Foliage Tours

Every year I take my "Foliage Sojourn" either to Chester A. Arthur's birthplace, or at least to Fairfield, Vermont. I take exit 19 - the St. Albans exit off I89 and at the end of the ramp turn right, then the first right onto the road to Fairfield. I know I should make note of the route numbers, but I have taken this trip every year for 20 years, and I know it by heart.

I stop at certain places -- at the crest of a hill by a farm house where years ago, the old dog barked the entire time while we stood across the street and look out at the most amazing panorama of hill truly looking aflame with the foliage. The hills had to be full of sugar maples as the red and orange rubbed up against each other and lit up the hills.

A little farther toward Fairfield on the left is a swampy area with a wall of maples. Because we can dry right by them, the look even brighter. Then closer and closer we come to Fairfield center and the foliage continues to be colorful. Some areas get dull -- the oaks and birches are brown or yellow - but the trip to Fairfield is bright with reds, oranges and yellows.

Next stop is the bakery in the center next to the town hall. You can get a great sandwich there or pastry. Then follow the signs to the birthplace of Chester A. Arthur. We pass fields of black and white cows, prosperous farms and not-so-prosperous ones. It's hard to survive as a farmer in Vermont, but Fairfield is full of dairy farms!

I don't do much when I get to the birthplace. Just sit for a bit and then turn around. But I drive that route every year.

This year, I added a new route that we took today. We drove to Bristol along the back roads and got a sandwich at the bakery on the main street. We heard about going over the Appalachian Gap but we didn't know how to get there. Well, it's Route 17 out of town toward South Starksboro. Unfortunately, the foliage had past peak, but Dave and I had a nice ride. We turned left toward Huntington where the elevation was lower and there were more leaves to see. Then the route took us to Richmond and the famous Round Church. After that we stopped at the Old Red Mill in Jericho where we took some photos and took a tour of the Snowflake Bentley Museum. Snowflake Bentley lived in Jericho and was the first to photograph snowflakes and discover that no two are alike. After that, it was back to Burlington.


I love the colors of autumn in Vermont although it signals the end of summer and the coming of winter. Taken as a season of its own, it'sone of the most beautiful in Vermont -- picture postcard material! It's a time to relax and slow down.