It’s October already, but has someone informed the trees?

After spending 28 years in southern tropical climates, I can barely sit still with the idea of experiencing a real autumn this year. South Florida fall weather pretty much only means the end of Hurricane season and temperatures slightly below 80 degrees. The only images I’ve seen of seasons have been on TV, paintings, or on a postcard.

One semester in college, my best friend sent me a letter from Wellesley College. Inside her beige envelope, I found her much anticipated chicken scratch penmanship on a beautiful Fall landscaped postcard of New England, as well as a single, delicately flattened maple leaf that had already transformed into the brilliant shades of the autumn. It was my first contact with an actual season besides summer. In a sense it felt like a moon rock from another galaxy. Never in my life did my friend feel so far away.

Ten years later, I now find myself living in the very place that single leaf grew, turned, and fell. It’s funny how life unfolds. So needless to say, I can hardly contain myself anticipating this first chance to live within that postcard.

When my cousin invited us to New Hampshire to get a glimpse of the fall foliage this Columbus Day weekend, it was a no brainer. I could have had plans for a free shopping spree in New York City, and I would cancel (well, probably).

The drive from Boston to Conway, New Hampshire is roughly two hours and change. Once we passed the New Hampshire border the warm Saturday afternoon, we quickly ascertained that the greenery along the highways were,… well… still green.

As we arrived, all hope for breathtaking fall views were starting to dwindle as our dashboard temperature gauge reached 80 degrees, and heavy gray rain clouds hovered above us. My cousin managed to get us up to one quick lookout point along the White Mountains called ‘Cathedral Edge.’ It began to rain immediately after we took this photo.

With rare street lights along their quiet roads, and an escaping sun along the horizon, we headed to my cousins house to retreat for the evening, and the relentless rain trickled through the night.

Thankfully, the next day, the clouds parted by the afternoon, and the sun shined abundantly along every bend of the Kancamangus highway. The mid-60 degree atmosphere offered a perfect setting for us to frolic along the White Mountain National Forest. The brilliant sun and blue skies gave way for picturesque landscapes like these…

In the lower elevations, the trees were still mostly unchanged.
In others, the views seemed watercolored with red, orange and yellow hues bleeding throughout the canvas.
Along a valley, tucked away, we found just a few pigmented arbors that freckled the side of a mountain.
And finally at the highest elevations, barren trees marked the later signs of fall and readiness for the winter months to come.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 8th, 2007 at 4:01 pm and is filed under Daily, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.