Strange Obsession

I haven't had time to really check in over the last couple of days because we've had so many activities happening in the evenings.  Tuesday night I got to watch my daughter's band performance, and while I will admit that I'm biased, I think those 8th graders did really well.  My son got to go on a field trip to the symphony orchestra today and I was really bummed that I had training presentations to give at work today, because I would have loved to chaperone and see them perform Halloween music like The Hall of the Mountain King.  It's been a very musical week for our family.

I have an obsession that may have lessened a bit today, for kind of a silly reason.  I love to look at pictures of Vermont.  Every picture I've ever seen makes it look like one of the most beautiful places on the planet.  There's a blogger who I love to read, and I'll be honest that it started out as a way to view life in Vermont, though I've continued reading because she's such a good writer.  I follow another blog about Vermont called Happy Vermont because I get to look at more pictures, and these really are the most scenic places in the state.

Now, I've never actually been to Vermont, or any where in New England for that matter.  I found a cool feature on Google Sheets where you can make a chart using a map either of the world or the U.S.  One day I charted all the states I've visited and mapped it.  I have visited nearly every other state in the continental U.S., but never any in New England.  Perhaps this is part of the reason I've remained obsessed for so many years; because I've never found any relief from my desire to visit.  I think my obsession probably started with Newhart, even though only the intro was actually filmed in Vermont.

Today when I was reading the Happy Vermont blog post, I saw something that surprised me (even though it shouldn't have).  "Glastenbury Mountain is one of the highest peaks in Vermont with an elevation of 3,748 feet."  Um, that's lower than my elevation here in Denver (ya know, in the Mile High City), and the suburb I live in is closer to 6,000 feet above sea level.  While I don't hike 14ers very often because I feel like I have the flu when I get done (even Denverites can get altitude sickness), I have hiked several of them, and regularly spend time over 8,000 feet.  I suppose that it shouldn't change my attitude because a lower elevation doesn't mean Vermont is any less beautiful just because the mountains aren't as high as I'm used to.  But it did make me feel more grateful for my home state (well, since I was 9 months old and my parents moved here from Illinois).  Maybe I'll be slightly less obsessed now, and maybe I won't be.  I still desperately want to visit someday.

In the meantime, I've been running around taking pictures of the colorful leaves since they're starting to wane now and I want to capture all the fall beauty while it lasts.

This tree has leaves that are red, yellow, and orange.

Here's a closer picture of the multi-colored tree.