Approaching Killington — a stop on Vermont Route 100.
The mountain filling the view ahead is Killington, and the character of the road changes as we approach — more traffic, more condominiums, more places to rent skis.
Killington is the largest ski resort in the eastern United States, spread over several peaks, and locals have called it the Beast of the East for decades. It opened in nineteen fifty-eight and grew aggressively; it's famous for opening early and closing late, sometimes still spinning lifts in June, thanks to enormous snowmaking capacity.
It's also, culturally, the opposite of Mad River Glen back up the valley — big, fast, loud, and unapologetic about it. Both are Vermont. The argument between them is basically the argument about what the state should be, and it has been running for seventy years without resolution.
In summer and autumn there's a gondola running to the summit for the view, plus a serious mountain-bike park and hiking. The Appalachian Trail and the Long Trail both pass just east of the mountain.
We're nearly at the end of our run. Stay with me for the last word — and if you're carrying on south, Route One Hundred keeps going all the way to Massachusetts.