Fall Colors in Wisconsin

It's that time of year again. The bright yellows are everywhere, the shimmering orange and every so often those brilliant reds that demarcate the season. Now where was it so obvious as on my recent trip to Wisconsin! Just look at the way the colors combine together to give one chills down one's spine!

Luckily there is another show going on to take a look at while one is stopped for seasonal road work. The leaves were at their peak of color as I drove home from my Film and History conference.

 

I stopped at a rest stop that promised a scenic overlook. It was a location famous in the past for its abundance of passenger pigeons.

The sign promised an overlook, but it turned out not to be obvious where exactly that was. Then I noticed a little trail that led up a hill and through the woods. There were some absolutely gorgeous spots along the way.

 

I followed the path and it kept curving and leading upwards.

Some of the colors were as rich as I saw the whole trip.

 

 

Eventually the path led to a board walk, but it still continued upward.

And on I climbed

 

Luckily the journey is as important as the goal. When I arrived at the top, I discovered that the trees had grown up around the look out and so it was hard to tell there was an overlook. By standing on a bench on my toe tips and zooming the lens between two of the overgrown trees, I was able to snap this picture.

The roadside had even more beautiful colors.

 

Going around a curve you could look off in the distance and see colors across the huge panorama.

It was pretty amazing!

Even so, what made my heart skip a beat wasn't the colorful trees...

It was the capitol building in St. Paul that meant I was getting close to home!

Last Day on the Road

Trying to find a hotel on the road can certainly be a hit or miss affair. This time we had a hit. We found an inexpensive hotel that had been recently remodeled, was clean and very pleasant. We even got to swim and use the hot tub/whirl pool. What a nice experience after a long day on the road. We even had a refrigerator and microwave!

The next day we got to see a Mary Kay pink cadillac. I don't know why, but that always gives me a good feeling! We saw lots of them in Texas back in the day, but to see one in Wisconsin was a blast from the past.

Another fun event is passing the water park in the Wisconsin Dells. I don't know why they call it the Kalahari, but they do.

It says "All Indoor" (which allows them to use it more than one day a year, but there are all these pipes out side - so I guess they have to heat them to keep the water from freezing.)

I promised Fall colors too - so here is a series of shots of some of the Wisconsin scenery.

Some areas we drove through were absolutely stunning.

We were fortunate enough to have some sun too!

Here are those rock formations.

These trees need another few weeks, before they will be colorful, I guess.

Don't forget to compare these Fall colors to the ones my husband kept pointing out in the previous blog entry! (wink!)

And then we were in Hudson and after that we had the welcome and familiar sight of Minneapolis.