A hike is on today's agenda as I'm drawn to dirt, just like a Dyson.  I plan to do the Boulder Ledge hike, a 3.5 mile loop with an elevation gain of 900'.  
I hear a special permit is required, so I stop by the White Mountains Visitor's center to check it out.   I find out my National Parks Pass covers it, so off I go.

I start the hike 4 layers deep and am cruising comfortably for the first half mile or so, until I hit the "stairs", then I'm:
 “Shedding off one more layer(s) of skin
Keeping one step ahead of the persecutor within”

-Bob Dylan

Up top at 1,750', the most spectacular explosion of color unveils itself.  The White Mountains are at peak color now, although my lil camera which lives rent free at the side by my hip, is too stunned to capture the full magnificence. 

White Birch, Northern Red Oak, Sugar Maple, and Striped Maples all adorn the area, and a sample of each has made it into my collection of 55.

Back at the parking lot and just a stone's throw away from the trail head is the Albany covered bridge, a quintessential New England icon originally built in 1859.

"These early bridges, were built by judgement rather than by exact design.  The bridge was sized "a load of hay high and a load of hay wide" to allow the passage of farm wagons.  They were built (covered) or with roofs to protect the flooring from rain and snow, almost doubling the life of the wooden planks".

With the soul cleansed, I leave with a sense of awe and wonderment at all I have seen.  Tomorrow I head for Maine.