“We came up to see the foliage, but this is what’s really unbelievable to see,’’ said Parchman, 53, who traveled with his wife from Dallas and stopped along this bend in Route 4 with other camera-toting tourists.
With all the rain and strong winds, the palette of color in this year’s autumn spectacle has been muted, with the remaining leaves looking more like rust than fire, ocher rather than crimson.
Instead of admiring the trees, the throngs of tourists who typically crowd this area on Columbus Day weekend were gawking at the backhoes mending the scarred roads, covered bridges leading to nowhere, detritus yet to be cleared.
Sheryl Trainor, who owns the Quechee Mobil station at the eastern entrance of Route 4, calls it “disaster porn.’’
“It’s a good thing, because with all the drab colors, this may be one of the worst falls I’ve ever seen,’’ Trainor said.
The morbid fascination as well as the massive effort to repair the damage, however, has combined to boost business. “Ironically, Irene really helped us,’’ she said. “As a business, we’ll take what we can get.’’
Many of the people who have trekked to the Green Mountains said that although they were less than impressed with the fall foliage, they were leaving inspired.
Joanne Belliveau, her daughter, and son-in-law drove seven hours to Bridgewater from Rochester, N.Y.
“The rains had a big impact,’’ said Belliveau, 81. “The whole scene is not quite as brilliant as I remember.’’
But her daughter Linda Graci said she was amazed how quickly the region seems to have bounced back, with many of the roads repaired and open to traffic.
“We’ve never seen this kind of damage before,’’ she said as her family prepared to head home. “It’s devastating, but it’s amazing to see how so many people have come together.’’
When Suzanne Salemi arrived this weekend from Colchester, Conn., she was disappointed by what she described as “the burnt and brown color’’ of the foliage. Like many other visitors, her family found the destruction more affecting.
“It’s a sight to take in - all this damage, and all the people still cleaning out their homes,’’ said Salemi, 36.
