 |
| Molly Stark Byway atop Hogback Mountain |
I am back to a "Sunday schedule" if you will and first off, I would like to offer thanks to
Crooked Letta of Ford ST Nation for suggesting to travel Route 100 in Vermont. So far in the Sunday Driver series of posts and videos, I have had experience driving the area featured, but coming to this
location was a complete unknown for me. I have only been to Vermont a few times and mostly passing through, so I am sorry Vermonters. So, I was actually pretty excited to try things out. Now, "Route 100 in Vermont" is a pretty vague description unless you are up for going clear across the state of Vermont (which in fact was suggested, and will be done at some point). However, some of you might not be up for that sort of time commitment; thus an opportunity to figure out where the hell I was going to go using RT-100 as a touchstone. In the end, I only did a "small" section of RT-100 and this route designation seems pretty vast so the pleasure and "responsibility" of making multiple trips to get the full experience falls upon my shoulders and it is a heavy burden to carry. Consider the following installment Volume 1.
I still have a LeMans high and to me there is nothing better than an early summer morning transitioning from night-sky to daylight. There is something grounding about being out on road essentially by yourself knowing that in a matter of hours you would be wishing for the same openness and freedom to maneuver; I left home at 3:30am. For me, this was all reward as I got to shake hands again with one of my favorite stretches of road, Massachusetts Route 2 from the inner reaches of Boston to hilly regions of Erving and Greenfield. Then it was northward via I-91 to Brattleboro, VT.
 |
| Covered bridge in West Dummerston, built 1872. |
So, the specific route I took used Brattleboro as Start/Finish and made a circuit
which I will affectionately call Vermont's Green Hell as an appropriate homage to Vermont's Green Mountains and the Nurburgring; this route has a Nordschleife-like feel through sections of road with corner upon corner and the requisite elevation changes, narrow passes, and rough, wavy surfaces; the road is seemingly never straight and steering input is always needed. The circuit is 65 miles and you are busy sawing away at the wheel for a good portion of those miles. I left Brattleboro via RT-30N and passed through interesting scenery that time decided to leave alone that includes a historic covered bridge in
West Dummerston. I eventually met up with RT-100 in Jamaica (yes, I am still in Vermont) and turned southbound. This takes you past a number of small towns, Mt. Snow ski resort, Vermont back-country and eventually Wilmington in a very satisfactory manner if you are using your mode of transport effectively. I then hooked a left onto RT-9E/RT-100S a.k.a. Molly Stark Byway, after RT-100 goes its own separate way again southbound to be explored on a different day. This section of byway runs you back to Brattleboro with a scenic overlook and enjoyable lefts/rights/ups/downs to boot to keep you focused on what is actually in front of you.
It was still pretty early when I arrived back in Brattleboro, but this looks like an awesome city tucked at the foot of what I believe is Mt. Wantastiquet in New Hampshire. As mentioned, return trips are required. Also, Brattleboro seems to have some interesting history that I will be checking out as a personal indulgence. In passing through, I was interested in the Brattleboro Food Co-op, the museum and art center, and the fact there is a place called Malfunction Junction. The covered bridge does not count as that was not in Brattleboro, but was quite awesome and included a path down to the West River beneath it. It was all mine...at least for this day. As a matter of fact there were two covered bridges on my travels via this circuit. You will have to go find the other one, unless the instant gratification of Google compels you.
In any case, on to moving picture time:
Brattleboro, VT
Molly Stark Byway
Mount Snow
Brattleboro Museum and Art Center
My pics along the way
Comments
Post a Comment