#autumn-foliage

#autumn-foliage

The Catskill Flyer, operated by the Catskill Mountain Railroad, is returning for its 2026 season with weekend rides that feel like stepping straight into a pastoral postcard.

Vermont actually resembles California - not because of its beaches but due to its distinct regions. For example, Burlington correlates to the Bay Area. And in the Northeast Kingdom, where I grew up, we classified everything below White River Junction as 'Southern Vermont.' Down there, half the towns seem to channel Boston or New York City, kind of like Santa Barbara to L.A., which makes the Kingdom something like Humboldt County - rural and spectacular, with a recalcitrant outlaw streak.

Yosemite National Park is bracing for thousands of visitors who will descend on the area to see the setting sun illuminate a waterfall so that it looks like fire. The so-called firefall phenomenon takes place each February at Horsetail Fall, which flows over an eastern ridge of El Capitan. This year, the projected viewing period began Tuesday and runs to Feb. 26.

Valentine's Day is about expressing love for special people in your life. One way to do so is to pamper that person as much as possible. That can mean starting the day off with delicious breakfast in bed. Muffins can be prepared in advance and are easy to enjoy in hand for a breakfast that involves lounging and love. Blackberry Crunch Muffins marry coffee cake and muffin elements and tart berries for something that is equal parts breakfast and dessert.

In the winter of 2021, as the pandemic pressed life inward, Jenny McBride and Jo Gray began doing what so many did to stay sane: they went for walks. Each day, the couple looped through their Newton neighborhood, circling the same streets, passing the same houses, nodding at the same passersby. At first, the walks felt like freedom, a way to stretch their legs and explore beyond the walls of their duplex.

The British artist Andy Goldsworthy moved to Penpont, a village in southwest Scotland, in 1986, when he was thirty. The area's initial appeal was twofold. Property was cheap, which meant that Goldsworthy and his wife at the time, Judith Gregson, could acquire an unrenovated stone building that had likely once stored grain. This structure could serve as a workspace and, for a while, as a rough-and-ready home.

Winter can be an ideal time to explore America's open roads. Cruising through a landscape blanketed with a fresh coat of snow is a dreamy way to travel during what, for many destinations, is the off-season. The fact that winter usually sees fewer tourists on the road is a bonus. Of course, winter driving comes with its own set of precautions.