On our way from Boston to Barre we stopped in the town square of Barre. There were beautiful Fall colors and charming buildings.
We indulged in ice cream sundaes.
Then we drove to the Forest Refuge retreat center, turned off all our electronic devices and went into silence. This is the meditation hall where we spent a lot of time.
This photo was taken from Kristina's spot in the hall. We learned that the rock the Buddha is on was originally a few feet away. It was split and moved, the building slab was poured with the rock in place and the hall was built around it.
This photo was taken right outside the meditation hall. You can see how the rock was split, leaving perhaps a quarter of it in its original location.
And here's the outside of meditation hall. We really liked the Japanese-inspired architecture here.
The Forest Refuge has been in existence for eleven years. It is part of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) which was founded in the ‘70s. This Buddha is near the other side of the meditation hall.
Unlike other retreat centers, our days weren't structured around a group schedule, nor was there much bell ringing. But lunch was the exception, and John the cook rings the bells at lunchtime.
Here's the dining room in between meals.
While on retreat we had our 28th anniversary as a couple. Kristina surprised Pete by offering a meal in honor of our anniversary.
We were both surprised when the retreat staff gave us chocolate and a card for our anniversary.
Here we are in the kitchen, as we had been washing lunch dishes when we were given the chocolate.
Up to 30 people can stay at the Forest Refuge, for visits of a few days to up to a year. It is a truly wonderful place to be on retreat, and we feel so grateful to have spent a month here! This is a screened walking area for meditation.
Retreatants make their own schedules. Pete took a walk most mornings after breakfast. Kristina chose to walk late morning. This map shows the extensive trail system at IMS.
Trails are marked with colored paint stripes on trees. These blazes made it easy to find our way.
The Gaston Pond trail was especially nice.
This is "meditation rock".
We loved walking and seeing the Fall foliage. Here are some of our favorite images
Pete was channeling Andy Goldsworthy and made some leaf sculptures.
Being outside each day meant we could see how the seasons were changing. These photos were each shot over four weeks and show the leaves changing color and blowing away.
And here's another series.
As our month progressed, the temperatures dropped. Here's a pothole that still has ice on it at 11 am.
As leaves began to fall, tree trunks were revealed and we could see beautiful patterns of lichen.
These are tiny shelf mushrooms that like to grow on dead tree trunks.
We had a few days of rain, and ponds formed temporarily.
And more mushrooms started popping up.
We walked on roads near the Forest Refuge.
We saw fields with the remnants of the corn crop.
Or hay that had been harvested.
We walked by neighboring houses.
This farm has lots of old, rusted farm equipment as decorations in their yard.
They also have this weathered happy Buddha figure.
One neighbor is a hunter.
These are geese decoys in the front yard.
Some houses have really creative mailboxes.
There are lots of beautiful, old stone walls. We like this wall since it used large boulders too.
At IMS they have a stupa made of local rocks.
People also put out pumpkins for Halloween.
We didn't celebrate this year, but our dear friends Sean and Paul kept up their annual tradition. This Halloween they were good witches.
As the deciduous trees lost their leaves, the colors of the scenery also changed. On a clear day, the stark branches stood out against the sky.
With the leaves gone, we could see nests that had previously been hidden.
It became clear to us why Christmas has red and green colors: it seemed the only colors left after the leaves fell were evergreen trees and red berries.
The Forest Refuge uses a central bulletin board for communications.
Towards the end of our retreat we were happy to get a note from our friend Justin, who we met last year in China. Justin had moved from Dharamsala, India back to Barre where he grew up. After we finished our retreats we spent some time with him and his girlfriend Eva, who works at the Forest Refuge. Eva sent this selfie that was taken on her birthday!
We stayed a night at the Nature Inn at Bald Eagle State Park in Howard, Pennsylvania.
The hotel is extremely environmentally conscious and certified LEED gold.
They collect rain water and use it for flushing the toilets.
We didn't see many birds, but we enjoyed walking around. There was a little bit of fog over the lake.
Since it was the end of the season, the boat ramps were closed. We enjoyed walking around the lake near sunset.
Pete, don't feed the bears, even the stuffed ones. They might bite!
We are driving back to the Bay Area. We have some interesting stops planned for the remainder of our road trip, which we are looking forward to.
