The drive from Ithaca, New York to Waitsfield, Vermont takes a little under seven hours. Waitsfield is situated in the Mad River Valley, and to get there from New York, you either go through Granville Gulf or over the App Gap. In the winter, the Gap is slick and dangerous; driveable, but my car is an old manual. The Gulf is winding, not plowed as well as it should be, and prone to moose. Despite this, the Gulf is my favorite part of the drive; it was here long before I was born and will be here long after I’m gone. There’s something comfortingly terrifying in this stretch of road