Trip Report - New England Fall Foliage Sep 2022 - UPDATE 1/22/23

[sayhello]

The view from my room.



Dinner that night was at the brewery that the Von Trapps run on the farm. It's a ways down the road from the Lodge, so we loaded up on the motorcoach to get there. Dinner was a hearty buffet of various yummy sausages and an array of delicious sides and salads. The area we ate in overlooked the brewery. It was a very fun atmosphere, and a very nice dinner.











Prost!!



After dinner we were given plenty of time to peruse the gift shop at the brewery, and I found a really nice knit beanie that has a leather patch on the brim that says "Von Trapp brewery" and "Stowe, VT" on it.

After that, it was back to the Lodge, and the end of another fun day!

Up next: Day 4: We've Got Adventure Covered

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[PezRuth]

As someone who lives in NH and has lived in Maine and used to have a place near Stowe this is fun to read.

 

[sayhello]

As someone who lives in NH and has lived in Maine and used to have a place near Stowe this is fun to read.

Glad you're enjoying! I really love your neck of the woods!

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[pjacobi]

Be sure to come back to New England during the winter to learn how run a snow blower down the driveway for the second or third time in a week. Then in the early spring, you can enjoy mud season with black flies.

Other than that, things a pretty good!


-Paul

 

[Threehearts]

Very interesting report.

I was wondering what would happen if several people needed to sit at the front of the bus due to motion sickness. I ask because my traveling friend has severe motion sickness. Do people just take turns and then move back a few rows when it is not their turn?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[sayhello]

Very interesting report.

I was wondering what would happen if several people needed to sit at the front of the bus due to motion sickness. I ask because my traveling friend has severe motion sickness. Do people just take turns and then move back a few rows when it is not their turn?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

I guess it would be up to the Adventure Guides to work that out. Normally, those with the "worst" tendencies would get the second row of seats (the Guides are in the first row to interact with the motorcoach driver and everyone on the motorcoach) and anyone else would take the third row of seats. I've never had more than 2 rows of seats needed. What I always do is, let the Adventure Guides know when I meet them on the first day that I need to sit at the front of the bus, and they will "save" those seats, and let you know when you enter which seat(s) were saved for you. I've never been on a trip where there was an issue with this. Except for the River cruise I did, everyone pretty much settled into seats on the first day out (morning of day 2) and sat in those seats for the duration of the trip. The River cruises were a bit more challenging, because the makeup of the group changed with each excursion, and you never knew which Adventure Guides you'd be with ahead of times. But other than that, it's worked just fine. I assume if more than 2 rows of people with motion sickness were on a trip, you'd need to work it out with the Adventure Guides.

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[Threehearts]

I guess it would be up to the Adventure Guides to work that out. Normally, those with the "worst" tendencies would get the second row of seats (the Guides are in the first row to interact with the motorcoach driver and everyone on the motorcoach) and anyone else would take the third row of seats. I've never had more than 2 rows of seats needed. What I always do is, let the Adventure Guides know when I meet them on the first day that I need to sit at the front of the bus, and they will "save" those seats, and let you know when you enter which seat(s) were saved for you. I've never been on a trip where there was an issue with this. Except for the River cruise I did, everyone pretty much settled into seats on the first day out (morning of day 2) and sat in those seats for the duration of the trip. The River cruises were a bit more challenging, because the makeup of the group changed with each excursion, and you never knew which Adventure Guides you'd be with ahead of times. But other than that, it's worked just fine. I assume if more than 2 rows of people with motion sickness were on a trip, you'd need to work it out with the Adventure Guides.

Sayhello

Thanks so much for your reply!

 

[sayhello]

Day 4: We've Got Adventure Covered

This day started with an activity that had been postponed from the previous day. We headed to that most iconic of Stowe, VT locations: Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream factory, for a private, before-hours tour! When we first arrived, we headed up the hill next to the factory to check out the "Flavor Graveyard". This is a very funny place where they have tombstones commemorating flavors that have been retired and will not be returning. I remember some of those flavors fondly!







After perusing the graveyard, and taking a few photos, we were shepherded down the hill to head to the factory. It was quite a beautiful morning!





After commemorating the anniversary of one of the couples on our trip, we were led into the factory to hear how they make their ice cream, taste some ice cream add-ins, and watch a bunch of folks at work. It was honestly quite interesting! (Photos weren't allowed for us, but the Adventure Guides got a few that didn't actually show the workers.) We also got a couple of samples of ice cream (and they did have some non-dairy and other options if you needed/wanted, you just had to ask). Yumm! After that, we of course had time to go through the gift shop, and then we were invited into the ice cream parlor to get an on-the-Mouse, full-size cone or dish of ice cream! As much as I thought I'd try something new, I ended up going with my old favorite: Cherry Garcia! Best ice cream ever!





