Leaf Peeping...Vermont

Leaf Peepers:  People who travel to view and photograph fall foliage in areas where foliage changes colors, particularly New England  This describes perfectly what we have been doing as we travel through Vermont and New Hampshire.

A Picasa painting

Our route from the 1000 Islands took us across Upstate New York's most northerly Highway 37, crossing Lake Champlain into Vermont; a beautiful easy drive on mostly two lane roads.  

View Our Travel Map in a larger map

We hit the jackpot again with another half price Passport America Park, Groton Hills RV, near the town of Marshfield, VT, nestled in the Green Mountains near all the popular foliage drives, Stowe, the ski area, and Montpelier, Vermont's tiny capital.  We also hit the jackpot on our arrival time, right smack in the middle of peak colors!

Vermont's capitol in Montpelier

Lots of pristine country scenes

Clouds just added to the beauty

Cemeteries always make good subjects

In a tunnel of gold

Reflections

Happy horse

Our RV park joined the show

One of the most popular drives in Vermont is the 18-mile stretch of Route 108 that connects Stowe and Jeffersonville via Smugglers Notch which becomes very steep, narrow and twisty as the road approaches the summit.  We pulled over to admire the surroundings and chat with a local farmer selling her maple syrup.  She commented on our Texas license plate and asked "how in the world did you find this spot on the most beautiful day of our year"?  The weather has been incredible, thankfully. 

Ben & Jerry's for quality control

  
Other area landmarks were not to be missed.  We had to stop for some quality control at Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory in Waterbury and herein declare their coconut 7 layer bar and butter pecan fit for consumption.  Tucked away in the tiny village of Cabot is the original Cabot Creamery Cooperative.  We were in our element sampling wonderful variations of their delicious cheddar and did not come away empty-handed!

At Cabot Creamery

Emily of Roads Less Traveled sent me a great link, Yankee Foliage Guide, that we used extensively to plan our drives.  This coupled with our inherent need to explore every backroad, of which there were plenty, provided us with some spectacular peeping and small town ambiance.

Peeping at its best

More reflections

History

Peacham 1776

Can not pass up a farm stand, especially self-serve