We recently asked Gadling readers to tell us where they find the best fall colors. As expected, no two answers were the same. No matter where you are in the US or Canada, you're probably not very far away from a vibrant autumn.

Some of our reader picks were:

• New Hampshire's White Mountains -- New England is certainly renowned for its fall colors, and Gadling readers agree. The hikes in this area are spectacular any time of year, but climb a mountain in the fall and you'll be treated to leafy fireworks in the valleys below you. For vacation information in New Hampshire, try this website.
  
• Reader Marilyn casts her vote for Connecticut -- Staying in New England for now, Connecticut also boasts a beautiful fall. This is also a great place to visit if you love to check out old architecture. Being here can feel like walking through the pages of a history book.
• Don't discount the south! Several readers backed me up when I said Virginia has some of the best leaves around. The best hiking and views are in and around the Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but a couple of Gadlingites suggest the view from Thomas Jefferson's plantation, Monticello, and I have to agree... Even though my heart belongs to the Hokies, no one can argue against the beauty of the University of Virginia grounds, of which you'll get a lovely view from Jefferson's home.
• Going still farther south, reader Dick recommends a visit to Lookout Mountain, offering spectacular views of Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. While you're there, go underground to see Ruby Falls, America's deepest cave and largest underground waterfall accessible to the public.
• Northeast Canada received a few votes from our readers. A reader recommends the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton for some of the best leaf peeping.
  
• Donna recommends a visit to Hiram, Ohio for the best leaves. She says she's compared it to the south as well as New England, which are no match. Not exactly a bustling metropolis, Hiram could be a wonderful place for a quiet fall getaway.
• Skipping now to the left coast, Gael calls Northeast Washington state "one of the best kept secrets in the U.S." Her highest recommendation is for Pend Oreille County for its scenery and history.
• Certain Oregonians wonder why we East Coasties call our hills "mountains." For real mountains and valleys, and truly spectacular fall colors, they say, nothing beats the Cascades in Oregon. I'll be able to speak to the truth of this soon enough -- I'm spending October in Oregon, and I hope what they've been telling me is true!
  
• Finally, a dark horse candidate for best fall foliage comes from our own Jamie Rhein, who says the aspen trees in the mountains of New Mexico make for the most gorgeous autumn.
  

If you've got more suggestions, we'd still love to hear them. You can also share your favorite fall foliage photos with us in the Gadling Pool on Flickr.

I think the best way to enjoy fall foliage is to hike right through it. My husband is already drawing up hiking routes for us for our time in Bend, Oregon, and also at Mount Hood, and I've never been more excited about a walk. To find a great hike near you or your vacation destination, check out Intelligent Traveler's "Walk Into America" series, featuring a list of reader favorites.

Whenever there's a list of cities or neighborhoods like the ones that are dying or thriving the most, I flip through them looking for a connection.

I was surprised to find one on the list of Top-Earning Towns. It's not where I generally hang out--trust me, I couldn't even afford to live in a garage there, but I've been to New Canaan, Connecticut several times. It's the town near to where relatives of mine used to live until last year when they headed for new digs in North Carolina.

When I think of New Canaan, and the area around it, I don't think of big houses, but of a place where country roads still wind through woods of enormous trees edged by stone walls.

Sure there are big houses, but the area has retained the beauty of the natural environment. New Canaan, described on a realty company's Web site as evoking images of a Norman Rockwell painting, is a place where people's clothes are pressed. There is even a park called Bliss Park where the New Canaan Nature Center is located.

Besides visiting the town, this is a region of the U.S. to see fall foliage, and take in fruit and vegetable stands and antique stores along the way. This is also the land of small white churches with graveyards of weathered tombstones on gentle slopes of hillsides. Picturesque with a capital P.

If you're ever in Westport, Connecticut (home of Martha Stewart and other moguls), check out this see-to-be-believed collectibles shop, though it's not technically open to the public.

Run by 48-year-old John Reznikoff, University Archives holds the world's largest collection of hair from celebrities. Oh, and they also have priceless artifacts like a cosmonaut suit, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and one of Monica Lewinsky's dresses :-).

My New York Times piece about John centers mainly around his hair collection and the growing interest in this strange--but lucrative--hobby. If you have any questions, shoot me a comment below and I'll be happy to answer your questions. Read the full story here or pull out a copy of The New York Times Sunday Style section tomorrow morning at the breakfast table.

