Amy explores the town of Norway in Maine and meets with adventure photographer Cait Bourgault for a hike up the spectacular White Mountains.

- It's a pretty dramatic spot.

AMY TRAVERSO: Oh, my God, this is so beautiful.

NARRATOR: In New Hampshire, Richard visits Sherman Farm for a full day of fall fun, and meets master pumpkin sculptor Moe Auger to learn his best tips and tricks for carving a prize-winning pumpkin.

- Because this is a subtractive technique, so when you're doing this, everything you cut away, you cannot put back.

NARRATOR: We end our day in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, taking in all of the beautiful fall foliage.

So come along with us for a once-in-a-lifetime journey through New England as you've never experienced it before.

A true insider's guide from the editors of Yankee magazine.

Join explorer and adventurer Richard Wiese and Yankee senior food editor Amy Traverso for behind-the-scenes access to the unique attractions that define this region.

It's the ultimate travel guide from the people who know it best.

Weekends with Yankee.

♪ ♪ TRAVERSO: When you think of Maine, you probably think of the coast.

And when you think of the White Mountains, you probably think of New Hampshire.

Well, today we are in the White Mountains of Maine.

Specifically Norway, Maine.

I'm going to be meeting with Cait Bourgault a photographer who lives in this gorgeous town.

She's going to show us around to some of her favorite spots and then we're going to take a beautiful foliage hike.

NARRATOR: Cait Bourgault is an adventure photographer whose stunning imagery captures the quiet, wild beauty of New England.

Her work can often be found in Yankee magazine, including on the cover of the recent winter issue.

This morning, she meets Amy at Café Nomad for a quick coffee before a tour of the town and a nearby hike.

TRAVERSO: Hey, Cait.

- Hello!

How's it going?

TRAVERSO: I'm good.

So good to meet you in person, because I've been such a fan of your work in the magazine.

- Oh, my gosh, thank you so much!

Welcome to Norway.

TRAVERSO: Thank you!

Well, tell me.

I'm really, totally charmed by this town.

- It's a pretty awesome town.

TRAVERSO: So tell me, how did you choose this place?

- I was living in Jackson, New Hampshire, in 2018 and started to look around for a place to buy, and real estate over there was pretty expensive, so my Zillow search just kept kind of-- it spilled over into Maine, and I was happy to come back to Maine, I'm from here.

And after my realtor showed me the house, she was like, "You need to see the downtown."

TRAVERSO: Right.

- Came here, we got coffee, and that was, that was it.

TRAVERSO: Oh, my God.

- I saw, like, how charming it was, and I just felt like this was home.

TRAVERSO: That's great.

- Yeah.

TRAVERSO: One thing that's so-- I love about these towns is there's a lot of talk about, you know, New England having these kind of increasingly older populations and... - Mm-hm.

TRAVERSO: And yet I meet all these young entrepreneurs who are, like, opening businesses or doing art or-- and it's, it's inspiring.

- Oh, yeah, yeah.

Norway has a lot of that.

The community here is really strong.

I mean, if you look around this coffee shop, there's a lot of young families.

TRAVERSO: Right!

- You know, I have a little one.

I think it's really awesome that she's going to grow up in a rural town with a strong community feel.

TRAVERSO: And you've been really active in also getting more women out into nature, in the wilderness, and hiking and things-- tell me about that.

- I mean, it's really important to me to show my daughter that she can do anything that she sets her heart out to do.

In 2015, I started a women's hiking collective with my best friend, Sarah, and that was wildly successful.

I think people just needed a little push and a little group effort to get out into the mountains.

And that was a really special part of my life, which kind of, you know, photography came along with that, because I'd photograph the hikes and people would get to see themselves truly enjoying nature and... TRAVERSO: Wow, that's great.

- Yeah.

TRAVERSO: Were you a nature photographer before you moved here, or did this place inspire your work?

- I've always been a nature photographer.

I didn't grow up outdoorsy.

When I moved to New Hampshire, for, you know, a short two years, I kind of fell in love with backcountry skiing, trail running, and that just, you know, was kind of the track that I took and tried to spend as much time in the mountains as I could.

And photography was a great way to do that.

TRAVERSO: So a lot of people, when they think about vacationing or visiting Maine, they often think of the coast-- what would you say to somebody who, you know, hasn't explored beyond that?

- Come on out!

I do love the coast.

I lived in Portland for about six or seven years.

Norway is like an hour and change from Portland.

I think it's, you know, a great space to ski, hike.

Just get away.

NARRATOR: Norway, Maine, inherited its name as a result of a clerical error.

