Since we retired, we have been exploring the back roads of New England. Once or twice a week we head off for the day. But. First, he gets out his trusty old well worn atlas and finds us new roads. This summer we have been in Vermont. Vermont is lovely. It has clean rivers, green mountains, peaceful farms, not many cities. It is the most forested state {per acerage} and the most rural. SO for awhile he had been telling me about the Purple Dragon Road. We need to go find out why its called that. Now, he is dyslecsic so he has a hard time with names. One day we started off on our search for the purple dragon.
This is the sign at the road. Much to his disappointment. I tried to comfort him by saying that a Popple Dungeon is just as intriguing as a purple dragon. Also, I looked it up and found that way back when this was a narrow dirt road, it went throught a Popple tree forest. So thick and tall that it was dark and gloomy and dungeon like. The school house was on this road. The kids all walked to school. One year they had a substitute teacher, The young teen age boys were giving her a hard time. Finally in desperation, she quit. Saying she would not stay in this popple dungeon any longer. I laughed when I read this. I had seven boys. They felt school was rather like a dugeon. I found out later in life that often when walking up tp the bus stop, they would suddenly ditch it up the hill and run pell mell down to the flood control dam. Haul thier raft out of the bushes and have a wonderful Tom and Huck day. Come home nonchalantly when they heard the school bus. I also heard , years later, the shenanigans that drove poor teachers batty. So teen age boys and a defeated teacher named this road.
The Popple Dungeon road is really lovely, Its about seven miles through the Williams river state forest. I didnt see any popple trees now, but lots of beautiful forest on both sides of the road. It starts out paved for a short way. There are somr pristine estates there with white fences. large houses, big barns, nice newly mown hay fields, perfect gardens. When it turns to dirt you see the nicest of little cabins and shacks. The road sides with no trees butting up to the dirt are covered with green waving ferns, tall white Queen Annes lace, bluest of blue chickory and here and there a patch of bright orange and yellow day lilies. Theres little sugar houses half hidden by brush. An old, old cemetary. Some houses are empty. Theres nothing sadder than an abandoned house. It looks so lonely with out the folks who filled it with joy and sorrow and hard work and babies and growing old.
The Williams River runs along side it. Sometimes on one side and sometimes under a narrow one lane bridge on the other side, William is not a river here though. He is a jolly little brook, laughing and dancing over the rocks and the granite. Sparkling in the sunlight. Til he comes to a shady little pool where he stops to reat. The water lies still and clear. You can see the pebbles and the little fish darting on the bottom. Then he goes leaping on again. The Williams River is one of the beast trout streams in Vermont.
The forest is dense and shady. Here and there the sum comes glinting down through the canopy of leaves and turns the forest floor golden. The rays are like prisms, making rainbow colors here and there. Is there any thing more beautiful than a sunlit forest floot?
We reach the end. Popple Dungeon Road ends at a tee. Now we can go on HorseNail Hill!