New Haven, Connecticut has a bad rep. To most, it's at best a town you travel through on your way between Boston and New York. But as I've written recently in my travel series on New Haven, the town has experienced a tremendous renaissance in the last decade. And there's one phenomenon here that you won't find anywhere else. Read on:

There's a dirty little secret tucked into a corner of my basement, one that I share with the few dozen students who live in the Elizabethan manor of Rosenfeld Hall. It's the residential annex of Timothy Dwight, one of twelve residential colleges here at Yale. Though most of them go about their day, reading in the mahogany piano room to the right of the foyer or perhaps chuckling in "CSTD 340: Writing Comedy for Film and TV," which meets Thursdays in a small auditorium to the left, clueless that a secret society rests right beneath their feet.

There's Ryan, who politely listened as I gestured wildly (and at one point baited her with a mention of dead bodies and a sacrificial goat here and there), but after a minute promptly went back to her art history textbook. There's Caio, a roommate who was more interested in the etymology of Saint Elmo, the society behind the crypt, than fancying the possibility that pagan rituals and plots to rig the 2008 presidential election may be unfolding as we spoke. And then there's Karen, the Timothy Dwight master's assistant, who was a bit confused by the whole thing. "Really, we have a basement in RH? No kidding?"

Against the backdrop of a crispy clear afternoon in early September, I eagerly wait to see the historic Yale boathouse at the head of the Housatonic River in Derby, Connecticut, the training grounds for over 150 years of athletes, scholars, and gentlemen. As I ride the big yellow school bus to Gilder Boathouse in Derby with the other rowers, the pure energy and anticipation of catching a glimpse of this mystic place reached a crescendo.

Taking a deep breath and snapping out of a daydream of gliding across the finish line two lengths ahead of Harvard, I take my first step off the bus and raise my head. In front of me looms a sprawling wooden complex that resembles a canoe tipped over. I immediately likened the awe-inspiring boathouse to a huge Viking ceremonial hall. I easily imagine the walls carved from the undisturbed beauty of Scandinavian forests, the hanging tapestry exotic treasures from raids across the sea. We were contemporary Vikings marching towards the battle against the unforgiving currents of the Housatonic. Along the way, I hear a few grunts and wild yells, perhaps paralleling the Viking stereotype too well.

I just wrote my first New York Times piece, which came out yesterday. It's about an island that practically no one knows exists. But it's not even really an island (see the article).

There's a photographer who's doing some cool work capturing modern life on this little piece of history, which is right off the coast of Connecticut. Take a look, and if you're interested in his work, here's his website.

Please forward the article on the NYTimes.com to anyone interested!

The leaves haven't started to change in Columbus, Ohio-- yet, but they will--soon. This morning the air was crisp and cool. Yep, leaf changing conditions are here, and I expect edges of red will appear in a couple of weeks until eventually there will be bursts of color everywhere. If you are interested in optimum leaf peeping, plan a bit a head. Instead of taking a driving trip for fall splendor viewing, consider taking a train. There are several that pass through gorgeous scenery in various parts of the U.S.

Each of these trains I've listed specifically mention fall foliage. I've picked these because I've been to the areas where they are located-- not necessarily in the fall, but they are places I've enjoyed and recommend. Here is a link to an article that lists oodles more--some I've also been to, and others I have not. Who would have thought there is such a bounty of scenic railroads? (The photo is from the Catskill Railroad Web site.)

I have a confession to make. I am a literary memorabilia junkie. Yes, I like to go to famous writers' houses and see how they lived, what inspired them (Kafka), how they partied (Twain) and try to figure out what made them commit suicide (Hemingway). Is this going to make me a better writer? I doubt it. But it always gets me motivated to sit down and actually write. And, as many of you know, that is half the battle.

Anyway, should any of you share my passion for writers, I will occasionally make a recommendation for a place/birthplace to visit. As a kick off to my "Literary Gadling", I picked one that's easy: the Mark Twain house in Hartford, Connecticut. Not only is it a beautiful Victorian mansion, but visiting the house makes you get a good insight into Twain's happy personality. It made me realize I need to drastically increase my entertainment budget if I ever want to become a good writer.

And since Twain was probably America's most productive quote machine, here is one to leave you with:

"It was wonderful to find America, but it would have been more wonderful to miss it." Mark Twain