Camping on Top of the World

162 miles north, through the White Mountains of New Hampshire, across the Connecticut River that separates the Granite State from the Green Mountain State, and north, all the way north.

We pass the marker for the 45th parallel and find ourselves equidistant from both the North Pole and the Equator. Then, as the language on the highway signs shifts from English-only to English/French, and Canada beckons, we take the last exit before the border crossing: Derby, Vermont. We follow winding roads to a dirt road, up a hill, to fields full of lavender and sunflowers.

It is there, at Lavender Essentials of Vermont, we’ve decided to spend a day in the sun and a night in our van under the vast sky.

We walked the rings of the lavender labyrinth and among the sunflowers growing against the backdrop of Vermont’s mountain peaks.

My camera poised ever at the ready, I kept stopping to take in the uniqueness of each flower, how each—in its own way—opened itself to the sky, soaking in the summer’s heat and bending toward the sun’s rays.

This is the kind of place where you feel like you’ve glimpsed heaven on earth. Everywhere I looked: a vista inviting us to get lost inside its beauty and a photograph waiting to be made.

With our views stretching beyond Vermont and into Canada, we watched as the sun set behind the mountain peaks, casting its rays upon the field and turning everything to gold.