It was originally petitioned to be called Norage, an Abenaki word for "falls."

But it was mistakenly recorded as Norway.

The name stuck.

A mill town, Norway was originally well-known for manufacturing, including the snowshoes used by Arctic explorers Robert Peary and Donald MacMillan.

Visitors were even greeted by a giant pair of snowshoes when visiting the town.

As the economy has evolved, it now offers a vibrant downtown full of boutique shops-- a perfect place to explore before hitting the trails.

TRAVERSO: Oh, The Woods!

These people own the treehouse where I'm staying tonight.

- Let's go in.

TRAVERSO: I'm so excited.

Hi!

- Hi, guys!

How are you?

TRAVERSO: You're my treehouse lady!

- Welcome to the shop.

It's so good to see you.

- Hey, Cait.

- Hey, Sam.

How's it going?

- Oh, my gosh, it's awesome to see you, welcome to the shop.

TRAVERSO: Thank you.

It feels like Maine in here.

- It is Maine in here, so we design all of our bags, apparel and home collection, and we're inspired by the woods of Maine.

And then I curate the rest of the collection with makers across the country.

TRAVERSO: Oh, my gosh, I'm seeing a million things I already want to get.

- Explore, explore, I'm so excited to have you guys.

If you have any questions, let me know.

TRAVERSO: Thank you!

♪ ♪ - So I don't know if you knew this, but Cait and I randomly met at Café Nomad years ago, and she has become one of our quintessential photographers.

So all of our iconic photos for our brand... Cait and I have worked, and it's been amazing to work together.

TRAVERSO: That's so-- these are beautiful.

- Thank you.

TRAVERSO: We're going to actually go into her territory now.

- We're going for a hike.

- Where are you guys hiking?

- Hawk Mountain.

My favorite.

- Your favorite?

Some of her most iconic shots.

- Yeah.

- Very exciting.

And then after that, any plans?

TRAVERSO: Going to the tree house.

- So we'll see you a little bit later.

TRAVERSO: Okay, great.

We'll see you.

- Awesome.

I'm looking forward to it.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

NARRATOR: Cait and Amy head off for a hike on Hawk Mountain.

The 144-acre preserve was donated to the Western Foothills Land Trust in 2016.

Two years later, the adjacent properties were added, and what has become a massive, 219-acre preserve is now protected from future development.

TRAVERSO: Is this a trail you do, like, every week?

Or...?

- I'd say in my busy season, every week for sure.

TRAVERSO: Yeah.

- Yeah, I shoot a lot of outdoor brands up here.

I also just hike it for fun with my daughter and try to bring friends and family out to see the area.

TRAVERSO: Have you done all the trails?

Like, I'm noticing some trails forking off here.

- I have done this main one and then one that we'll pass by, but this is my favorite.

It's just a quick way to the top.

TRAVERSO: Yeah.

So when we get to the top, what will we be seeing?

- We'll be looking directly at Pleasant Mountain, which is a big ski area around here.

TRAVERSO: One thing I like about this hike is you have these little bits where it's a little steeper, and then you get this nice, like, smooth... - Little breaks, yup.

Also a huge positive, yup!

(laughter) I also trail run up here, so it's nice because I can take little breaks on the flats.

TRAVERSO: Wow!

Yeah.

♪ ♪ TRAVERSO: Wow!

- It's a pretty dramatic spot.

TRAVERSO: Oh, my God!

This is so beautiful.

To me, this is peak, but I know for other people, they want to see, like, all... - This is your peak.

TRAVERSO: Yeah, this is my peak.

So can you tell me what we're looking at here?

- Yeah, so the big mountain right there is Mount Pleasant.

TRAVERSO: On the Maine side of the border, it's these mountains that are kind of leading up to the giant ones, which are on the New Hampshire side.

Is that-- okay.

- Yeah.

We still have some big ones here, though.

TRAVERSO: Yeah, yeah!

(laughs) Yeah, between, like, towns like Norway, which are so charming, and then this nature, I really want to spend more time here.

- Yeah, I mean, I think you should.

I think when I moved here from Jackson, New Hampshire, people were surprised because Jackson's such a stunning place.

TRAVERSO: Right, yeah.

- And then friends would come visit, and they would, multiple people said, "I get it now."

Like, it's, it's, a little slice of peace and quiet, but you're still an hour from Portland.

TRAVERSO: That's amazing.

- Yeah.

TRAVERSO: I mean, yeah, all the.

we have, like, Jackson, here.

