Every once in awhile you stumble across a store so unique, you have no idea how to categorize it. Such a place is Fiddlehead at Four Corners (338 Main St., 802/447-1000), a browser’s dream of crafts and oddities in a huge old bank building. Recent finds here include limited-edition Dr. Seuss lithographs, framed animation cells from The Simpsons, and a “brew vault” full of antique light-up beer signs from the last 40 years.

More crafts can be found at the Hawkins House Craftsmarket (262 North St., 802/447-0488, www.hawkinshouse.net, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Mon.–Sat.; 11 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Sun.), including hooked rugs, blown glass, and jewelry from some 400 artisans.

Stock up for your expedition to the Green Mountains at Nature’s Closet (400 Main St., 802/442-0476, www.naturescloset.net), an outdoor-clothing store with an environmental ethos, right down to the recycled carpet and “natural” bathroom tile.

You can smell the dust at Now and Then Books (439 Main St., 2nd Fl., 802/442-5566, www.nowandthenbooksvt.com, noon–5 p.m. Sun.–Mon.; 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Wed.–Sat.; seasonal hours may vary), a warren of rooms piled eight feet high with books on every subject.