BACKROADS • MAY 2022
Page 44
DAY TRIPPING
US 302: ROCK - NOTCH - LOBSTER words + images: Dan Bisbee
US Route 302 stretches between Montpelier, Vermont and Portland, Maine, winding its way through 171 miles of northern New England. In terms of being the most direct route between Vermont’s capitol and Maine’s largest city, it doesn’t even crack the top three and that’s just one of the reasons it’s a great motorcycle road. Any good ride should begin with breakfast and the Wayside Restaurant in Montpelier is as good a place as any. They’ve been serving up great chow here for over 100 years and the parking lot always seems packed. But the service is prompt and my breakfast arrives quickly. Properly nourished and caffeinated, it’s time to hit the road.
Many granite monuments adorn downtown Barre including the world’s largest zipper. Nearby is a granite easy chair. Both ends of Main Street have statues, one honoring those killed in wars, the other dedicated to the many Italian immigrants who carved the stone. I leave Barre on 302 climbing over Orange Heights before twisting, turning and diving down
ROCK New Hampshire may be called the Granite State but Barre, Vermont is the Granite City. The Rock of Ages quarry is one of the world’s largest granite quarries and stone from here is used all over the world. I pull in to the Vermont Granite Museum for a self-guided tour. The real beauty of the stone is exposed by the gifted stone cutters and some of their work is on display here. Housed in one of the many “stone sheds” around town, the museum includes tools of the trade as well as examples of granite artistry. Up the road, the Hope cemetery could be called a sculpture garden for all the intricately carved headstones.
through Groton and across the Connecticut River into New Hampshire. Here, 302 meanders along the Wild Ammonoosuc River to Bath where I stop at The Brick Store. It claims to be the oldest continuously operated General Store in the country. They smoke their own cheese and the smo-
