a pretty steep grade.  but we made it and managed to set up camp just before the occasional scattered thunderstorm hit.  it was a light but steady rain.  we ended up picking all our stuff up and moving to a nearby leanto that was unoccupied, which is where i sit now writing this.

the one draw back of riding with maurice is the temptation to talk about work, since we do so much of it together.  i have done very little thinking about anything these two months, just living in the moment, basically.  and i want to keep it that way for the final few days.