July 6
The Rock of Ages Granite Quarry was just down the road from our campground. Since it was so close, we had to go take a look. We arrived at the visitor’s center just in time to take the next tour.
The quarry tour guide took us to an overlook of the Smith Quarry. The quarry covers 50 acres and taps a granite vein that is 6 miles long, 4 miles wide and 10 miles deep. It is the largest operating deep-hole granite quarry in the world. Standing behind a chain-link fence, at the edge of the quarry, we could look down on ant-size workers in hard hats working to extract massive granite blocks. The beautiful granite stone that was formed more tha 330 million years ago, is used for tombstones, monuments, curbstones and tabletops…not countertops. At the end of the tour we went into the factory where the granite products are made. Unfortunately, there were no workers today.
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After leaving Rock of Ages Quarry, we headed to Hope Cemetery in Barre, VT. Here we could see the numerous creations that the artisans at Rock of Ages created. Cemetery’s are not usually a tourist attraction, but, this cemetery is well-known for it’s large and unusual headstones and monuments. Now about 65 acres in size, Hope Cemetery holds more than 10,000 tombstones and memorials. Amazing!
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Driving into the Green Mountains we passed through several small communities; Northfield, Randolph, and Rochester. Near the end of our drive we passed by the Moss Glen Falls. Ken managed to pull-over and found a parking spot. We walked on a very short trail to the waterfall. It was a spectacular find! Again, no signage on the roadway mentionig the falls.
Note: Norwich University founded in 1819 is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States.
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When i think of Vermont, I think of Maple Sugar, White Churches with towereing Steeples, and covered Bridges. I have the Chuches covered, now to find some covered bridges. Unbelieveably, they are not marked very well. Maybe they don’t want us to find them? We uncovered a few and now I can check covered bridges off my list.
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July 7
On all of our trips, We love to drive/ride the scenic, mountain roadways. Today, we located a roadway on the map that had an interesting location marked as Smugglers Notch. The sky was really dark, but we went anyway. The road was winding, full of switchbacks, hairpin turns, tight lanes and corners cutting close to the edges of the boulder-lined walls. The road cut between Mount Mansfield -the highest peak in Vermont and Smugglers Notch State Park.
The road was used during the early 19th century to bring trade goods to and from Canada during the War of 1812.
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After making it through Smugglers Notch, we stopped at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill for apple cider and their popular apple cider donuts! Unfortunately the mill was closed, however, we did get a sample of their cider… VERY TASTY. The faciltiy was huge and had not only had cider flavored items, but, a large variety of maple products; maple cotton candy, maple cndies and more! Before, leaving we purchased a bag of their cider donuts; small donuts full of apple cider and cinnamon flavor! Yum!
On down the road we stopped at the Cabot Cheese store. Here we sampled many different kinds of cheese. They had the usual cheeses like, sharp, extra sharp, Colby jack, and Monterrey Jack, but they also had some awesome flavors like chipotle, tomato basil, horseradish, hot habanero. I don’t really like cheese, but my favorite was the Hot Habanero. Ken’s favorite was the Horseradish. We bought both!
We ended our day with a late lunch at Sarducci’s in Montpelier, VT.
July 8
Our last day in Vermont was a gorgeous, sunny, day. We had 3 things left on our to-see list; Stowe’s Main Steet, Emily’s Covered Bridge, and a Maple Sugar House.
In Stowe, We walked on Main Street looking at the shops. At the General Store, I purchased my souvenir magnet. Lucky for me, we parked directly across from an iconic Vermont Church. I had to take one last photo of The Stowe Community Church, with Vermont’s tallest church steeple.
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Emily’s Coverd Bridge (Gold Brook Covered Bridge)
A scenic bridge with some spooky history. A poor girl named Emily fell in love with a man from a rich family. They disapproved and he told her to wait for him at the bridge at midnight. When he didn’t show up, Emily was so upset that she jumped off the bridge to her death. There are many tales about this story…it sounds like some tales I used to hear at teenage sleep-overs!
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Morse Maple House
We thought we would wind up our sugar coma by visiting the Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks to see how maple syrup and other sugary delights were made. Since it was off season, we could not see the maple sap being collected and processed. We were treated to an educational film, in their Woodshed Theater. I never realized before how much work actually goes into the production of making maple syrup. Wow!
We walked on the Maple Trail where we could see the maple trees tapped and rigged with plastic tubing. they don’t use buckets anymore!
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Inside the store, there was a variety of maple syrup; light, dar, robust . They also sold maple kettle corn, maple candy, maple cotton candy, etc. We purchsed some maple kettle corn and maple syrup.
While we were waiting in the check-out line, a “local “ resident came in with an empty jar. He was buying his maple syrup in bulk…that’s the way the “locals” buy syrup. It saves them the cost of the container.
Morse Maple House advertises that they they have the best Maple Creemee. What is a cremee? Basically, it is soft-serve ice cream. I had the Maple Creemee and Ken had the Maple Milk Shake. It was a great treat for our last stop in Vermont.
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After 5 full days exploring Vermont, we feel like we have seen The Green Mountain State. We saw most of what Vermont is known for; its cheese factories, charming small villages, covered bridges, the spring maple syrup ritual and is the home of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. Maybe we should plan a fall colors trip?
Next up–MAINE
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