Lorna had noticed a spot on the map that we had to find. It's called Satan's Kingdom, and it's nestled on the shores of Lake Dunmore in the rugged western slopes of the Green Mountains just southeast of pretty Middlebury.

To get there would require an east-to-west transit of the Green Mountains through Green Mountain National Park near Rochester.  At the end we would still have daylight and be at the southern end of the beautiful Champlain Valley. It would be a fine expedition!

We started by rocketing up I-93 and I-89 through New Hampshire to Lebanon, NH near Quechee Gorge, arriving around noon. We made a quick stop at the Hanover Food Coop and then ducked across the mighty Connecticut River to Norwich and the King Arthur Flour Company Baker's Store.  Norwich is about the southern tip of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom and a great place to launch an expedition northward or westward.

I went to King Arthur to stock up on baking supplies for the approaching cool weather, when I love to make breads and pastries. I always buy the Queen Guinevere pastry flour, and Annette needed some whole wheat pastry flour. I also got some Irish-milled flour so I can make a few Irish whole-wheat soda breads (from the excellent recipe in Beard on Bread. King Arthur had about 18 kinds of flour on the shelves, milled from hard wheat (high-gluten, for bread) and soft wheat (for pastries) and blends, and also milled in different fashions to reflect the styles of flour used by bakers in other countries. I got some gadgets, too - the shop is amazing.  

From there we headed west to VT100, and then north to Talcville, near Rochester. VT37 west through the Green Mountain National Forest was a fine drive, one to be remembered for foliage season. I don't know if you can see it in this photo, but from the top of the pass you get a great view across the western slopes and the Champlain Valley to the Adirondacks beyond. It will be a carpet of scarlets and oranges in just a few weeks. 

We finally reached Satan's Kingdom (see photo at top, and another at link) and were relieved to find no demons or devils. I suspect the name indicates it was once an iron foundry like Hell's Blazes in Middleboro, MA, because there was an historic market indicating past iron works on VT37.

From there we rejoined Route 7 as far as Middlebury and then headed further west to scenic Route 22a, then north along country roads to Button Bay on Lake Champlain.

By then it was getting dark, so we returned to Route 7 at Vergennes and headed north through Shelburne to South Burlington.

In south Burlington we had a light dinner at Pauline's. I like going to Pauline's because they tend to have local foods (like many restaurants in Vermont, thanks to the Vermont Fresh Network) and also local spirits. I had the Waldorf Salad and the celebrated Vermont local Whistlepig Rye Whiskey from Shoreham, near Middlebury.

Note that I review most of the restaurants mentioned in these pages on TripAdvisor!