Thoughts of a Middle Aged Man

Annette and I have spent the past four days touring Vermont and New Hampshire in seach of dramatic fall colors.  Chalk it up to the time of year, the altitude, the make up of the forest, the angle of the sun, or the terrior, the White Mountains of New Hampshire demonstrated more color than the Green Mountains of Vermont.  In both places, certain areas had little or no fall color and in other areas the reds, golds and yellows enveloped you.  The White Mountains just had more of the color.  The Kancagamus Highway, one top scenic highways in the US, was in full color.  We drove it west to east in the afternoon, and drove it east to west in the morning.  The higher elevations had lost its color, but along the river the colors were spectacular.  Sometimes driving or walking a path you would be surrounded in color, mainly golds and yellow.  With the sun shining, the path took on a gold hue, cacooning you in color.  The other amazing thing was the color was changing nightly as some areas were gaining or losing color overnight.

There is another interesting comparision to the two states.  Both states are small and have a similar economy and environment, but they give off different vibes.  Vermont, a liberal state, has a strong ethic to do what is best for the community.  New Hampshire, a conservative state, has a strong desire to firmly protect personal freedoms.  Because of their beliefs, Vermont has evolved with conformity, causing many of its communitities to look similar but very charming and cling strongly to their agriculture roots.  New Hampshire lacks that conformity, seems a little more haphazard, yet more energetic and creative.  Neither culture is necessarily right or wrong, but because of my personality, I personally enjoyed Vermont.

I strongly suggest taking some fall time and tour these states and experience the fall season.  The hard part is the timing.  We got lucky with the timing and the weather.  I hope you can be as lucky as we were.