Vermont is a land of small towns, many of them the embodiment of an idealized New England. Everywhere we journeyed on our drive through the state, we saw evidence of robust industry and ingenuity — those hallmarks of Yankee culture — in the surprising number of craft shops, artist studios, galleries, artisanal-cheese producers, stylish restaurants and furniture makers we came across. Vermont also has a varied topography that includes pastoral vistas, forested hills and mountain slopes that offer the East’s best skiing. Here is a nine-day itinerary for those who might want to follow in our footsteps.