On our way home we stopped by the Bragg Family Sugar House where Maple Sap is turned into Maple Syrup in early spring. For the best quality the nights need to be 20 degrees and the day 40 degrees. The time for collecting the sap is only about 4 to 6 weeks. When the trees begin to bud out the syrup gets bitter and the gathering time is over for the season. It takes 9 gallon of sap to make one gallon of syrup. At the Bragg operation the sap is brought into the sugarhouse on 4-wheelers. It is piped into the vats that are heated with wood. The sap is boiled until it is just the right consistency. There are grades of maple syrup. The first sap to be processed in the spring is the top grade and as outside temperatures rise the grades change. The way they determine what grades the syrup is is by color. The very last syrup produced has a