The drive up Mount Equinox was beautiful.
The camera simply can't capture the colors in the leaves as they really are!
Green grass, red barn, old rock wall, yellow tree...smile everyone!Today was a spectacular day for leaf-peeping! The day was pleasant, clear and sunny. This was the beginning of the Columbus Day weekend, which is a huge holiday in this area. It signifies the end of fall and the tourist season, so the local people here do all they can to squeeze the last tourist dollar out of the visitors. Many towns have pumpkin festivals and other events on Saturday and Sunday, with preparations for these events in high gear on the preceding Friday.
We chose to make our day’s drive a circle that included areas in southern Vermont. As we had predicted, the colors of the leaves in Vermont were much more vibrant than those in Massachusetts. We saw more reds and oranges on the hillsides, and we expressed our appreciation with appropriate “ooohs” and “aaahs”.
We drove to Bennington and on to the Manchester area and to the top of Mount Equinox. Mount Equinox rises to a height of 3852 feet and provides a 360-degree view of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and parts of Canada from the summit. The drive to the top was extremely scenic, but by the time we reached the top we were at an elevation where most of the leaves had already fallen. It was extremely cold on top, and the wind was blowing, making it feel even colder. Since we were dressed for the warmer climate of the areas below the mountain, we decided against doing any hiking on top, and proceeded down the mountain.
While in Manchester we visited the Orvis flagship store and spent time at their annual tent sale (everything at least 75% off!). This event is wisely scheduled for Columbus Day weekend. After a stop for pizza for lunch, we drove on to view other things. Once stop was at Dorset for a visit to H.N. Williams General Store, which has been in operation since 1840…with few updates to the facilities since that time. It was interesting, and although the facilities reflected 1840, the prices reflected 2008!
We drove over country roads past red barns, beautiful farms, green fields and colorful mountains, with numerous stops for photos. We eventually ended up at West Arlington and drove to the home once occupied by the artist, Norman Rockwell. His home is now used as a bed and breakfast called the Inn on Covered Bridge Green, a beautiful home with a spectacular view of a white church building and red covered bridge. The four of us stayed at the Inn on Covered Bridge Green on a previous trip, and enjoyed re-visiting it for a few moments.
It was sundown when we arrived back at the condo for sandwiches and another round of Chickenfoot before retiring. This condo is really nice. They own their own wind-generator, located on the mountain above the building. It is the only privately-owned wind-generator in the country, and supplies 30% of the power for the entire resort, plus power for another attraction nearby. Interesting!
Sometimes we feel guilty having so much fun while the stock market and the country’s financial situation is topsy-turvy. However, there is little we could do about the situation if we were home, and here we avoid a little of the stress. At least the stock market is not open over the weekend. Perhaps Monday will be better.
After all, Scarlett, tomorrow is another day…
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