Vermont - Day 8

This morning we woke to poring rain. We new that it would be but were surprised at the amount of water everywhere. It was coming down in sheets from the sky, it was rushing down the roads in little rivers and the rivers were running fast. Even though I knew it would be raining I was so disappointed. This was really our day to see the fall color and even though the color was still on the trees and it was everywhere, it had lost a bit of the glory in the cascading water. After breakfast we headed north to Sharon, Vermont to see a Church historical site - that of the birthplace of the prophet, Joseph Smith. It is tucked away in the rural country, off main roads and sits quietly waiting for those interested to stop by. As we neared the visitor center we came to the last hill and all 4 of us took a deep breath. The driveway was lined with beautifully colored fall trees. We drove slowly up the hill making our way over the carpet of colored leaves that had already fallen. The Church does everything so beautifully. As we exited the car and ran for cover under the hanging eves, a missionary came to meet us. He was older, dressed in traditional missionary attire, suite and white shirt and carried a huge umbrella. We spent over an hour at the site, listening to the the history of the site and the making and installation of the 40 ton 38 1/2 feet high (a foot for every year of the Prophets life) solid granite obelisk that marks the spot of the Smith home. The obelisk was installed in 1905 and the story of how it was made, transported by train and oxen, pulled up the hill and hoisted upright was a story of hard work and dedication to the task. After our time in the visitor center Jeff and I ran up the steps and around the obelisk under a big umbrella but still getting wet. In the car and leaving the site we took a detour and drove to several of the other sites close by and in the process saw some beautiful tree color.

Our next destination was the famous scenic route the in the white mountains. A week or so ago it was at its peak color, but for us there was some great color at the beginning and ending of it at the lower elevations. Still it rained, all day long and we headed east trying to get our of the storm and eastward where the color still was. We passed several rivers that were lined with trees at their peak, brilliant in yellow, orange and red. We pulled into Portland, Maine for the night and was still raining.