AUTUMN IN NEW ENGLAND

Vermont

After leaving Moosehead Lake in Maine, we traveled through New Hampshire and into a campground near Woodstock, Vermont.  We were about a week early for seeing the best leaf peeping but we did see some change and also some very quaint and neat villages. 

Vermont is charming, rural and the people were very friendly.  We both agreed we could live there if it were not so humid!

The Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller Estate in Woodstock, Vermont and now a National Landmark.  This home dates back to the early 1800's.

Woodstock, Vermont....very charming village.

Many of the older homes in the Northeast are very large.

This covered bridge is near Woodstock and a common sight in Vermont.

   

The Constitution House....birthplace of Vermont.

A beaver is going to have this tree pretty soon.

Adirondack State Park in New York

Driving through the Adirondack State Park in New York was a beautiful trip.  It is the largest state park in the nation with over two million acres.  Lake Placid is a small quaint village but still a major training center for the winter olympic events. They hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932 and again in 1980.

We were still about a week ahead of the full "popping" of the fall colors but it was still very beautiful.

The ski jumps at Lake Placid, NY

Ausable Gorge

The Finger Lakes Region of New York

We really enjoyed this region of New York. There were numerous wineries on the shores of the lakes.   We were also surprised to find many Amish farms in the area which only added to the charm.

Beautiful vineyards blanket the hillsides overlooking the lakes.

This explains the above picture.  The Louvre is a famous museum of art in Paris, France.  These falls are just outside of Watkins Glen, NY.

  Pennsylvania and Virginia

The "grand canyon" of Pennsylvania one foggy morning.

Near Shanksville, PA

A very moving tribute to the lives and courage of those extraordinary Americans on 9/11.

35,000 Amish live and work in Lancaster County Pennsylvania.  They live lives devoted to their faith, family and friends.  One can only admire their resolve to stay true to their values in the very midst of a world so different from their own.

  

Notice this farmer's resources in contrast to the machinery being sold in the background.

Gettysburg

Our trip to Gettysburg was very interesting as the National Battlefields and Museums have documented in great detail those three days of fighting which turned the tide of the Civil War.  Thousands of lives were lost on both sides. To be present on those very fields was almost eerie.  We were also able to visit the site of the first battle in Manassas, Virginia as well as Appomattox, Virginia where Generals Lee and Grant met to sign the terms for ending this long and devastating war.  It was hoped that this would be the beginning of a united America.

Looking over a battlefield where over 5000 men died in one day.

Notice the cannonball hole in the brick wall of this barn.

This is the exact location of Pickett's Charge.

The McLean House where the final surrender agreement was signed.

Appomattox Courthouse

General Grant sat in that very chair and penned the surrender terms.

A Special Visit

We were pleased to have the opportunity to visit with John's brother, Waldo, in Frederick, Maryland.  He was a gracious host and excellent cook.  His daughter, Jennifer and her family joined us for a very nice evening together.

Sawyer, Jennifer, Peyton, Eli and Marc

Moving Southward

We are continuing our journey south as we are trying to stay one step ahead of the pending colder weather. We are reminded each day how truly blessed we are to live in this beautiful and diverse country. 

We will check in with you again in about a month. Until then.........Happy Trails.

John, Cathryn, Dexter and Annie.

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK, MAINE

ACADIA AND THE NORTH WOODS                                                                                                  

After enjoying a month in the mid-coastal region of Maine, we headed north to Acadia National Park and the Moosehead Lake region.  Along the way we stopped in Bath, ME to tour the Maritime Museum and soak up the history of a longtime tradition of fishing and shipbuilding. The following pictures offer a glimpse of what we saw.

John at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine.

The Bath Iron Works has 400 years of shipbuilding history.  

This is New England's largest sculpture and full-size representation of the largest sailing vessel ever built, the Wyoming.

Wyoming was a wooden six-masted schooner, the largest wooden schooner ever built. She was built and completed in 1909 by the firm of Percy & Small in Bath, Maine.^[1]Wyoming was also one of the largest wooden ships ever built, 450 ft (140 m) from jib-boom tip to spanker boom tip, and the last six-masted schooner built on the east coast of the US.

Because of her extreme length and wood construction,Wyoming tended to flex in heavy seas, which would cause the long planks to twist and buckle, thereby allowing sea water to intrude into the hold (see hogging and sagging).Wyoming had to use pumps to keep her hold relatively free of water. In March 1924, she foundered in heavy seas and sank with the loss of all hands.

Source:  Wikipedia.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming_(schooner)

Each buoy is registered and identifies the lobster fisherman's traps.

We drove over the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory on our way to Acadia. 

Acadia National Park

Mount Desert Island

Bar Harbor as viewed from the top of Cadillac Mountain.

New England Asters 

Stone arches grace the entrance of Acadia's 45 miles of carriage roads available to hikers, horseback riders and the open horse-drawn carriages.

Teams of horses at Wildwood Stables pull the open carriages.

Jordan Pond 

Shoreline near the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse built in 1858.

Schoodic Peninsula is Acadia's only wedge of the mainland.

More than 60 lighthouses are found in Maine.  Maine is second only to Michigan in its number of lighthouses.

Lobster boats are anchored in the harbor.

These big guys gave us enough meat for three meals of lobster rolls before we left Acadia and the coast.

Moosehead Lake and the North Woods

We enjoyed camping at Lily Pond State Park located on Moosehead Lake near Greenville, Maine.

This is one of the many bogs where we searched for moose while in the North Woods. Unfortunately, we were not lucky enough to spot one.

We were surrounded by many beautiful ponds.

This blue heron was fishing for its dinner.

From Maine we traveled to Vermont and New York to become "leaf peepers" and to continue to enjoy the beautiful fall weather.  Watch for a very colorful blog to come your way soon.

Happy Trails ....... John and Cathryn ....and...

Dexter and Annie