Rail Trails Network

Brrrrr! It was COLD this morning! about eight below overnight; that said, it sounds like we're going to have much colder weather starting tomorrow night - with wind chill it could get as cold as -45 degrees! That's cold enough! Last night was one of the few nights I didn't have my bedroom window open just a tiny bit. I figured, why heat all outdoors? Even though I turn the thermostat way down, I know that heat escapes whenever there is even a small opening to the outdoors, and even with the door closed, it robs warm air from the rest of the house. So some nights it just isn't practical.

I watched the thermometer climb to a balmy 22 degrees (the high point I saw) and when I looked a few minutes ago it's 15.4F. There was glorious sunshine during the first half of the day, but it was still cold. Now clouds have obscured the sun and it's gloomy again, and it seems as if tonight should be warmer with cloud cover, but perhaps not.

Here's an interesting proposition put before the Northeast Kingdom Chamber of Commerce meeting in St. Johnsbury last Thursday: a new rail trail project proposal, the Twin State Rail Trail, that would connect the LVRT from St. Johnsbury to Whitefield, NH via an existing rail bed (Twin State Railroad Line) that hasn't been used for twenty years. This new trail would begin on Mill Street, where St. Johnsbury's new bike park pavilion is located on the extension that will connect the present LVRT trail to downtown St. J. That project has not been completed, but will be in the near future.

The proposed Twin State Rail Trail project is similar to the LVRT project - an overgrown and unused old railroad line that runs through small communities and beautiful back country. It will be interesting to see if this materializes. From what I saw in the article in the Caledonian Record, this would involve some 21 miles of rail trail and would connect the LVRT with two existing trails in New Hampshire, the Ammonoosuc Rail Trail (from Littleton to Woodsville, NH) and Presidential Rail Trail, (from Whitefield to Gorham, NH). The Presidential trail connects to the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail that runs 83 miles between Woodsville, NH and Bethel, ME. All sorts of possibilities there - and great scenery, I expect. I like to imagine what it was like to ride in a train along these tracks back in the day when passenger trains were popular. I'm sure it was breathtaking.

To learn more about the proposed line from St. Johnsbury to Whitefield, click HERE.

Stay warm and safe, and be sure your pets and any livestock are inside and protected from the cold.