Autumn in New England

For three weeks, from late September to mid October, we traveled to New England in the hopes of finding Autumn!  In the process, Jasper added 12 new states to his rapidly growing list of states visited!  Our adventure began in Maryland.  With my brother John and family as tour guides, we visited Great Falls Park (in Virginia) and Catoctin Mountain Park (Maryland). 

Virginia:  Great Falls Park

Maryland:  Catoctin Mountain Park

We then drove north, through Maryland, a corner of Delaware, across New Jersey, through New York City, Connecticut and finally Rhode Island where we camped at Burlingame State Park.  It was after dark by the time we arrived in a mostly vacant campground.  The barred owls were close throughout the night.  We woke up next to a beautiful, northern lake with brilliant red and yellow leaves on the trees surrounding the lake.  Welcome to Autumn!

Rhode Island:  Burlingame State Park
 

On we went, in to Massachusetts, to visit Susanna's childhood friend Emma, in Scituate.  We had a wonderful time getting to know Emma and her family.  Jasper especially loved playing with Emma's kids along the edge of a new ocean for him, the Atlantic! 

Massachusetts:  The edge of the Atlantic in Scituate

The following day, we drove straight through the heart of Boston, through a corner of New Hampshire and on in to Maine.  We spent three nights in Maine, one at Camden Hills State Park and the other two adjacent to Acadia National Park.  We had a marvelous time exploring the coastal forest and rocky mountains.  The colors were coming on beautifully and the warm, sunny weather dominated. 

Maine:  Camden Hills State Park

Maine:  Emerald Lake, Acadia National Park

On in to New Hampshire.  The White Mountains felt as wild as the changing weather.  After a night camping at Moose Brook State Park, we took several hikes in the mountains.  Brilliant colors dominated the forest.  The clouds were dark and ominous and a cold wind whipped the exposed granite. 

New Hampshire:  Crawford Notch State Park, White Mountains

We ventured on in to Vermont and happily set up camp in a condo at Killington in the heart of the Green Mountains.  We spent a wonderful 6 days in Vermont, based out of this condo.  During this time, we hiked each day along either the Appalachian Trail or the Long Trail.  We also visited Quechee Gorge, a maple syrup and cheese farm, the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream factory, a cider mill and Gifford Woods State Park. 

Vermont:  rural scene along highway 100 in the Green Mountains

Our adventure continued on in to northern New York.  We drove north along the edge of Lake Champlain and camped for a night at Ausable Point.  The moon rose spectacularly over the lake in the evening and the morning sunrise was beyond words.  The next day, we drove through the heart of the Adirondacks to a cabin in the southern part of the park near the town of Wells.  Here, we met up with my parents for three days of fun near the edge of Algonquin Lake. 

New York:  Ausable Chasm, near Lake Champlain

New York:  Adirondack Park

After four nights in northern New York, we turned south and entered Pennsylvania.  Our final adventure was in Rickets Glen State Park.  We camped one last night surrounded by golden leaves at the edge of a lake.  In the morning we hiked past numerous waterfalls, with the sights and smells of autumn at it's peak. 

Pennsylvania:  Rickets Glen State Park

Pennsylvania:  ahhh...Fall!