We weren’t expecting to see a Japanese garden in a Vermont state park, nor were we expecting to get stunning views from the park’s short trails.
The Taconic Mountain Ramble State Park was originally the passion project of Kit and Mickie Davidson. Kit, an independent film maker with two academy award nominations, and his wife, Mickie, a children’s author, began looking for a place to escape their hectic lives in New York City in the 60’s. They purchased 420 acres of former farmland and woodlands in 1966 and spent their free time creating the Japanese garden and cutting the park’s multiple hiking trails.
They moved to the property in 2002 and opened it to hikers. In 2016, when Kit passed, the property was transferred to the state ensuring that the Taconic Mountain Ramble State Park can be enjoyed for many years to come.
Although the park is a bit out of the way, the Japanese garden encourages kid interaction and the quick hike to the top of “Mt. Zion” had some of the most colorful views we’d seen all autumn.
Taconic Mountain Ramble State Park 
Wow!
We were too late to tour the Hubbardton Battlefield, but we’d already seen several Civil War battlefields such as Gettysburg (post here) and Shiloh (post here), so we kept moving.
We were in the middle of Vermont when we joined this colorful VW van conga line.
As we continued south through Vermont and into Upstate NY, we drove through more and more farmland and fewer and fewer fall colors or colors that were, by then, more muted. Our stop for the evening was a very busy Harvest Host orchard called Bowman Orchards in Rexford, NY. They made the most amazing apple turnovers!
VW Conga Line
Bowman Orchards
By now we’d seen a great deal of wonderful fall colors and we were now within striking distance of Johnstown NY, my Dad’s hometown. Next post on the blog will be a hometown tour with my Dad.