After the tour, it was back to our motorcoach to head out to the Mt. Mansfield area for a guided nature walk. Parts of it were on a boardwalk, and parts of it were on a reasonably well marked dirt path through the trees. The area we were in was near a spot called "Smuggler's Notch". We'd been joined by a local naturalist as our guide. You could see the Fall colors coming out in various spots. It was a really beautiful walk, although we did get brief periods of drizzly rain from time to time (but most everyone had rain jackets or ponchos, so I don't think it was a big deterrent for folks. Certainly not like the rain we'd had in Burlington).







Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

Our local Guide.





We eventually ended up in a beautiful clearing, where Mike T and Tiffany had set up a picnic lunch for us, with boxed lunches we'd pre-ordered and a bunch of delicious apple cider donuts and warm apple cider. Yumm!



It started drizzling again, so a lot of us ate lunch standing up because the benches had got wet, then the tarps got damp, but it was still a really nice lunch. The picnic area was really pretty, with a stream and surrounding trees.





After lunch and some fun and games, we were split up into 2 groups and loaded into 2 smaller mini-buses to start our Covered Bridge tour. Apparently the most direct road to the first bridge was too small for the motorcoach, so we headed out in the mini-buses and Clyde, our driver, took the motorcoach around the much longer way to meet us once we finished at the first bridge.

The tour covered 3 different covered bridges. I've always been a fan of covered bridges, so I really enjoyed this activity. If I remember correctly, all 3 of the bridges are still active bridges, so for a couple of them, we had to be careful of the traffic while trying to get the perfect photo!

The first bridge we came to was in a gorgeous treed setting. It was a bit rough around the edges, but that definitely added to the charm and the photographability of the bridge. We walked around it, and through it, and had multiple photos taken of us on it, and I and some others walked a bit downstream to get the best angle. It was raining a bit again, but very lightly. I think I got a couple of nice shots. Google helped me here, and this bridge is "The Grist Mill Covered Bridge, also known as the Scott Covered Bridge, the Bryant Covered Bridge, and the Canyon Covered Bridge, is a covered bridge that carries Canyon Road across the Brewster River, off Vermont Route 108 in Cambridge, Vermont."





After we finished with our picture taking, we headed to our next destination, "Brookdale Bridge". I didn't have to Google that one, because it has a sign on it! This bridge was in much better repair, and painted a nice red color. The same routine happened here, taking photos, having our photos taken, admiring the surrounding Fall colors.





Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

The last one (Googled, again) was the Gold Brook Covered Bridge. This bridge was a bit busier as far as car traffic was concerned, so we had to be really careful, but Tiffany and Mike T took some fun photos of us there.





After we finished our covered bridge tour, we headed into Stowe proper. We were dropped off in the main downtown/shopping area, and were given around an hour to explore and shop the town.

Someone had seen a trick to create a fun picture with the "Welcome to Stowe" sign, but it seemed to only work on the iPhones and not on my Android phone, so Tiffany, after several tries with my phone, finally did it with her iPhone. I thought it was cute!



Stowe is a very cute little town and I enjoyed my time wandering around and shopping there. Got some chocolate. Yay!!



We were apparently there during rush hour!









As I finished up my shopping, I checked my watch and saw that I had like 10 minutes left, so started to head back to the meeting place. As I got closer, I got a call, and it was Mike T asking "Where are you?" I was a bit confused and said I was on my way, and looked at my phone, and it said I was actually 10+ minutes late! My watch had not stopped, but for some reason it had suddenly decided to slow down by around 15 minutes!!! Of *course* it had decided to do that at a point where I needed it for a meetup time! Sigh! I had to take the watch off and rely on my phone, which I'm not really a fan of (SO much easier to glance at my wrist than take my phone out & hit a button to see the time...) but I was unable to find a new battery for my watch for the rest of the trip, so I learned to use my phone! Oi, being pulled slowly into the 2020's! First using my phone as my camera, now using it as my watch! (Although I got the battery replaced as soon as I got back home, and have been using it again!) I was afraid that I would now be labeled as "That person" who was always late, even though it wasn't really my fault, but it didn't seem to happen, and I managed not to be late again!

Next it was back to the Von Trapp Family Lodge, and dinner on your own. Some people took the shuttle back to the brewery, others ate at one of the restaurants at the Lodge. Mike T had gotten me a reservation for the casual bar/lounge area, and I had a really nice bowl of soup and a great flatbread.



The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and packing up, as we were leaving Stowe and heading out towards New Hampshire the next morning.