We have so many beautiful places and where you can literally, like, be skiing in the morning and go surfing in the afternoon.

- Oh, yeah, yeah.

TRAVERSO: That's, like the compactness of New England is one of my favorite things.

- That's the beauty of Maine.

TRAVERSO: Yeah, absolutely.

NARRATOR: Amy ends her day in the White Mountains of Maine with some rather unique accommodations.

A treehouse.

TRAVERSO: This is beautiful.

A real tree house.

Look!

There's trees growing out!

- Isn't it amazing?

TRAVERSO: This is incredible.

So this was actually on the cover of Yankee magazine, and I've wanted to stay here since I saw that photo.

- And now you get to experience it.

TRAVERSO: It's so beautiful.

- It's stunning.

TRAVERSO: But so peaceful to be here, like, in the trees.

- Surrounded by nature.

TRAVERSO: You know, I feel like I do know the coast of Maine better, and now, because of today, I feel like I've really gotten a taste for the woods of Maine.

- Oh, yes.

TRAVERSO: Thank you so much.

- Of course!

I love showing people, you know, this area, it's so special to me.

And I just think that so much of Maine is woods and mountains, and I just want to share that with the world.

TRAVERSO: Well, you did.

You did a perfect job.

- Thank you!

♪ ♪ RICHARD WIESE: Today, we're at Sherman Farm in East Conway, New Hampshire to make pumpkin art.

You've carved a pumpkin.

I've carved a pumpkin.

But today, we're going to carve a pumpkin like you've never seen before.

NARRATOR: Richard is visiting Sherman Farm in East Conway, New Hampshire.

The farm has been family-run for four generations, evolving from a dairy operation to a family-friendly source of agri-entertainment.

WIESE: What's the history of this farm?

- My grandparents started this farm 61 years ago in 1964, and we've been farming the land ever since.

WIESE: What does agritainment mean?

- Agritainment is bringing people to the farm for an experience on the farm.

WIESE: And what's the experience they get?

- Our corn maze-- we also have a cutting garden that's open in the summer.

And then we have a petting area and play area for people to access while they're shopping.

WIESE: You know, obviously it's a paid business, but you also must get paid in smiles.

- We always say we're in the business of growing memories.

So seeing families year after year, seeing their kids grow up, and watching the smiles on their faces is the best part of what we do.

NARRATOR: Michele's mother, Kathy, gives Richard a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch, and along the way they pick up pumpkin carver extraordinaire Moe Auger.

WIESE: I understand we got to go pick a pumpkin.

- We have to go pick some pumpkins, let's go.

NARRATOR: Moe is a retired art teacher and also a sculptor and painter.

WIESE: How long have you been doing this for?

- Well, I started it about 30 years ago.

I was given a pumpkin, a 600-pound pumpkin, and asked to carve it.

And I said, "Yeah, I can do that."

WIESE: 600 pounds?

- 600 pounds, yeah.

WIESE: Oh, my gosh, and so most people, almost every person I know has carved a pumpkin, but it's, you know, you carve the top... - They carve out the pumpkin.

TRAVERSO: Yeah, you pull out the seeds, the guts, and then, you know, you make slits and then you put a candle inside.

- And I did, I did the same thing for quite a while.

And then I started to get into a three-dimensional type of carving.

WIESE: Michelangelo used to talk about when he saw a block of marble that he was releasing the image from it.

- There you go, that's pretty much what I'm trying to do as well is to kind of whatever the face is, I carve everything except for the face, and the face comes out-- so in sculpture, it would be what they call subtractive technique.

So what you're doing is you're carving, um, everything except for what you want to keep in it.

So you have to think backwards, so you have to think about what's the closest point to you, so in, in a face, which is what I mostly do, the nose is the closest point, so that's where I start.

So then I start pulling it away from there.

WIESE: Thank you for the ride.

- So for me, I have to see a face, in the pumpkin, like this one right here.

WIESE: Yeah.

-Becomes a nice face right here.

The way it sits on the table would look really nice.

I can see a nose right here shaping up into here, and the eyes and a mouth.

And maybe we'll make this a nice smile on him.

So make him more happy, more in tune with what's going on here at this farm.

So something like that.

WIESE: All right, so do you want me to... - Let's pick that one.

WIESE: All right.

So something tells me I'm doing the lifting here.

- Oh, there you go.

Now, I like that.

WIESE: All right, here we go.

Oh, my God, how much does this thing weigh?

(groans) Oh, just nothing.

Weighs nothing.

- It weighs nothing.

WIESE: It weighs nothing.

- Perfect.

