Time Out in Maine: Day Trip to Sharon, Vermont

Our trip to Sharon, Vermont, the birthplace of the prophet Joseph Smith, was probably the highlight of our vacation for me. We made the 6-hour round-trip drive from Maine to Vermont in one day, and had an amazing time enjoying the scenery and taking in the history and spirit of the place where the prophet of the Restoration was born.

We took the scenic route through the White Mountain National Forest.

Letting the wind blow through my hair. It was a gloriously beautiful day.

A New England style home in the heart of Sharon that I thought was quaintly beautiful. I love the fall colors and the pumpkins by the door. I noticed that New England homes often have some sort of adornment in front of their door, like a pot of flowers or something. I guess they don't use their front doors much back there.
Driving from Sharon to the visitor's center.

This is the area around the visitor's center. We walked through the woods to see the site where Lucy Mack Smith and Joseph Smith, Sr. had their home.
This is next to the Smith's home site. It was apparently a major road or highway back in the day. The short rock wall to the left of the current road is an indication of that.
There is a large hill, now known as Patriarch Hill, that was part of their farm.
We hiked to the top of Patriarch Hill. The missionaries at the visitor's center told us to look for this tree (below). They call it the witness tree because of all that it has been through and seen over many, many years.
At the top of Patriarch Hill looking out over the beautiful countryside.
It's interesting and awe-inspiring to me to think about what Joseph Smith's early life must have been like. I am so grateful that we got to visit the place where he was born on a cold December morning in 1805. And to think, "Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it" (Doctrine and Covenants 135:3).