Up next: Day 5: Sweet Liberty

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[Eastridge]

Thanks for doing a detailed report of this new ABD trip! This will help me decide if I want to try this trip in the future

 

[sayhello]

Thanks for doing a detailed report of this new ABD trip! This will help me decide if I want to try this trip in the future

My pleasure! It was a fun trip, and a beautiful area!

Sayhello

 

[Mathmagicland]

After lunch and some fun and games, we were split up into 2 groups and loaded into 2 smaller mini-buses to start our Covered Bridge tour. Apparently the most direct road to the first bridge was too small for the motorcoach, so we headed out in the mini-buses and Clyde, our driver, took the motorcoach around the much longer way to meet us once we finished at the first bridge.

The tour covered 3 different covered bridges. I've always been a fan of covered bridges, so I really enjoyed this activity. If I remember correctly, all 3 of the bridges are still active bridges, so for a couple of them, we had to be careful of the traffic while trying to get the perfect photo!

Now I know what we missed, as on the adventure following yours we had to skip the first two bridges on the tour. There was a lot more color in the trees & leaves in VT for our week, and the roads to do this were so clogged with cars that it would have taken too much time to get up to the first one, if we even could have gotten there. And as soon as we’d arrived, we’d have had to turn around & come back down the roads, and still would have been late getting to Stowe. Beautiful bridges!

We ended up with a short photo stop at the last bridge you saw, and then a bit more time in Stowe. We all were fine with this, as sitting for a long time in clogged traffic in busses would not have been fun.

 

[sayhello]

Now I know what we missed, as on the adventure following yours we had to skip the first two bridges on the tour. There was a lot more color in the trees & leaves in VT for our week, and the roads to do this were so clogged with cars that it would have taken too much time to get up to the first one, if we even could have gotten there. And as soon as we’d arrived, we’d have had to turn around & come back down the roads, and still would have been late getting to Stowe. Beautiful bridges!

We ended up with a short photo stop at the last bridge you saw, and then a bit more time in Stowe. We all were fine with this, as sitting for a long time in clogged traffic in busses would not have been fun.

That never occurred to me, that the traffic would be much worse with the colors really going! That road was pretty narrow and if I remember correctly, a bit twisty-turny, and I could see it getting pretty clogged easily. Very interesting! I'm glad you at least got to see one of them!

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[PezRuth]

Smuggler's Notch is a wonderful family place. We used to own a condo there. It is great both in the winter and summer.

 

[Grifdog22]

Love New England in the fall and winter. My DW and I met in school in South Royalton Vermont. Did you know that your real estate taxes in Vermont are based upon two different assessments - one part considers "the view." The reason for this is pretty obvious and taxes are higher those that are not living and working the lands. Yes, traffic during leaf peeping was horrific with tourons stopping to ask if the road goes to X (To which a Vermonter will reply - "Road don't go nowhere, it just sits there" without breaking a smile). 24 inches of snow overnight? School and work is on time and on schedule. We always had a day's holiday at the start of "mud season" when the ice would break on the White River. It sounds like an active battlefield as that ice cracks up and piles up. Wonderful place that everyone should visit. Glad you had a good time.

 

[sayhello]

Day 5: Sweet Liberty

Day 5 was our travel day from Vermont to New Hampshire. But before we hit the road, we had one more activity at the Von Trapp Family Lodge. One of the industries at the farm is maple syrup making. It was drizzling rain quite a bit, so with everyone in rain gear or ponchos or with umbrellas or combinations thereof, we headed out across the property to the SugarHouse, or the Sugar Shack as it's also called. We were led on our walk by one of the Lodge employees who has been working the maple syrup side of the business for years. He stopped a couple of times along the way to explain to us how the sap is formed and tapped.







Then we headed into the Sugar Shack (which was nestled into a beautiful clearing, and was warm and dry and smelled WONDERFULLY of maple syrup!) and stood along an observation area that surrounded the interior of the shack on 3 sides. It had tons of historic photos along the walls.



We got a fascinating explanation of the life cycle of maple sap to maple syrup, and the various grades of maple syrup. While the explanation was going on, there was another guy just working away, filling those tiny little leaf-shaped bottles of maple syrup that you see in all the souvenir shops. BY HAND. He had a tank full of syrup with a spigot attached, and sat there, placing the bottle, turning the spigot on and off, then placing the cap on the bottle. I would have assumed something like that would be automated, but nope. Done by hand! Crazy!



The process of changing the sap into syrup is way more complex than I would have thought, and rather on the dangerous side due to the extreme heat involved in it. At the end of the talk, we all got a small taste of the warm maple syrup, and MAN, was it delicious!!

