Quebec

Once OFD shared her destination in Vermont for our trip to the northeast and I found we were only 79 miles from the Canadian border, it only made sense (to me) to make certain we had our passports with us 'cause we were heading to Quebec!

Lucky for us, the community of Philipsburg is than 10 miles into Quebec and it has a number of geocaches. Perfect. We had a plan for our side trip, leaving OFD behind in Waterbury to wander the shops.

The first couple of geocaches were near the highway in the George Montgomery Sanctuary as we crossed the border. It is a bird sanctuary, but I found flowers.

goldenrod

it is all over in the northeast states, along the roadside

great for butterfly habitat

a small village

according to Wikipedia, it is part of the Saint-Armand

municipality since 1999

combined population of 1200+

wild berries along a cemetery fence line

our phones hadn't converted to data roaming yet

this one didn't make the GPS list

it was a lucky find...REALLY lucky!

Philipsburg is along the coast of Lake Champlain

first settled in 1784 as Missiskoui Bay

this relic caught my eye

hard not to as a geocache was nearby

Built by Methodist Loyalists who came north along the Champlain waterway after 1776.

The building has been in continuous use since 1819 and is the oldest former Methodist Church still in use in Quebec. (Joined the United Church of Quebec in 1925.)

  

Chapel built in 1819, completed in 1821

first preacher was the Reverend Richard Williams

The chapel was built with local marble and bears a close resemblance to the Methodist Chapel in New York City. The building is 50' long and 40' wide. Local craftsmen used sand, wood, lime and stone from the Philipsburg area in the construction.

one of the stained glass windows on the north side of the building

same number of windows on the south side

The closed boxed pews original to the church were replaced with open pews in 1905. The only other structural change was a couple of windows.

one pane of the above window

In the 1860s many from the South found a haven in the homes of the congregation in the "Underground Railway."

the Mission House built in 1825

owned and stilled used by the congregation

although it looks like it could use some TLC

hops (?) next to the cemetery

another Philipsburg cemetery

isn't this stunning???

one more flower photo from the sanctuary

the busiest of the 15 Vermont border crossings was

not busy at all when we crossed back 2 hours later

4 geocaches found, signed and logged in Quebec