Vermont Magazine Summer 19 | Page 59

The BEST hotel experience for the BEST VALUE! Immaculate guest rooms include: Free Hot Deluxe Breakfast Free Wi-Fi Freshly Baked Cookies Only minutes from Burlington EXIT 16 OFF I-89 84 South Park Drive | Colchester | Vt www.qualityinn/hotel/vt057 (802) 655-1400 Present this ad for 25% off our best available rate! Not valid with existing reservations. at the refuge. I walked a portion of the Old Railroad Passage Trail with a group from the Vermont Botanical and Bird Club. Passing through open fields, shrubby areas, and along the edge of Maquam Bog, we saw numer- ous birds including Turkey Vultures soaring overhead, a Kingbird perched on a branch, and Yellow Warblers flitting between bushes. We also saw the rare Virginia Chain Fern along the trail through the bog. In addition to its wealth of natural resources, the Missisquoi Refuge is significant for its rich cultural histo- ry. People have lived here for at least 7,000 years. Evidence of encampments and villages such as the remains of a longhouse, cooking pits, fire-cracked rocks, pottery, arrowheads, and chert flakes have been found all over the ref- uge. It makes sense that Indinenous Peoples would be attracted to such a biologically rich area.