Leaf peepers II

As we mentioned in the previous blog post, it is difficult to predict the timing of peak leaf color. To take some of the guesswork out of knowing when and where to find the best colors, many leaf destination areas provide leaf peeping updates. These guides are very handy, or at least they would be, if they were accurate in their predictions. They seem to us, however, to rely a great deal on Mrs. Sweeney's (Tinmouth, Vermont) arthritis condition to help pinpoint where the colors will be the brightest.


My sister and I embarked on a leaf-peeping expedition to West Virginia recently, arming ourselves with up-to-date maps, color reports, visitor brochures, snacks, updates on Mrs. Sweeney, additional snacks, etc. To assuage our guilt over all the snacks we planned to consume, we also took along a good supply of healthy foods. These subsequently returned home with us, untouched.


We followed the maps and reports that showed where we were most likely to find the best color, and found that the actual leaves showed the exact opposite condition predicted by the maps. In the places where the colors were supposed to be at peak, there were hardly any leaves left on the trees. Here we were informed that "oh, you should have been here last week. The trees were beautiful." 


"But our maps say they're supposed to be beautiful THIS week," we insisted, and looked reproachful, as if tourism officials should personally glue all the fallen leaves back on the trees for our benefit.


Nevertheless, we did manage to experience thrilling car rides through the mountains, negotiating the tight, curvy roads that always looked as if they would suddenly end at a precipice. We managed these difficult driving conditions by operating on the two-driver system, whereby the person in the driver's seat drives the car as normal, and the passenger "assists" the driver by, for instance, leaning sharply away from the cliff edge when rounding curves so as to help the car avoid going over the edge. Gripping the door handle tightly also helps in this purpose. The passenger also freely dispenses helpful advice to the driver, such as "Slow down! Slow down! Slow down!" This is repeated until the car is no longer moving and the driver has, in fact, exited the car and vowed never to take such a trip with the passenger again.


In an effort to see more vibrant colors like in the brochures we had, we abandoned the color maps and began to drive in whatever direction we hadn't yet been: Virginia, Tennessee, British Columbia, Disney World, the Solomon Islands, etc. Finally, discouraged at not finding the most beautiful fall colors in the world, we decided to head home. Plus, we were out of snacks and down to the healthy foods.


When we did arrive home, we found that the leaves here were still oblivious to the time of year. Finally -- something was just as we had expected.