The Great Northern Auto Route - DONE

Day 36 - We woke to rain and drizzle and were glad we’d packed up the night before. We were off into Vermont with the end of the Great Northern in sight. US-2E was slow and tedious as we headed through Burlington. Dairy farms were familiar sights. Farm stands offered fresh produce, fresh eggs, and maple sugar products. True to its name Vermont (green mountain in French) is lush and green and mountainous.

Montpelier, Vermont’s state capital with a population of ~7,000, is the smallest state capital city in the USA. US-2 passes right through the city, so we stoped to take a look. The Visitor Center host suggested a tour of the gold-domed Capitol Building just across the street and we took her suggestion.

Constructed in a gothic revival- neoclassical style, it was built between 1856-58 and first occupied in 1859. Since the 1980s, it has undergone careful and constant restoration. It’s a grand building for such a small city and the least populous state in the Union, standing regally on State Street. Set against a woodsy background. Its lush manicured lawns provided a stately entrance way. College-age kids were playing volley ball on the lawn when we arrived, attesting to the fact that Vermont is a laid-back kind of state.

There were no waiting lines. We walked in the front door and entered a spacious, gracious columned lobby where we were immediately welcomed by two ladies who offered a free tour. We deferred opting to wander on our own. The furnishings are handsome and dignified, as you’d expect. There were portraits of notable Vermonters including two Vermont-born, but somewhat lackluster presidents… Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur. The second floor houses the senate and representative chambers. Since they were not in session, we could walk in for a closer look. A viewing gallery on the third floor was closed off.

The Cedar Creek reception room housed an enormous 1874 oil mural by Julian Scott entitled Battle of Cedar Creek which highlights the contributions of Vermont’s troops during the Civil War.

Two stained glass skylights beautifully illuminate Vermont’s state coat of arms.

As we exited, we checked out the statue of Ethan Allen, who along with his Green Mountain Boys,  are Vermont’s famous Revolutionary War heroes.

It didn’t take long after leaving Montpelier to be back in farm country. The fields were all blooming with fragrant white meadowsweet. An appropriate name for a distinctly northern New England wildflower.

We continued on our way, but stopped when we saw a sign for the 1890 Martin Covered Bridge. Yup, we’re slow travelers. It was only a 1/4 mile walk or less from the parking lot, but it was drizzling and spitting rain by the time we returned to Blanche.

Another slight detour to view the Orne Covered Bridge over the Connecticut River at the Vermont/New Hampshire state line. This bridge was actually built in 2000 and is a replica of a 19th century bridge that once stood on this site.

We were making progress and across the state line into New Hampshire now. We were also on a covered bridge roll and when we passed near the Lancaster Covered Bridge, we figured, why not?

Crossing into Maine, we entered Gilead. Yikes, have you read or seen Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale? We passed through this town quickly.

We managed to travel as far as Bethel, Maine before we were done for the day. It wasn’t as far as we’d anticipated, but then we would have missed all those iconic covered bridges and the Montpelier State House if we’d hurried. The Pleasant View Campground had lots of open spacious sites. Their ablution block was a bit rustic, but clean.

The owner recommended the Sugar Shack for dinner. It wasn’t much from the outside and the inside offered a few booths for seating, but we had the biggest, most delicious lobster rolls ever. No salad filler, just luscious, huge chunks of Maine lobster served with a side of Maine potato fries. Outstanding! We ate too fast to take photos, but the one I borrowed below provides a good idea of our feast.

Day 37 - We were up early and on the road by 0700. The day was overcast, cool, and gloomy as we traveled east on US-2. Just outside of Bethel in Newry, the 1872 Sunday River Bridge was nicknamed the ‘Artist’s Bridge’ because it was a popular subject for painters. We were a bit disappointed that it has obviously been neglected and is in a dilapidated condition. It usually takes a local preservation group to organize and raise funds to restore such relics, and there must not be any such group around.

Four slinky black critters dashed across the road in front of us.. we weren’t sure, but we think they were minks. Not something we see very often in Las Vegas. Not my photo, they were too fast for a photo opp, but this was the animal we saw.

Photo credit: Patrick Reijnders/Wikipedia Commons

US-2 threads it’s way through little town after town. In Rumford, we passed over the  Androscoggin, Mainers largest river. There stood Paul Bunyan and Babe at the local visitor center… obviously on vacation from Bimidji, Minnesota where we’d last seen him and his famous blue ox.

