The winners of the Fall 2012 Champlain Area Trails (CATS) writing contest have been announced! Julia Dixon‘s A Coon Mountain Hike is the overwhelming winner of the online people’s choice award, and the grand prize goes to Paula Castner for The Experiment.
Congratulations to Paula Castner, of Lancaster, Massachusetts, won the $500 first place prize in the Champlain Area Trails Travel Writing Contest. Castner, whose husband’s family has long-time ties to the area, describes herself as a “comfort-loving, city-bred gal.” But after six summers visiting the Champlain Valley, she’s “converted.” Her essay described hiking the Wildway Overlook Trail, visiting museums and parks, going to church and the Elizabethtown Library, and getting food at the farmers’ market and local restaurants. “I just wanted people to walk with me as I went to all these great places,” she says.
High school freshman Julia Dixon of Lake Forest, IL, won the $250 People’s Choice Award—with a whopping 158 votes online. The 14-year-old has been spending summers at her grandparents in Westport “since I was born.” She wrote of hiking Coon Mountain, visiting Dogwood Bakery, and how much she loves coming here. (Champlain Area Trails)
If you did not get the chance to read these winners or past contest entries make a little time to do so and experience the Champlain Valley through other’s eyes.
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