I drive around one last bend and there she is—a covered bridge glistening in the early morning sun, her whitewashed timbers framed by vibrant fall colors. The river below flows free and easy for now, but soon enough will be frozen over. The window of autumn opportunity in this part of the world is only a couple of weeks, but I’ve hit it dead on, a day that defines everything we love about the fall.
Driving across (or rather “through”) the bridge, my tires rumble over beams that were first laid the year they filmed "Gone With the Wind"—which is exactly what many of the bright colored leaves will soon be. Through the mock Gothic windows I catch snatches of color—crimson maples and golden birches arrayed along the river and climbing the hillsides behind, mingling with evergreens and rocky outcrops that reach toward snowcapped peaks.
Anyone looking at my pictures from the day would swear they’d been snapped in New England. And I probably would have put money on that myself, so close is the resemblance to the holy grail of fall foliage. But it’s not even close. Try central Oregon. Goodpasture Bridge over the McKenzie River about 30 miles east of Eugene. A part of the West where author Ken Kesey grew up and that inspired much of his writing. And just as luscious come fall as the Green Mountains, Franconia Notch or any of New England’s chromatic landmarks.