We indulged in ice cream sundaes.
Then we drove to the Forest Refuge retreat center, turned off all our electronic devices and went into silence. This is the meditation hall where we spent a lot of time.
This photo was taken from Kristina's spot in the hall. We learned that the rock the Buddha is on was originally a few feet away. It was split and moved, the building slab was poured with the rock in place and the hall was built around it.
This photo was taken right outside the meditation hall. You can see how the rock was split, leaving perhaps a quarter of it in its original location.
And here's the outside of meditation hall. We really liked the Japanese-inspired architecture here.
The Forest Refuge has been in existence for eleven years. It is part of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) which was founded in the ‘70s. This Buddha is near the other side of the meditation hall.
Unlike other retreat centers, our days weren't structured around a group schedule, nor was there much bell ringing. But lunch was the exception, and John the cook rings the bells at lunchtime.
Here's the dining room in between meals.
While on retreat we had our 28th anniversary as a couple. Kristina surprised Pete by offering a meal in honor of our anniversary.
We were both surprised when the retreat staff gave us chocolate and a card for our anniversary.
Here we are in the kitchen, as we had been washing lunch dishes when we were given the chocolate.
Up to 30 people can stay at the Forest Refuge, for visits of a few days to up to a year. It is a truly wonderful place to be on retreat, and we feel so grateful to have spent a month here! This is a screened walking area for meditation.
Retreatants make their own schedules. Pete took a walk most mornings after breakfast. Kristina chose to walk late morning. This map shows the extensive trail system at IMS.
Trails are marked with colored paint stripes on trees. These blazes made it easy to find our way.
The Gaston Pond trail was especially nice.
This is "meditation rock".
We loved walking and seeing the Fall foliage. Here are some of our favorite images
Pete was channeling Andy Goldsworthy and made some leaf sculptures.
Being outside each day meant we could see how the seasons were changing. These photos were each shot over four weeks and show the leaves changing color and blowing away.
And here's another series.
As our month progressed, the temperatures dropped. Here's a pothole that still has ice on it at 11 am.
As leaves began to fall, tree trunks were revealed and we could see beautiful patterns of lichen.
These are tiny shelf mushrooms that like to grow on dead tree trunks.
We had a few days of rain, and ponds formed temporarily.
And more mushrooms started popping up.
We walked on roads near the Forest Refuge.
We saw fields with the remnants of the corn crop.
Or hay that had been harvested.
We walked by neighboring houses.
This farm has lots of old, rusted farm equipment as decorations in their yard.
They also have this weathered happy Buddha figure.
One neighbor is a hunter.
These are geese decoys in the front yard.
Some houses have really creative mailboxes.
There are lots of beautiful, old stone walls. We like this wall since it used large boulders too.
At IMS they have a stupa made of local rocks.
People also put out pumpkins for Halloween.
We didn't celebrate this year, but our dear friends Sean and Paul kept up their annual tradition. This Halloween they were good witches.
As the deciduous trees lost their leaves, the colors of the scenery also changed. On a clear day, the stark branches stood out against the sky.
With the leaves gone, we could see nests that had previously been hidden.
It became clear to us why Christmas has red and green colors: it seemed the only colors left after the leaves fell were evergreen trees and red berries.
The Forest Refuge uses a central bulletin board for communications.
Towards the end of our retreat we were happy to get a note from our friend Justin, who we met last year in China. Justin had moved from Dharamsala, India back to Barre where he grew up. After we finished our retreats we spent some time with him and his girlfriend Eva, who works at the Forest Refuge. Eva sent this selfie that was taken on her birthday!
We stayed a night at the Nature Inn at Bald Eagle State Park in Howard, Pennsylvania.
The hotel is extremely environmentally conscious and certified LEED gold.
They collect rain water and use it for flushing the toilets.
We didn't see many birds, but we enjoyed walking around. There was a little bit of fog over the lake.
Since it was the end of the season, the boat ramps were closed. We enjoyed walking around the lake near sunset.
Pete, don't feed the bears, even the stuffed ones. They might bite!
We are driving back to the Bay Area. We have some interesting stops planned for the remainder of our road trip, which we are looking forward to.
