Day-6 Sep-10-09

Today we traveled from Rutland VT to Burlington VT. We covered about 207 miles of Vermont back roads.

Of course, we had to stop and take a tour at the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory in Waterbury VT. The tour was about 30 minutes long, and included a look at the factory floor, and of course a sample at the end. It was pretty interesting. Most of what you could see was the packaging area, where the pint containers are filled with ice cream, lids placed, date stamps applied, etc. You could not see any of the equipment cabinets, so I am unsure if any Rockwell products are used. Here are some shots from Ben & Jerry's.

After the Ice Cream tour, we made a stop at another local Waterbury VT company, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (based in the Green Mountains of VT of course). Green Mountain makes many different coffees, including K-cups for the Keurig single cup brewers. They had a cute gift shop that was inside an old restored train depot, next to the main factory buildings. They did not have any tours, but you could see videos and displays regarding coffee growing, roasting, and packaging. Of course, they also sold their coffees, and the Keurig brewers.

The VT Teddy Bear factory is also in Waterbury, but we did not have time to stop at their factory.

Here are a couple other nice shots from the Waterbury area, including a couple buildings backed by the mountainside, and a unique round barn.

Other than the 2 stops, the day was filled with riding through the back roads and mountains. As with previous days, we saw a number of ski resorts (I think Vermont has about 20 ski areas). The neatest section of road was traveling through Smuggler's Notch on Rt 108. This is a very tight winding section of road, with some steep switchbacks. At the top, there was an area with large boulders strewn about. There was a gathering of folks using the boulders to practice their climbing techniques. They placed large mats/cushions (they looked like bed mattresses to me) under the rocks to break their fall (they were only getting about 10-15 ft off the ground). Through out history, many things have actually been smuggled through Smuggler's Notch. Thomas Jefferson's embargo act during 1807, disallowed trade with Britain and Canada. This put a strain on local Vermont people, so they smuggled livestock and other goods through the Notch up to Canada, ignoring the embargo. Fugitive slaves used the Notch as an escape route into Canada. During prohibition, liquor was smuggled from Canada down into Vermont through the Notch. Here is a shot of the road near the top of the Notch.

We also saw tons of these in Vermont...

However, we never saw an actual moose. I think the signs are just a ploy, so that you believe there is actually wildlife in Vermont.

And below is the obligatory Vermont shot, a white church steeple against the mountain terrain. It's a little out of focus, but the best one we had.

Oh yeah, we did manage to find a dirt and gravel road on this trip too...

Tomorrow we head back over to NY, and visit the Adirondack area.