Vermont Covered Bridges - Fall Color

[snapapple]

My husband and I flew back to Connecticut to visit family. (Edit: It was October 10-13) We decided to take the opportunity to take a short trip up to Vermont to do a little leaf peeping and see some covered bridges. We're both from So. Calif. so we have never seen the Fall Colors of New England. I hope you New Englanders will bear with me because I found the sight jaw-dropping beautiful.

http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/105158142-L.jpg


Our drive started at Hartford, CT heading north into Vermont. From Brattleboro, VT we turned west on SR 9 and then north on SR 100 toward the Green Mountain National Forest. We found an overlook where we could see the Fall color as far as the eye could see.
http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/106616682-L.jpg


Another overlook with a bit more red.
http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/105159561-L.jpg

We spent the night in Killington, which is a ski area in winter. The next day we drove West to Rutland then South on SR 7 to Shrewsbury where we saw the Brown Bridge, built in 1880. It's a Town Lattice design. You can see the lattice work on the inside wall of the bridge.
http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/106616862-L.jpg

Beyond the bridge, the road takes a winding path through the trees.
http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/106617154-L.jpg


Rain had been forecast for both days we were there, but we were lucky and it didn't rain much. The day was cloudy though and the sun just peeked through on occasion.
http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/106704641-L.jpg


We drove past a horse farm with it's white fences as we took a tour south of Rutland.
http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/106617509-L.jpg


Heading back toward Rutland, off SR 103 in Clarendon, we saw the Kingsley covered bridge, built in 1836, 120 ft long. It's a Town Lattice design although it's a bit hard to see the inside here. Notice there are no windows on the side.
http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/104854141-L.jpg


Taftsville Covered Bridge - The next day we drove East on SR 4, through the historic town of Woodstock, to Taftsville. The Taftsville bridge is my favorite of the trip with it's classic red color framed by the trees. The bridge spans the Ottauquechee river. It's one of Vermont's longest covered bridges.
http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/106709162-L.jpg


Taftsville Dam - Just upriver from the bridge is the dam. I had the perfect vantage point to take this shot. It looks scary, but I'm standing on a concrete wall, not a slippery bank.
http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/105220460-L.jpg


Above the dam the river widens and forms this small lake.
http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/104813796-L.jpg


Another spot on the river offers a reflection of the trees.
http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/106618417-L.jpg

The next day we drove back to Connecticut. We had to go all the way by evening so we didn't stop, but the "drive-by" shooting was beautiful all the way.
http://www.susanappelphotography.com/photos/106710388-L.jpg

I hope this was not too long. If you would like to see more, the gallery is here. (http://www.susanappelphotography.com/gallery/2028192/2/105217764)

[DoctorIt]

Yeah, Vermont sure is nice in autumn! I'm pretty sure I've ridden across all those bridges at least once. :thumb

But this had to be a few weeks ago, right? Cuz the leaves that haven't been blown off the branches yet are now covered in snow! Way, way past prime these days. As a matter of fact, that far north is well into the gray doldrums period before it gets totally covered in white.

[snapapple]

Yeah, Vermont sure is nice in autumn! I'm pretty sure I've ridden across all those bridges at least once. :thumb

But this had to be a few weeks ago, right? Cuz the leaves that haven't been blown off the branches yet are now covered in snow! Way, way past prime these days. As a matter of fact, that far north is well into the gray doldrums period before it gets totally covered in white.

Oh yeah, I should have posted the date. It was October 10th to 13th. A few areas we drove through were already past peak. One hill would be full of color and the next would be all brown. I guess it depends on the orientation or exposure to wind and cold etc.

We usually go back there for Thanksgiving or Christmas so we've never seen the trees with leaves on them. This was our very first time. It was great!

[photocat]

I can only imagine how crazy I would go with my camera upthere...
Beautiful colors indeed, love the reflection ones. It must be beautiful with snow too. Great shots, keep up the good works

[pathfinder]

Welcome back Snappy.

Lovely fall colors and covered bridges.

These look to be Howe truss bridges rather than arch suported bridges from what I can see of the inside of the bridges in your pictures.

I see in your gallery you say the Taftsville bridge is a combination of King and QUeen post trusses as well as an arch,

[snapapple]

Welcome back Snappy.

Lovely fall colors and covered bridges.

These look to be Howe truss bridges rather than arch suported bridges from what I can see of the inside of the bridges in your pictures.

I see in your gallery you say the Taftsville bridge is a combination of King and QUeen post trusses as well as an arch,

Thanks for the comment Pathfinder. I got the information from the local Chamber of Commerce and just pass it on. I know nothing about bridge building.:dunno

I took this picture of the inside. It's not my favorite picture and I just worked it up quickly a minute ago. I didn't try to clone out any power lines and all that stuff. But, it does show the construction on the inside as well as the distance from the dam.

http://snapapple.smugmug.com/photos/109079506-L.jpg

This shot shows the wide spans and the supports.
http://snapapple.smugmug.com/photos/103994614-L.jpg

And lastly, the reflection. I was surprised to find this after crossing over to the other side. You can see in the other shots how far the bridge is away from the water. Then you see it from this angle and, "Voila", there's the reflection. Just made my day! :D
http://snapapple.smugmug.com/photos/106643544-L.jpg

[mmroden]

Love 'em! I showed them to my wife, who's never really seen fall before. Now she understands what I mean when I say, "The trees change color!"