New England Fall Color Tour
Posted by humsafarFall color peaks in New Hamshire White mountains in second week of October. Since this area was the main focus of our tour, we booked accordingly. PTOs sanctioned and off we went.
Reached Boston on 9th early morning (caught a red eye from bay area). Picked up the car and headed straight northbound. We took a small detour just before Concord (NH). Saw some colors, nothing great. Apparently, the color was about mid-peak around this region. We hoped for better and kept driving. The freeway was packed with cars heading north. This being a Saturday of the Columbus day long weekend, the leaf peepers and shutter bugs were out in hoards. Strangely, I felt a festive aura in the atmosphere.
We had booked our hotel in Ashland. It is a tiny town about 20 minutes south of White mountains. Reached Ashland around noon. Checked in, had lunch, gave junior some time to run around.
In about an hour we were ready to hit the road again. This time we drove south east wards to see the lake country. Foliage was good, still in mid-peak, lot of greens visible. Took some shots, nothing exciting though. The day was cloudy, sometimes it sprinkled a little. We tried to keep off the touristy spots (you know the ones with lots of gift shops... where the huge tourist buses stop on their route). We tried to look out for gravel roads, little churches, graveyards and barns that would make some interesting compositions.
When we completed the planned loop, it was already dark. Back to Ashland. It was time we make a routine visit to the local grocery and stock up supplies. Our rule of thumb is to travel light and pick up supplies at the destination. We pack dry food and/or cold sanwiches for lunch so that we can drive whereever and not worry about where to get food. We were all set for the following day.
Next morning we started late (around 8am) as shooting sunrise wasn't a plan. As we came nearer to the White mountains, the scenery grew better and better. Extensive mountain slopes were glowing in shades of orange and red. Pardon my ignorance you fellow new englanders, but this was beyond my imagination! Where ever you look there is a riot of colors! Sugar maple dominating the picture with Ash and others pitching in.
Our first stop was the visitor's centre. Always better to get first hand information, than stock guide book information. The ranger suggested we avoid Conway area. When we asked about some foliage locations, she mentioned we drive on highway 113. 'At this time, it is even prettier than Kancamagus!' This is what I am talking about... getting the info from horse's mouth!
We drove to Francois Notch and the location of Old man of the mountain. Though the old man is no more, yet the vistas were quite good. Moving further north towards Littleton we saw dimishing intensity in color... here the peak was almost a past memory. Bare trees were standing melancholy much like a new widow whose prime has just
passed. As we approached the area mentioned by the ranger, colors started appearign again and we feasted with our eyes! Deserted by roads, tiny rivulets and color ful foliage, what could we ask more? Well, the answer is SUN. The sky was cloudy. The postcard blue skies were covered with dull grey clouds. We had to carefully compose shots to give enough exposure to the foliage, but reduce glaring bare skies. Though books suggest fall shooters think macro, I wanted some nice landscape shots too.
The ranger had suggested we avoid Conway with its touristy crowd and crazy traffic jams. So from Barlett we took a paved road shortcut to hit the kancamagus highway. The paved road itself was quite nice. We stopped a couple of times to get the camera some excercise.
Kancamagus highway is a hype! It was supposed to be the peak there. Colors were amazing, no doubt. So was the curvy roads. But I think it lacked drama. You know the kind with surprise vistas, obscure barns or quaint walkways. If you ask my opinion, I liked 113 much better than Kancamagus. But, again, to each his/her own.
By the time we completed the loop evening was only half an hour away. That means 30 minutes! How could we go back to the hotel when there is enough light for more shots? We drove to Lincoln. Pemigewasset River flows by the little village. We spotted a narrow dirt path going down to the river. Parked our car and hiked down. It was getting dark very fast. We had to be careful not to trip with the cameras and tripods (not to metion, junior). The short hike was rewarding... we got an amazing view. The forest floor covered in golden leaves, the water still (nice reflections) and the best part... it was deserted. Believe me, the most common rant of photographers is people coming in the composition and spoiling the mood.
The next day we had planned for Vermont. We drove towards Woodstock.. that was the fall color 'must visit' of all tour guides. Woodstock is an quaint old town with big stone buidling and churches. Oh my God! The place was swarming with people... mainly elderly ones out for the long weekend. The air smelled fresh brewed coffee and pastry. Not our cup of tea. We drove further west towards Royalton village. In Bethel we found exactly what we were looking for.. a small white church with a maple leaf background. Nice shot. The maple leaf inn was another high point. Driving southwards along route 100 we came across a state park (can't remember the name). We haven't seen this being suggested in any foliage tour book/site. But our instincts took us inside and what a site! Golden yellow everywhere! the narrow gravel road went winding along the hilly slopes, dotted with campsites. Old barn, dry leaves, curved gravel roads... perfect picture! Vermont was a success.
The next day was our last day in New England. In the morning we went to see the flume gorge near Lincoln, NH. The covered bridge was beautiful. The parking lot and ticket area here offered nice compositions. Since this was the day after Columbus day, only a handful tourists were around. We met a lady who drove all the way from Quebec City, Canada. We exchanged some plesantaries and soon found out that she was an avid photographer. Her camera was an old manual canon.
Our time was running out. We headed for Boston. Reached there around noon. On the way we saw peaking colors along I93 around Concord, NH and Lowell, MA. Absolutely stunning! We had about 4 hours before our flight back. First we went to the only bengali restaurant in Boston (reccomendation by a friend). Food was not too good, but someone offering you home style food after a busy trip, asking how your trip has been, coaxing us to eat one more piece of fish was priceless. I'll always remember Royal Bengal (India) in Cambridge for their hospitality.
We couldn't possibly leave Boston without stopping at any of Boston's universities. Harvard. The name itself generates so much awe. It was a dream come true to walk the stone paved paths. It was too short time to see and more importantly, feel the grandeur of Harvard. We felt like little children who collect shells along the sea shore and upon returning, tell everyone how wonderful their experience of the sea has been.
As the plane was being airborne I felt sad to leave this unparalleled land of fall colors. But the thought of the wonderful moments that we tried to capture in our camera helped me cheer up. And of course, there was this promise I made to myself.. the promise to come back to New England in the autumn of my life... which may be far away, yet a certainity, nonetheless.
See my fall photos at http://www.pbase.com/humsafar