Rumford has historically been a lumber and paper mill town. ND Paper, a Chinese owned company, now operates the paper mill in the area. Interestingly, the distinctive, acrid paper mill smell was not as pronounced as we’d remembered it. Maybe EPA efforts are working in this area.

Passing through Farmington, Maine, we noted a reference to its famous native son, Chester Greenwood, inventor of earmuffs in 1873. He later modified his earmuff idea into ear protectors and was quite the entrepreneur. The town still celebrates Chester Greenwood with an annual parade on the first Saturday in December.

Next up, Skowhegan on the banks of the Kennebec River where the Skowhegan Indian stands proudly as The World’s Tallest Indian at 62’. Wait a minute! What about Hiawatha in Ironwood, Michigan? Hiawatha is the World’s Largest Indian, but only 52’ tall. This Skowhegan fellow is taller, but too skinny to be larger.

The fog and drizzle had burned off and the sun showed its face. We stopped in Bangor long enough for another Paul Bunyan photo opp. The guy does get around. Babe wasn’t there. We think she went back to Bimidji.

Our road trips guidebook ended here and directed us east to Acadia National Park, but in reality that is NOT where US-2 ends. It ends  ~130 miles in Houlton, Maine on the US-New Brunswick, Canada border. It’s easy to lose US-2 in Bangor. Luckily, the GPS had no trouble keeping us on track, very, very slowly to our destination.

Leaving  Bangor, we saw the Stephen King tour vans. King lives here in Bangor and many of his horror novels (11) are set in Maine especially the town of Derry. The tour takes visitors to Derry and points out specific places mentioned in King’s books. By the way, King and his wife are very philanthropic members of the Bangor community and contribute lots to the city.

Hills, hills, hills getting out of Bangor which sits in the Penobscot River Valley. Maine’s transportation department evidently has a dearth of US-2 signs because though the route meanders and frequently turns, signage was scarce. Once again, the GPS came in handy. This is spud country and potato fields, all abloom, were frequent sights.

Travel was slow with speeds averaging 40-45 mph. We can see why they built and why folks choose to drive on I-95. Finally, finally, finally with little fanfare, we reached the end of US-2 which is also the end of I-95 with New Brunswick, Canada beyond. With little urging, we could have easily entered Canada once again and gone exploring in New Brunswick, but we curbed the desire. We’d already started making plans for the next adventure.

We found the Houlton/Canadian Border KOA where we camped in a wide open, quiet, grassy area away from the big rigs and vacationing families. Don’t we sound like curmudgeons? After hot showers, we grilled salmon and corn on the cob and celebrated the completion of the Great Northern Auto Route… Everett, WA to Houlton, ME. We have traveled a total of 6,624 miles since leaving Las Vegas, 3, 653 on US-2, the Great Northern, averaging 19 mpg.

Day 38 - It rained during the night, but the morning was bright and sunny. We headed south on I-95 passing lots of moose signs and one flashing sign that warned of loose cows on the road. In no time we were back in Bangor having seen neither moose nor cow. We turned off the highway and headed for the coast. Before leaving Maine we were intent on having a boiled Maine lobster and Young’s Lobster Pound in Belfast was just the place to do it. There we met John Adams (born on the 4th of July) and his wife Anne with whom we shared lots of chat and similar experiences regarding van upfits and van travel. We hope to see them again somewhere along the line. We’ll stay in touch.

Our bellies lobster-full, we headed south to Camden. We’d traveled along the Maine coast in Nine of Cups back in the early 2000s and visiting Camden by van was a totally different experience. Instead of a crowded anchorage, it was heavily congested traffic on narrow town streets. We parked 1/2 mile from the downtown then walked the rest of the way to avoid the stop-and-go and parking issues. We walked along the harbor, poked in all the shops and finally migrated to the local ice cream stand where we shared a sundae.

We camped for the evening at nearby Camden Hills State Park. The road to Mt. Battie is in the state park and we drove to the top for spectacular views of the town and harbor below.

You’re probably wondering exactly where we’re heading now that The Great Northern is history. Well, we’ve decided to head to Pittsburgh to ride the Great Allegheny Passage (the GAP), one of a network of bicycle rail-trails on the Great American Rail-Trail (GART) that span the USA from Washington, DC to Seattle.

Come on along to the City of Steel and join us on a grand bicycle trip from Pittsburgh, PA to Cumberland, Maryland. Promise you won’t get too tired!