After we were done at the Sugar Shack, we headed back to the lodge and boarded our motorcoach for the trip to New Hampshire. Our first stop was the Vermont State Capitol of Montpelier. There was definitely more Fall Colors going on in Montpelier than we'd seen so far. This was really just a brief stop to get out and stretch our legs, and take a bunch of photos of the very pretty State Capitol Building surrounded by fall foliage. We were given around a half-hour, I believe.











Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

When we returned to the motorcoach, Mike T, Tiffany and Clyde had set out coolers with our box lunches from the Von Trapp Family Lodge (which we'd pre-ordered) and drinks. We grabbed them on our way back onto the motorcoach to eat as we continued our drive.



About an hour later, we made another stop, at Burtt's Apple Orchard. There, our Adventure Guides had a snack for us of fresh hot apple cider and fresh hot apple cider donuts!! These ones were even better than the ones we'd had previously at our picnic! Delish!!!



We walked around the little barn/shop they had there, and had a short talk by one of the owners of the Orchard who told us about how they ran their business (which besides the stand, had a U Pick area for apples.) They looked really good!







Our wonderful Guide, Mike T, helped a random lady arrange her bags of apples on her walker, and then helped her carry them out to her car.



About 20 minutes later, we had another quick stop, mostly for a photo op with this cute bridge to nowhere in the background. (In case you can't read the sign, it says: "A.M. Foster Bridge -- Dangerously Deep Water -- Please stay back from bridge and do not drive on the surrounding farmland. Thank You, Cabot Plains Farm."



It had been pretty cloudy and dreary since we left Montpelier, so the area was a bit washed out, but folks took a bunch of photos (including the Adventure Guides taking family shots).



Then they herded us all back to the motorcoach. But I turned around to take one or two last photos, and suddenly, the clouds parted, some blue sky showed through, and the sun shown down on the area. Then, just as quickly, the clouds closed, and it went back to gloomy. I ran back to the motorcoach and showed Mike T the photo I'd just taken, and his jaw literally dropped because he (and probably most everyone else) had been facing the motorcoach and never saw the change. He was like "How did you get that???" It really looked a bit fake. Just lucky, in the right place at the right time. Almost like magic!



Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

We kept driving, and eventually crossed into New Hampshire. We then drove to the White Mountain area. Here we split up into two groups, one doing a longer hike with Mike T and another staying with the Motorcoach and Clyde and Tiffany, and doing a couple of separate, shorter hikes.

As it was raining pretty hard, on and off, at this point, I opted for the group with the separate shorter hikes. We dropped off the first group, then headed to an area called Profile Lake in Franconia Notch State Park.

Tiffany told us about (and showed us a short film) about a fixture of the area called The Old Man of the Mountain. This was a natural stone outcropping high on one of the Mountains, which looked like, you guessed it, the profile of an Old Man. It was a very beloved landmark of the area. Unfortunately, "sometime in the night on May 3, 2003", the outcropping collapsed (as far as anyone knows, due to natural forces). As we saw in the short film Tiffany showed us, a lot of people were quite upset by this loss (I guess it's the "state's official emblem"). So they built a memorial to the Old Man of the Mountain. There is a plaza set up with a series of metal posts. There's places marked to stand (based on your height) and if you look up at the top of the post in front of you, at just the right angle, the pieces on it align with the cliff to show you just what the Old Man of the Mountain would have looked like on the cliff. It took a bit of finagling and stooping and tiptoe-ing, (plus the cliff was covered in clouds) but we got the general idea.













We then headed back to our motorcoach, and it rained on and off while we drove to our next destination, "The Basin". (I was kind of glad at that point to be on the shorter hikes, because most of the rain was while we were on the motorcoach. The other folks did get soaked a couple of times. But they still seemed to really enjoy their hike!) The area around The Basin was really quite lovely. Very green, with a lot of running water and trees and lovely areas of fall color.





The Basin itself was a very cool natural formation where rushing water had carved a bowl-shaped area where the water curved up and around and was just very cool.





Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

After we finished our second hike, we headed to the Franconia Notch State Park Visitor Center (and Gift Shop!) to wait for the folks on the long hike to join us and do some souvenir shopping.









After that, it was a little more than an hour to our hotel for the night, the Grand Summit Hotel at Attitash. It's a ski resort during the winter, and was a nice enough hotel, but they were in the middle of re-painting and redoing a lot of the exterior (including ladders and people outside the back of my room when I arrived. Fortunately, they were gone by the time I went to bed. But the ladders were left.) But it was only for the night, and we were continuing on to Maine in the morning. Apparently they have replaced this hotel with the Omni Mount Washington Resort, which looks like quite an upgrade on the website.





I honestly for the life of me can't remember what we did for dinner that night. The handbook says we went to a local restaurant, but apparently it wasn't that memorable!

Next up: Day 6: The Maine Stay.

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