BEYOND CATEGORY

Fans of the Tour de France are familiar with the term 'beyond category.' It refers to climbs that are so steep and difficult they are beyond category. If there was a scale to categorize foliage drives in New England yesterday's drive was 'beyond category.' Not difficult or steep, but incredibly beautiful. We ran out of words to describe what we were seeing so we coined our own phrase, 'Beyond Words.' Maybe not too original but it's all we could come up with.

Sunday night it began to rain and was still raining when we woke up on Monday morning. We wondered if we should chance the drive along the Green Mountains or just go to town and shop. We decided to shop first but as we neared Woodstock the line of cars going into town was so long we turned around and headed for the hills. Literally!! Are we glad that was our choice. This was the day I had pictured when we first began planning this trip.

The clouds hung on the top of the mountains sending fingers of fog streaming down over the tree tops. The rain had stopped and left the roads and tree trunks dark with the wet. The day was cold and damp. Fall had arrived in full force in the Green Mountains. Yellow, gold, oranges and red covered the hillsides. Every view, every turn in the road, was breathtaking. We were beyond words to describe the beauty of the forests and roadways.

We stopped in a little village for lunch at the general store. Eating outside on the front porch we eventually got a little cold but inside was full and it made the hot cider taste all the better. Then back in the car and more driving. Covered bridges, white-steepled churches, village greens, quaint shops, waterfalls and more colorful trees than we have ever seen. Amazing. All we imagined for our trip to New England and more.

Today we drove to Connecticut and were surprised to see that fall has arrived here as well. Although the color isn't as concentrated as it was in Vermont, it is still beautiful. We'll explore the Litchfield Hills area tomorrow.