By David Abel | Globe Staff | October 11, 2011
BRIDGEWATER, Vt. - Facing a broad panorama of the Green Mountains,
Doug Parchman aimed his camera below the tree line, toward what has become a
more compelling tourist attraction than peeping at leaves, usually ablaze with
color at this time of year.
In the distance, a battered old Cadillac sat atop a pile of
boulders in a tributary of the Ottauquechee River, a lingering testament to the
destructive power of Tropical Storm Irene, which six weeks ago swelled rivers
throughout the region and carried away homes and stores, roads and bridges.
``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.
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.
At one of the many country stores that line Route 4, Bill Curley,
39, who drove up from Duxbury, said he took his family to explore the beauty of
a gorge, but they came away more fascinated by what looked like the aftermath
of a volcanic eruption, with river runoff still marring many of the trees.
``The debris was everywhere,'' he said.
In Woodstock, Paul Mason, who for the past six years has escorted
tourists around the area on a large bus, said he has heard the camera clicks
more often this weekend when passing disaster zones than the speckled peaks.
``There's an awe that people have for watching this work get
done,'' he said.
Along Route 4 between Quechee and Mendon, the road is slow, with
flaggers directing traffic around front loaders and other heavy equipment.
Downed trees still line riverbanks. And the remnants of destroyed property are
in every town along the winding road.
Amelia Rappaport, an owner of the Woodstock Farmers' Market, which
had been submerged in more than six feet of water during the storm, partially
reopened for the first time this weekend to take advantage of all the tourists.
An estimated 3.6 million people visit Vermont each autumn,
generating about $332 million for the state.
She was selling mainly what she had left from before the storm:
T-shirts, salad dressing, wine, anything that did not get destroyed.
She tired of waiting for a check to arrive from her insurance
company, so she came up with a novel idea: She offered her regular customers a
discount on future supplies if they paid in advance.
The idea was so popular that she raised $250,000 in three weeks.
Like many in the area, she has gotten used to the idea of disaster
tourism. More people have stopped to take pictures of the flood damage at her
store than she can count.
She has even seen cars crash as they stop in front to rubberneck.
``If the leaves are crappy this year,'' she said, ``at least
there's something to look at.''
David Abel can be
reached at dabel@globe.com
