BETHEL, Maine – You know you’ve found a worthy fall colors spot when you plan to go far in a day but don’t go far at all.

On my first day in the mountains of western Maine last October, I planned to hit three stops – three places to soak in the tall reds, yellows and oranges – while passing nearly 100 miles in my rental car. I made one of those stops and crossed about 20 miles.

The one place was Caribou Mountain, just east of the New Hampshire border, on a lovely little driving loop southwest of Bethel, a lovely little western Maine town of 2,400. I figured I would spend an hour there – 30 minutes in and 30 minutes out – before moving on to the next bit of fall beauty. But when I learned there was a 6.5-mile loop traveling to the top of Caribou Mountain, and the opportunity to walk through the color, then look down at it, I had to do it.