I’ve passed over the Middlebury Gap many times and each time, on my way somewhere else, I remind myself that one day I will stop and explore the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail. On this sunny winter afternoon, I make it a destination.

Whenever out of town guests visit, I’m forced to get out and do the things I seem to have so little time for; often though, the typical Vermont tourist activities. This time, with my sister and two nieces visiting from Syracuse; they’ve seen most of those already, I decide to do some things I’ve never done before. Exhausted from skiing and snowshoeing the two days prior, we venture out for a more leisurely afternoon. Snowshoes and cameras in tow, we head over toward Middlebury, a place they’ve never been, with stops planned for exploring points of interest along the way.

Getting out of the car at the Texas Falls Recreation area, it feels colder than in Randolph. We add our second layers and head toward the foot bridge. My older niece Claire is also a photographer, so we both stop and photograph the falls, while my younger niece Carolyn, entertains us as she slides down the ice covered steps to the lower viewing area. The steps are hard packed and slippery, so I finally give up, sit down and ride the rest of the way down as well. Why fight gravity? I continue photographing the falls while Claire captures Carolyn sliding down the icy steps.

Our second stop is the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail. It’s a beautiful sunny afternoon. We wander along the path, Claire and I stopping frequently to photograph the winter landscape, and all of us stopping to enjoy the poetry and take in the pristine views the bare trees afford. As I read the verse, I imagine the scents of the spring flowers, the sounds of the summer woods, and the brilliant yellow of the autumn foliage. I listen to the knocking of a woodpecker high in the trees, and I remind myself that this is why I moved to Vermont. I promise myself that this year I will venture out more often to do more things I’ve never done before.