NARRATOR: Richard and Moe hitch a ride back to the farm and begin to work on their pumpkin carvings.

The first step is usually to cut the top off, but Moe takes a different approach.

He removes the bottom, which preserves the stem and makes it easier to place over a candle once completed.

Removing the insides is always the messiest part.

- Everybody thinks that this is the worst part of it.

WIESE: No.

- This is the fun part.

WIESE: No, I mean, come on, this is just, uh... ...it's moisturizing your hand, let's put it that way.

You have a lot of tools here.

Either you went to dental school, or this is from an art class.

- Yep, I was a potter in, in a previous life.

And so the tools that I'm using are pottery tools.

So this tool right here, once we have our drawing done, we'll do a drawing with marker first.

And then we're going to use this tool here to line it, be able to kind of outline the areas where we want to scrape away.

WIESE: Okay.

So now we're again looking at the face of here.

You said you'll start marking it with a marker?

- Yup.

WIESE: Okay.

- So we'll take this.

So in my drawings, only to tell me where to put the mark, so it's I don't need to bake anything real fancy.

It's more of just like, I know that there's a nose.

I know that there's a, you know?

The eyes are going to be in this area in here, and I need to know where they are in proportion to the, to the pumpkin itself.

So I said earlier that, you know, maybe we'll do something that has this big, goofy smile.

WIESE: Right.

- Okay, so we'll have kind of a big, goofy smile.

So we're going to make that line coming in here.

We need to make these lines, which are the really important ones, so you have the lines of your nose, but you also have these lines here.

And then we're going to put our eyes in here.

Okay, so we have the eyebrows and everything else.

So all it's telling me is where to make the cuts.

NARRATOR: Moe helps Richard outline the face of his pumpkin.

The next step is to remove material, giving form and dimension to the line drawing.

- The trick to doing this is to do it little bits at a time so you don't take big chunks of this off.

WIESE: Right, because it's hard to put it back.

- That's exactly right, because this is a subtractive technique.

So when you're doing this, everything you cut away, you cannot put back.

WIESE: Okay.

- Yep.

So that's the right idea.

So take this right out.

NARRATOR: While Moe continues to work on his pumpkin, Richard meets up with Michele to visit their dairy cows.

WIESE: So you know the names of some of these.

So this one's Crew, huh?

- This is Crew.

Cows are a lot like dogs, they definitely know their people.

WIESE: Yeah, they like to sniff.

- And they... (cow moos) ...they know when someone's not their normal person.

WIESE: And will they, you know, if I scratch her a little.

- She would love that.

(cows mooing) Good girl.

WIESE: Wow, this is a vocal group.

- Yes.

Well, their food is being harvested right now, and I'm sure they can smell the fresh grass.

Everything that they need to eat, we raise right here on the farm, with the exception of a few minerals that we can't provide them with through their food.

We feel that corn is an instrumental part of their diet, and it also helps keep them warm in the winter.

The energy from the corn is something that kind of burns the furnace in their belly, which is what keeps them warm.

WIESE: Speaking of corn, I understand you have one of the most amazing corn mazes in all of New England.

- Yes, we do.

Yankee magazine voted us best corn maze in New England in 2019.

WIESE: Yes, we are, as you say, with confidence-- okay.

Let's go check it out.

Okay, here we go, everybody, ready?

All at once.

Ready?

Go.

(laughs) - You got one.

WIESE: Hey, come on, everybody.

On cue.

Ready?

One, two, three.

Moo.

(cow moos) - You got one.

WIESE: Gosh.

NARRATOR: Before venturing into the corn maze, Richard checks back in with Moe, who has made some headway.

WIESE: Ready?

- Yep.

That's amazing.

This is art on a pumpkin.

It truly does take Moe guts to carve pumpkins.

And your best advice for someone wanting to do this?

- Just practice, practice, practice, practice, and you'll get better.

WIESE: Thank you so much.

NARRATOR: The Sherman Farm corn maze covers 12 acres, more than enough to keep Richard busy for quite some time.

How long until he finds his way out will depend on him.

WIESE: This is the famous corn maze.

- This is it.

WIESE: So how long, if I'm good, will it take me to get through it?

- About an hour and 15 minutes if you're good.

WIESE: And if I'm bad?

- A few days?

We'll find... WIESE: A few days, okay.

When did you guys start putting the corn maze here?

- So we are in our 18th season.

So we started in 2007 and we did the New Hampshire state quarter as our first-ever corn maze.

And we've just evolved ever since.

WIESE: Okay, so any hints for me to go through there?

