Stowe, Vermont: Week 5

August 18-20, 2025

I began a fifth week at the farmhouse in Stowe. I had mixed feelings about leaving, as it has been a good place to be and has been very comfortable. The apartment in the farmhouse has been fantastic. The bike riding has been energizing and wonderfully scenic. In the first week, I acquired a set of bongo drums while here. I have put them to good and frequent use having fun playing around with them. Unexpected activities have added some flavor to my life, such as the West African Dance & Drum and something called Contemplative Dance Practice that was held on Wednesday at River Arts in Morrisville.

On Monday I surprised myself. I had planned an easy ride over the Randolph Road route I had used so much over the past month. I started out, but about a minute into it I decided to turn around, ride into town and do the Stowe Recreation Path. I took it as far as it goes, just over five miles, then switched over to Route 108 heading to Smuggler’s Notch. The Recreation Path rises but it is not steep at all.

I had heard the last mile on the climb to the Notch, from this side, was very steep. I decided to check it out. There were two steep sections. The first was about five miles from the Notch/ It was a half mile of 12% gradient. That was not bad at all. After that there was a section that was less steep with some nearly flat sections. I could sit the entire way pedaling comfortably. My legs felt rested, felt good.

The road passes through Smuggler’s Notch State Park and parts of the Vermont State Forest. The last half mile or so had gradients of 14%-19% according to my Garmin. It was doable in a stand-up-on-the-pedals manner, and it was easier than I had thought. Someone at a bike shop had told me it was 24%, which sounded a bit intimidating based on the gears I have on my bike, but it turned out just fine. The road peaked at about 2200’, which means the elevation change from town to the notch was about 1400’ spread over about ten miles. There are some great views of rocky outcrops along the high point of the road. These outcrops rise to around 4000’ elevation. Most of the road around the Notch is buried under the canopy of forest, and one cannot see up into the mountains on either side.

On Wednesday afternoon, I went to the Contemplative Dance Practice. I met Hanna, the woman holding it. She was energetic and welcoming. Two other women joined shortly. We arranged our yoga mats and pads so as to create something of an outer border around an inner space. Hanna gave clear directions about the process in terms of space and time, integrating the concepts of mindfulness and movement as an integrated theme throughout the session. She noted that it was not specifically a dance in any traditional way, but rather an opportunity to move one’s body as one felt.

There were three active parts to the session: (1) a meditation session (sitting or lying down in meditation), (2) an individual space movement session (moving as one desired in one’s own space, not interacting with others), and (3) a group space movement session (moving as one desired in a shared space, though not with any physical touching). Each session was twenty minutes. These were followed by a ten minute journal writing session and another ten minutes to share our thoughts and feelings. Hannah pointed out that in the writing session, if you became stuck on a thought or could not move forward, just keep writing your last written word over and over, until something new popped into your head. She also had this cute little bell she rang at the end of each session. It remined me of my singing bowls or one of those little metal triangles some people use to obtain attention in a group setting.

Another perspective on this type of activity is available on the Contemplative Dance and Authentic Movement website.

What did I think of the experience? I found it to be interesting and a little intimidating, something very new as it was with others. The group thing was the intimidating part. On the physical level, each of us had to have some awareness of what was going on, where others were located. I had my eyes open for a few seconds several times per minute. The tree women, more often than not, stayed on the floor either laying down, kneeling, or sitting, in apparent infinite positions. They were all much more flexible than me. If I put myself in those positions, I would do some damage to my back and/or hips.

Mentally, I felt a little self-conscious. This was in part because of doing this in a group setting. When I saw it, I wanted to do it because it looked interesting and fun, and also because I felt it would push me out of my comfort zone, into somewhere new. Also, as it turned out, the other three were probably in their early 30s or younger, around 40 years younger than me. And they were three women.

The experience on the whole was energizing. In part, the factors that made it intimidating also made it energizing.

Here is my journal entry …

At times, I thought of myself as an energized pendulum, swinging back and forth, moving to and fro, side to side, up down, forward back. Four main directions. I felt separate from the others, yet not alone, one energy, a sensation of similar purpose, quest, comradery, or team.

No touching, what about eye contact? It seems none of that either, an interesting upgrade that would be. Traveling in body, and non-body, out of body, traveling mental-emotional, spiritual, vibrations. Familiar body stretches, spiritual stretches, stretching in unfamiliar ways, too, in a variety of directions. Shared experiences experiences experiences.

Each other person’s internal experience, internal experiences. Four winds. Gravity, as a force. Vibrations of each other. Drawing in, drifting apart-away, inwards, towards, outwards, distant.

It went by fast fast fast fast. Intimidatingly new, energizing, opening, cyclical, first experience. Very welcoming, yet without eye contact, much more to discover and explore.

Cows, horses in a field, standing and moving together. Innate.

A seed, amazing, tempting more, leading to mutual togetherness, synchronicity. Awareness of others, in a grocery store, on a sidewalk stroll, passing by, pumping gas, taking meals.

Intimacy possible, through communication, through feeling, not physical, physical not needed.

I find it kind of interesting now that my entire entry was about the twenty minute group session, and I did not mention anything about the first two sessions. The meditation and individual movement sessions were energizing too, and again, I think awareness of others present contributed to this.

Wednesday afternoon I packed most of my things into the van, finishing Thursday morning , and I drove off from the farmhouse around 10AM. I met Cindy again in Montpelier. We had lunch at a Thai take-out restaurant on State Street called wilailans kitchen, open 11AM-2PM. There are three items on the menu each day. They rotate a number of dishes. It is not the same three items each day. Customers line up, at times about ten deep, on the sidewalk. Each person orders, pays, then steps aside to allow the next person to come forward. It reminded me of the Seinfeld Soup Nazi episode in that aspect. But here, there is a great deal of relaxed talk going on between the customers. There were around twenty people milling about on the sidewalk at times. Cindy said it was always busy, and they sometimes run out of food.

Montpelier was a neat little town. It really impressed me. The State Capitol building, Hubbard Park, and a welcoming, diverse downtown and population were all nice to see. Ands it has Buddy’s Famous Burgers & Fries!

It was fantastic seeing Cindy and seeing highlights of the town with her. She has lived there her whole life and knows it well. Every time I visited, she would cross paths with multiple people she knew. It is a small town where there is still a semblance of everybody knowing each other.