From staff and Internet reports
America is never more beautiful than when Mother Nature puts on her finest attire during September and October.
This year is shaping up to be no different.
You don’t have to travel far to take in the phenomenon of fall foliage.
All across the U.S., from New England to the Pacific Northwest, deciduous trees put on their dazzling display of color.
In fact, leaf viewing is one of the easiest (and least expensive) ways to experience America’s awe-inspiring natural beauty.
Throughout New England color is bursting like Fourth of July fireworks, such as the Green Mountain Byway in Vermont.
Best colors come later in the Southeast, but the mountainous areas are already starting to show their true colors. Peak color periods will be reached in mid-October. The Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most visited national parks in the U.S. for good reason. There are more than 100 species of native trees, including scarlet oaks, maples, sweetgums, and hickories, which put on a jaw-dropping autumn display of gold, orange, crimson, and purple. With 800 miles of scenic roads and hiking trails, you could spend days exploring these stunning forests.
Western state colors are already ablaze, with the Columbia River Gorge and Cascade Mountains providing a rainbow of leaves.
If you have the time, there are a number of rail lines offering special leaf-peeping trips. Select from a variety of fall foliage vacations to colorful destinations from Mackinac Island in northern Michigan and the Smoky Mountains to New England tours featuring visits to renowned regional destinations including Mark Twain’s home, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s house, Mystic Seaport, Martha’s Vineyard, and Hyannis.
Some leaf-watchers train rides include:
www.vacationsbyrail.com/foliage
· Caravan.com
Foliage Tours | FallFoliage
.TourVacationsToGo.com
www.cadillacmichigan.com/fall-color-tours-72
www.vacationsbyrail.com/…/fall-colors-scenic-trains-marthas-vineyard
www.gsmr.com/ride-us/fall-foliage
If you are curious as to how all this leaf color changing takes place, here is a brief explanation.
It all starts with photosynthesis. Leaves typically produce their vivid hues of green from spring through summer into early fall through the constant creation of Chlorophyll. As we all learned in 5th grade science, Chlorophyll is the key component in a plants ability to turn sunlight into glucose, which in turn feeds the trees. Many millions of these Chlorophyll cells saturate the leaves, ultimately making them appear green to the eye. Without the presence of Chlorophyll in the leaf, the bright golds, reds, yellows, and browns would be the natural colors seen year round. Chlorophyll is not the only player in the fall leaf color game. Present in other leaves and trees are the compounds known as Carotenoids and Anthocyanins. As the Fall days begin to get shorter and shorter, the production of Chlorophyll slows to a halt, eventually giving way to the ‘true’ color of the leaf.