- So a lot of people say if you keep your left hand on the corn.

WIESE: Yeah?

- But I'm just going to tell you, good luck.

WIESE: Uh-oh, okay.

Good luck.

All right, guys, I will see you, um... I will see you in an hour.

♪ ♪ Oh, my gosh.

I am so happy to see you.

- You made it.

WIESE: I did make it.

- Corn-gratulations.

WIESE: I know.

I have to admit... at certain points, I was a little, ah, where am I going?

But you sort of figure it out and it's a lot of fun.

- It is a lot of fun.

WIESE: Well, thank you for being so kind and patient and waiting as long as you did.

- It's only been a couple days.

WIESE: (laughs) Yeah, exactly.

Thank you very much.

- Thank you.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Heading into New Hampshire's White Mountains region, we explore some of the best ways to experience peak fall foliage.

From gondola rides and apple picking to train rides across this iconic landscape.

- Fall in the White Mountains, it has its own identity.

- Everybody's coming up here for the colors.

That's the trigger for fall.

- Probably the best time of year up here.

It's perfect weather.

It is beautiful.

I mean, everything changes so quickly here, and it's just, it's scenery you don't see anywhere else in the country.

And everything you've seen in the magazines, the movies, TV show, it's real when fall hits.

♪ ♪ - Loon in the fall offers a really unique experience.

We have the scenic gondola skyride that brings you up over 2,000 vertical feet to the summit.

We have the Summit Cafe, which offers great views, snacks for the family to kind of sit down and enjoy.

We have great lookout points as well.

And then we also have downhill mountain biking, over 14 miles of downhill terrain, so kind of offers an on-ground experience to take in that fall feel.

I've lived here my entire life, but I'm still in awe every time the colors change.

There's also a lot to do in New Hampshire in the fall.

There's apple picking, pumpkin patches, and really a lot of different scenic views to take in.

- At Windy Ridge orchard, we have 2,500 apple trees.

We're in the heart of the White Mountain area.

- The orchard itself is about 20 acres, and we have about 16 to 18 varieties of apples.

- We have people here that come to pick apples, but they'll just spend the day here because they can walk through the orchards and have something to eat and just relax and enjoy the weather and the atmosphere.

Everyone comes for the donuts, definitely.

- The kids love to be outdoors, being part of nature.

(train whistle blows) - Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Welcome aboard the Granite State Railway.

This is your conductor speaking, my name is Collin.

I get a lot of comments saying this place is beautiful.

Everyone comes here to see the wilderness and just to see the beauty of northern New Hampshire.

I've grown up in New Hampshire, so just having other people say this place is beautiful means a lot to me, actually.

(train horn blowing) - What we work towards here for the guests at the Mountain View Grand is that we try to stay true to everything that was 160 years ago, true, and when people came here, they came to escape.

They came to be pampered, and they came to enjoy the outdoors.

We have cider making.

We also have goats and llamas and alpacas and some mules.

They're mainly there for the entertainment of the guests.

We do pride ourselves in giving them a great life, and they have a unique life because they're not just in a pen.

Our llamas are set up to carry your bags around the golf course.

The golf course has been in its current state since the early 1900s.

It's nine holes and it's a great play.

You know, having the llama caddies is kind of a fun amenity to it as well.

You know, we're not meant to be a completely serious golf because we do intend to make it so that it's approachable for all of our guests.

Autumn and fall are a really special time for myself and my family, and it's probably somewhat the colors.

It's also the fact that the hikes, you know, our still great climate.

And so it's really about the area.

- I drove through the Notch last weekend, which arguably might have been peak weekend, and it was like someone took a yellow crayon and just scribbled the whole entire Notch, it was so vibrant and yellow.

It was gorgeous.

Rek-Lis Brewing is a little bit of everything.

We're a brewery.

We are an event space.

We are a bar, a tasting room.

We're kind of a community center at some point.

So we are kind of this business that employs a lot of people in Bethlehem and brings a lot of people to town.

And we offer an experience for everyone that comes through the door.

If you've been here more than a dozen times, you probably still haven't seen everything here.

So it's a place to discover.

There's just kind of like a change in the air and, like, the smell.

Like, you can kind of just tell, like, the leaves are turning.

And I always say to my wife, like, you know, it's like fall around here, you kind of see that first leaf hit the ground that's a different color.

And you go, it's here.

It is, it's fall.

In about three weeks, it's gonna all look like that.

Whatever it is that you like to do outdoors, this is the place to do it.

From big mountains to, you know, cute little towns that you don't find anywhere else.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