Chasing Color The Saga

As many of you know, my dear husband and I celebrated 40 years of marriage on September 22nd...no accident that we planned a trip to see the Fall Colors in the east...Vermont to be more precise. September 22 marked the first day of Fall and it is also my MOST favorite season. Some people view Fall as the last hurrah and goodbye to Summer, not me!

Here is a quote I really identify with...

For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad. ~Edwin Way Teale

I had so much to share and had hoped to keep you all updated on a day by day basis...NOT happening LOL! I'm kind of going backwards a bit just so I can get my thoughts all in one place so for the repetition I'm sorry ;)

So-ooo here's the rest of the story illustrated in pictures. I hope you enjoy!!



Heading out of town we see the beginnings of fall color as we pass Provo and beyond in our own fair state.

Our first stop was to visit friends in Colorado...errr I missed the opportunity to get pics of all of us but the kids were having so much fun dancing, I just couldn't resist!




We had a fun time catching up, enjoying a meal together (thanks Mike & Maureen) and then we had to get on the road.  

Colorado is beautiful this time of year... 
We had one more stop to make in Brighton, Colorado. Dear friends and partners in business.The Huss family is always ready at the drop of a hat to share their lives... whether business, family or for entertainment it is just as though we saw them 10 minutes ago...except for how much the children have grown LOL. Tyler will be taller than me before long...Sophie is running all over the place...Oh my! Karen didn't have to do much arm twisting for us to stay for a meal...she offered Cincinnati Chili, YUM!
Well we really did have to get on the road if we were to make it to Vermont in time for the peak colors so we headed out with a goal to get to North Platte Nebraska.
Upon arriving in North Platte we headed for the nearest Walmart...we had planned to pick up a travel size blender previously but time ran short. Why a blender? Well as many of our friends know, we have been changing our eating habits...a lifestyle reset.  Favao has made a huge difference in how I've been feeling so I didn't want to leave all our success behind as we traveled right??

 Here's the one we picked...It turns out this is a great portable blender! Toward late afternoon, heading into Lincoln, Nebraska we were so needing a break and we found a wonderful place called the Sunken Gardens. Wow! What a wonderful stop! I posted a ton of pictures on day 2, check them out.
 
We continued on our way arriving in Iowa City, Iowa quite late. We had arrange to stay at the Smith Family B&B. I wish we would have taken pictures of the driveway space we pulled up into that night...OMG! Do it in the daytime is all I have to say! They have a wonderful room with equally wonderful beds and we had a really nice visit with them over breakfast before heading out again. Did I mention how much I like B& B's...
Even the rest stops had interesting moments... The Iowa transportation department incorporated the story of the underground railroad and the beautiful quilt designs used to secretly tell their secret coded messages. 
 


Then on to...
And...

And...



Whoo-Hoo! New York...
Then on to Niagara Falls. Night time at Niagara is so fun on the Canadian side... Should we get tickets for the Sky Wheel??? 


Sure, why not! 265 ft up in the air!
 
We arranged to stay to allow time for a proper tour of the falls and I am so glad we did! The falls are breathtaking. I wanted to share so many photos I decided to create a Niagara Falls folder on Flickr.






 What can I say about the amazing beauty of the falls? I echo what the psalmist said; Psm.19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions Psalm 104: 24.

Leaving Niagara was sad but an anticipation for the main event has been building in my heart for so long... 
Continuing along through small towns and long patches of highway we enjoyed glimpses of beautiful architecture from long ago, roadside harvest delights, enjoyed meals at uncommon spots, stopped to stretch our legs along the Batten Kill and thoroughly enjoyed the just living in the moment. This beautiful church, founded by a Scotch settlement in 1792 caught our eye as much for the fall color as the delightful victorian-gothic design.


 


 
Our first covered bridge siting!!! This historical bridge built in 1858, is a Town Lattice Truss. It crosses the Battenkill in Eagleville, NY.It has a single span bridge, 101 feet long!
 We're just a just a few miles from the Vermont border now...yippie!
 
Our journey started on Sept 23rd in the afternoon, our goal to get to Vermont to see the leaves at their peak is about to be tested. It is September 29th and our fun app Leaf Peepr has been doing a good job so far of reporting where the colors are turning.
Drum roll please....hey...where are the fall colors?? Shouldn't there be a huge stand of maples right here under the sign??? Ok, patience...
Our first destination is Manchester and the Manchester Art Fair. Did I mention it has been raining, and raining, an-ddd raining? When we got to the fair (late in the day) it was truly a mudfest...Oh my...now I know why in some areas of the country the designer boots are rubber bottomed!
  
 
The fair is a three day event and we planned one full day to fully enjoy all the offerings but we now were having second thoughts. Deciding to do a quick walk about it was determined that YES it was going to be worth a mud trudging experience...TOMORROW.
Our whole roadtrip has been very loose in the planning. We've not made lodging reservations until the actual arrival and so far we've had mostly wonderful experiences. We went looking for a nice place to eat and in the process also came upon some wonderful new friends and a comfortable, cozy room at the Stamford Motel & Nippers Cafe, thanks Karen for making our stay so fun!
Ok, on to the promised beautiful Fall pictures...In my next post which I promise to post before Thanksgiving so stay tuned...
 
Oh, and this blog IS primarily to share my Scraproom adventures so stay tuned for whats been happening in my scraproom since my return :)