Waterbury, VT (USA)

This morning, I woke up with hopes for a repeat of the previous day's adventure on skis.  I had the rental car for one more day so didn't want to miss my chance to take advantage of the unlimited miles!  However, one look out the window revealed that it was raining and foggy near my condo.  I dithered all morning but eventually got the idea that I should try to escape the weather.  My weather app showed promising conditions to the north so I left home at 1100 and headed in that direction (via I-89 and I-91).  I got off the interstate at VA-25 and took it towards Corinth.  The roads were clear and it wasn't raining so I hoped I'd find a place to get on my skis.  There was LOTS of ice in the rivers... Unfortunately, the place I was trying to reach, Northeast Slopes, wasn't open.  Undeterred, I continued towards Barre (US-302).  During this time, it started to sprinkle - to the northwest, however, there were clearer skies.  As I made my through Montpelier and got on US-2 (to drive to Waterbury), the rain didn't stop.  If anything, it actually got worse!  Once I was on VT-100, I drove through Stowe (lots of people there) and continued north to Morrisville.  Getting on VT-15, I initially headed west and - briefly thought about trying to ski on the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail.  In the end, though, driving west didn't help.  Instead, I returned to Morrisville and then drove east on VT-15 towards St. Johnsbury.  Along the way, I passed many more trailheads and boat launches (all along the Lamoille). On the western side of the town of Hardwick, I stopped for gas (at Demers Company Oil station) and found it to be surprisingly cheap (1345).  From that point, though, the rain continued...  It was tough trying not to hydroplane in my rented car (Nissan Versa) but I safely reached I-91 and then drove south.  Had to REALLY watch my speed all the way, for good reason - I passed a truck that had careened into a deep ravine (yikes!).  When I arrived back in Hanover (1500), I found there was no rain at all.  Sadly, though, the snow was nearly gone.  I'm disappointed that I wasn't able get any outdoor adventures but still felt good about exploring some new areas of Vermont I'd never seen.