This time of year really makes me think about home. There are so many traditions surrounding fall; watching football on Sundays on the couch by the fire, the leaves changing, and hanging on to the last few days of nice weather, that I miss while at school. I thought this would be a perfect time to write about my hometown, as it is almost peak foliage, and Stowe just got a shout out in the Huffington Post Travel as the the number one spot on 10 of America’s Best Places for Seriously Stunning Fall Foliage. We happen to have a lot of state (and town) pride. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of just how beautiful it is.
Here is one including my favorite animals, cows, which is most likely because I have grown up next to or near dairy farms for most of my life.
While I am having some serious FOMO of foliage right now, I do not miss all of the leaf peepers (what we call tourists who come in drones to take pictures just like the ones above). But who can blame them? We in Stowe are used to tourists, who flock to Vermont for every season of the year.
One of my favorite things to do in the fall at home is hike. The view of the colored leaves from up high is unlike anything else. One of my favorite hikes is the Pinnacle Trail, which is a quick hike with an unreal view at the top.
You can also hike up Stowe Mountain, through a number of different trails varying in steepness and difficulty. I hiked a few this summer and here is a picture I took from the top of Nosedive (a ski trail).
As I talk about all of these amazing things about Stowe, I realize that the greatest part about it is the community. I may not have realized it in high school and growing up, but I think about now how lucky I am to have grown up in such an amazing place.There is such a tight knit community. I went to a public high school of about 200 kids, so everyone knew everything, about everyone. There were times in high school when I absolutely hated that, but looking back now, I am so grateful. Although people would know things about your life in under 10 minutes of them happening, everyone is supportive of each other. We had such a unique high school experience. For example on Fridays in the winter, we would have the afternoons off to ski. Our weekend activities consisted of hiking the countless trails, mountain biking around the mountain and skiing every single weekend during the winter. I appreciate this non-traditional lifestyle, and definitely miss it now being in central Pennsylvania. While this post can not do Stowe justice, I wanted to give a small insight into what life in a small town in Vermont is like. As soon as it starts snowing (which will be sooner then we realize), I will write more about what it is like to live through what can seem like the longest winter in the world.
