Sunday, August 19, 2018

August Newsletter- Museums in Southern VT & surrounding area


Southern Vermont & surrounding area Museums
We hope you enjoy our list of museums in Southern Vermont & Western Massachusetts. We have arranged the list by proximity to the inn.

Deerfield Valley
Southern Vermont Natural History Museum

The Southern Vermont Natural History Museum fosters an interest in nature, the environment and the natural sciences through exhibition and educational activities. The museum displays one of New England's largest collections of native species along with live animal exhibits, ecology, geology and natural history exhibits.
Open Year round 7 days a week 10:00am to 4:00pm

West River Railroad Museum
The museum is located on the main street (Route 30) in Newfane, one of the most beautiful villages in Vermont and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Two floors of exhibition space display impressive examples of Vermont furniture, folk art, early portraits and Civil War artifacts. Local favorites are the story of the highwayman “Thunderbolt” and the history of the West River Railroad. 
Saturdays and Sundays from Noon – 5:00 PM. (Also by appointment.)

Brattleboro

Brattleboro Museum & Art Center
Founded in 1972, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) is an independent, non-collecting, contemporary art museum, whose mission is to present art and ideas in ways that inspire, educate, and engage people of all ages. BMAC’s frequently changing exhibits, education programs, and public events seek to reflect and enhance the cultural richness of the communities we serve. 
The galleries are open every day except Tuesdays, 11-5

Bennington

Robert Frost Stone House Museum
The Robert Frost Stone House Museum is a literary landmark located only minutes away from Frost's gravesite in Bennington. The house, built circa 1769, was considered historic even before the Frost period. It is a rare example of colonial architecture made of native stone and timber, and has changed little since Frost's time. The house sits on seven acres and still retains some of Frost's original apple trees. 
June-October: Wednesday-Sunday, 11:00 am-5:00 pm

Bennington Museum
The Bennington Museum is about the creativity of southern Vermont, eastern New York State, northwestern Massachusetts, and southern New Hampshire in all its forms, from the 18th century to the present. By connecting you with real objects of art and history, and by challenging you with complex ideas, the museum excites your imagination, inspires innovation, and brings delight.
June through October- 7 days a week from 10 am to 5 pm
February through May, November and December
Thursday through Tuesday, 10 am to 5 pm

Museum of Dog
A Tribute to Dogs Everywhere
Mon – Sat : 10am to 7pm
Sun : 12pm – 6pm
Western Massachusetts

The Clark
The collection of the Clark features European and American paintingssculptureprintsdrawingsphotographs, and decorative arts from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century. 
Open Tues–Sun 10 am–5 pm

Williams College Collection
WCMA sparks new ways of thinking about art and the visual world through its innovative exhibitions, programs, publications and projects
Open every day 10 am to 5 pm.
Thursdays 10 am to 8 pm.

Mass MoCA
MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest centers for making and enjoying today’s most evocative art. With vast galleries and a stunning collection of indoor and outdoor performing arts venues, MASS MoCA is able to embrace all forms of art: music, sculpture, dance, film, painting, photography, theater, and new, boundary-crossing works of art that defy easy classification.
10am—6pm Sundays—Wednesdays
10am—7pm Thursdays—Saturdays

Berkshire Art Museum
The Berkshire Art Museum’s mission is to showcase engaging contemporary art through rotating exhibitions as well as to preserve and examine five decades of artwork by Eric Rudd in the museum’s permanent collection. Rescuing two historic former churches, the Berkshire Art Museum exemplifies the adaptive reuse of architectural space for cultural purposes. 
12pm-5pm, closed Monday & Tuesday

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Fly fishing in Southern Vermont


Fly fishing in southern Vermont is fun & active due to our amazing water system in the Deerfield Valley. The river system is called "The Upper Deerfield," and is supplied a constant flow of water from three local bottom release dams. The three dams, Harriman, Somerset & Searsburg are operated by Great River Hydro. This man-made hydro-electric water system operates from its 400-square-mile Vermont drainage basin in four river branches: the main Deerfield, and the East, North, and West branches. The improved water management on these upper sections since 1998 has provided the Deerfield with constant flows and has some of the best fly fishing for wild trout in
the state.

Here is an overview of the river from an article from Tom Keer in Fly Fisherman magazine:

Starting in the Headwaters
In fly-fishing terms, the Deerfield flows almost from the Orvis Company in Manchester, Vermont, to the Thomas & Thomas rod company in Turner’s Falls, Massachusetts. It covers some 40 miles from its southern Vermont origins, then runs along the Mohawk Trail through western Massachusetts before it joins the Connecticut River below Turner’s Falls.
The main Deerfield (see map) runs south out of the Somerset basin, parallel with Forest Service Road 71, the dirt access road leading to the Somerset Reservoir. It joins the East Branch, which runs from the base of the Somerset Reservoir Dam to the Searsburg Reservoir. The main stem of the Deerfield then flows from Searsburg Reservoir south to the northwestern end of Harriman Reservoir (Lake Whitingham). It continues out of Harriman Reservoir southward through Readsboro, joining with the West Branch to flow into Sherman Reservoir. (The Massachusetts/Vermont line divides the reservoir.) The North Branch runs from West Dover along Route 100 through Wilmington, where it enters the Harriman Reservoir.

More importantly- how's the fishing? VT Wildlife does a great job to ensure the local fisheries are stocked well. So far in 2018, VT Wildlife has put 1300 Lake Trout in Harriman Reservoir and 750 Rainbow Trout into the Upper Deerfield River. Check out their stocking update here:
https://anrweb.vt.gov/FWD/FW/FishStockingSearch.aspx

Always wanted to try fly-fishing but don't want to make the investment? We can set you up with gear rentals & some local guides from Pheasant Tail Tours. They will put you on some great fishing spots & make you fall in love with the sport! We also have custom maps, made by Charlie, of the river to help direct you to some great local spots to fish.

Come join us at The Wilmington Inn for some great fishing; our last fishing package is October 13-14th! To sign up visit:

We look forward to seeing everyone soon!
harlie & Megan Foster
Innkeepers