Every fall when I am out walking in the woods, enjoying the gorgeous fall colours, I am reminded of my favorite scene from one of my favorite shows. West Wing was a political show featuring Martin Sheen as the President of the United States. In taping for an upcoming broadcast, the president gets hung up on the term “Leaf Peeping.” (Here is a YouTube clip of the scene). Well, it turns out, leaf peeping is a thing. Wikipedia defines it as an activity in which people travel to view and photograph the fall foliage during autumn, when leaves change colors.
Fall colour is one of the main reasons I choose to travel the Pacific Northwest in the fall. It is beautiful, plain and simple. And in the fall, there are fewer tourists so the trails and roads are not crowded. It is the perfect time to be a tourist. Each day I try to find forests and woodlands in which to walk, and even if I do not find any mushrooms – my main goal – I enjoy seeing and smelling the leaves. I love the sound they make when I walk on them, and I love the way they reflect the morning light. I love the smell they emit as they slowly decompose and feed the forest. I am, by all accounts, a leaf peeper.
Sadly my leaf peeping may have come to an abrupt halt in the past 24 hours as a bomb cyclone off the coast of Vancouver Island sent extremely strong, hurricane force winds to the coast of Washington, Oregon and California – effectively stripping most of the eaves off the trees. And what the wind didn’t get – the snow and rain did.
As I write this many of the major highways – including the ones I need to use next weekend to get to my next sit – are closed due to huge volumes of snow that the atmospheric river dumped in the higher elevations – and no matter which route I take. I always travel prepared: I have winter tires; I have winter boots and coats in my car: I have an emergency pack with candles and flares. BUT, I am a leaf peeper not a snow skier! I HATE SNOW! I grew up in snow. I know how to drive in it. I just don't want to.
So, as of now, I have determined that the biggest disadvantage to house sitting is that I have commitments to be in certain places at certain times, which requires me now to travel when I do not want to travel.
Something for me to consider for
future leaf peeping trips.