Rainy morning at Rock of Ages

  Barre,, Vermont, United States
Friday, October 12, 2007

 
 
Friday morning came and we could not get out of our room fast enough.  The day was going to be another busy one and we had no time to waste. The rain had let up and we hoped the sky would clear but as the morning continued our hopes for a sunny day were depleting. Breakfast in Barre, at Soup and Greens, was home-style, simple, and a perfect start to our busy day.  We headed to the outskirts of town and arrived at the Rock of Ages Rock Quarry and factory at 8:30 just in time for the doors to open. The rain poured down as we entered the elaborate visitor's center. The attendants were friendly, accommodating and I think a little humored by our early arrival. I guess most people don't rise early in Barre just to visit a quarry, leave that to Joe and Frannie. The tour of the facility started with a factory self-guided tour of the memorial factory. The Rock of Ages Company, I learned, is a headstone and memorial company. One of the largest in the world, the artisans, craftsmans, and laborers work tediously creating headstones and memorials for people and places all around the world. Using granite, the stones are maneuvered from station to station by movable cranes that run along the ceiling of the factory. So large that the excavating trucks look like Tonka toys, this monstrosity of a factory moves like a well oiled machine. Hypnotized by the methodic sync that the men below worked in, Joe and I stood and watched in silence as names and years of birth and death were hand scribed on each piece of polished shiny granite.  Moving along the factory tour, we headed back to the visitor's center for a quick movie and then aboard a yellow school bus for a ride out to the quarry. With the rain not giving up, we boarded the yellow charter and headed up the long gravel road that would lead us to our overlook of the huge quarry that dips hundreds of feet into the ground. The only thing I really know about rock quarries is what I learned from watching Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble work there every day so imagine my surprise to actually see the Bedrock Quarry come to life via the year 2007. The quarry is so large in fact, that there is still enough granite to be mined for the next projected 45 years. Broken off in 26 ton pieces, the machinery, cranes, and pulley systems only require a 40 man work crew to man this quarry that used to be run by over 200 men. We arrived at our overlook point only to be disappointed. The rain and cold temperatures had created a dense fog that filled the quarry and aside from a few shadows in our close range of vision, the depth and true size of the quarry were lost in the fog. Despite the blocked view, we were still in awe of the production and size of the quarry and how technical mining rock is. After returning from our overlook drive, we made one last stop at the sandblasting room. It is here that Joe fed the Neanderthal in him and felt compelled to use the big tool in the room. For a small fee, you can actually sandblast your own take home souveniger. Using the same techniques that the craftsmen do to etch names and pictures into the granite, this attraction is meant, I think, more for children but do not be mistaken. There was a line, all of grown men, waiting to have their shot using the sandblasting tools. I took pictures and stood with all the other doting women who patiently waited for their husbands to feed their need to handle large machinery.
 
From the Rock of Ages facility we headed for Mount Washington in New Hampshire.
 
Along the way down twisty and turvy highways we came into the little town of Bath. Along the foliage tour for NH, Bath has a tourist trap at one corner of town we could not resist.

Complete with an original general store, functioning cheese and meat smokehouse and a one lane covered bridge that we of course had to cross, the General Store was a good place to take a well needed break. While we passed on the homemade fudge of every flavor and the variety of all things pickled in mason jars, I could not resist their home made cream, root beer, black cherry, and sarsaparilla soda four pack.