Here's something worth knowing about the road under your tires. When the Mohawk Trail opened in 1914, it wasn't built to get freight from here to there faster — it was built for this, for the drive itself. It was the first road in the whole country laid out purely as a scenic route, for the brand-new pastime of the Sunday motor tour. Automobiles were still a novelty, and the idea that you'd point your car at a mountain just to see what was on the other side was a thrilling, modern thing.
So they cut this road along the line of an ancient footpath, threw up rustic lookout towers and gift shops and lodges at the summits, and invited America to come drive it. And America came. For over a century now, people have done exactly what you're doing — rolling up the Mohawk Trail in the fall to watch the hills burn red and gold. You're part of a very old tradition. Enjoy it.
Photo: Tichnor Bros. Inc., Boston, Mass. · Public domain
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