Fall Foliage Excursion 2017

We decided to take a trip across the state to see the fall colors this year.  Actually, we decided to do this way back in the early spring.  We picked the date and have been protecting it from schedule conflicts all summer only to have it arrive and get rained out.  So we just moved it back a week.  And as it was, it was still pretty "iffy" as we watched the weather forecast as the weekend approached.  The forecast said it wasn't suppose to rain until later in the afternoon so we decided to take a chance and make the trip.  And at the last minute we also threw in a stop at a sky resort that hosts a fall foliage event each year.  They let you ride their chair lift up to the top of the hill and back and see all the fall colors along the way.

The day arrived and, because this was just the first stop, we decided we wanted to get there pretty much at opening time.  Good thing we did.  We got there and there was already quite a line.  Apparently this is a pretty popular event each year.

Finally we reached the front of the line and bought our lift tickets.  Ours were yellow because we got on at the bottom of the hill.  Had we got on at the top they would have been green.  That gives you the option of getting off and looking around, and then getting back on for the second half of the ride.  That's what we did.

So we got out passes and finally were able to get on the chair lift.  Its been a long time since I rode a chairlift.  The last time was when I was on my mission, in Germany.  We rode a chairlift up a mountain to a small castle that was at the top but that's another story.

The ride up the hill took probably 5 or 10 minutes and it was really pretty, slowly floating passed all those trees.  It was so quiet.

At the top we got off so we could look around.  Blaubeere's oldest, Hero, went with us.  That was fun.

We found some rocks to climb on.

Lots of those.  And all set in the middle of a park, lots and lots of trees, lots and lots of colors.

And lots and lots of rocks to climb on.  This park had fun rocks all over it.

Lots and lots of rocks for climbing.

There was also a pretty tall observation tower in the park, 60 feet up to the top, 96 steps. And a spectacular view of all the colors all around in all directions.

Any direction you look, as far as you could see, the foliage was in full color.  If it was not peak colors it was only just barely passed.

Any direction was really pretty.

It was an amazing sight, to see all those trees with all their leaves in full color.

Down off the tower there were lots of trails through the trees to hike around.

Trails that lead up and over rocks, all set in the amazing colors.

Even though there were lots of people wandering around the park on the trails and roads, it still didn't feel crowded.  A lot of the time it felt like we were to only ones there.

And even without being up on the tower, because the whole park is set on top of a good sized hill, there were still some very nice views.

Finally we decided it was time to head back down the hill.  So back to the chairlift and down we went.  This time we had a real good view out over the city by the hill.

Then it was off to the next stop, lunch.  We drove to the small city of Omega to the place we'd decided to have lunch, a small cafe in the middle of town.

The cafe gets its name from the fact that it sits next to the Pine Line Trail.  Not a state trail but still one that is on an abandon railroad line.  I had looked to see if there was anything of particular interest along the trial but hadn't seen anything.

This was an interesting cafe.  As we parked and walked toward the building we weren't entirely sure the place was open, or even still in business. There wasn't a whole lot of activity around. But it was decorated for Halloween and at the door we saw the "open" sign and went on in.  It turned out to be really good.  The building originally was the general store years before.  Now it was a pretty nice little cafe.

When I saw they had Reuben sandwiches I knew what I wanted.  And it was really good.

And they were all decorated for Halloween, too.  That was nice.

After a leisurely lunch we headed for Timms Hill, which is supposed to be a really good place to see the colors from.  There turned out to be a bonus, too!  The little road, where you turn off the main highway, is designated as Rustic Road 62.  A narrow, scenic little road that was densely surrounded with trees growing right up to the shoulder of the road.  All of them in full color. There are over a hundred of these little rustic roads all over the state, each of them very nice, pretty little roads.

Timms Hill is set in a small county park and also has an observation tower.  You just have to hike 300 feet up the tallest hill in the state to get to it.  So we made the hike.

One nice thing about the hike is they had a few benches along the way for those that need or just want to stop and take a break.  We stopped for the photo op.

Here and there the trail was marked by some short rail fences.

A funny thing happened as we were on our way up the hill.  We had been trying all morning to call Erdbeere's house, her oldest was having a birthday on this day.  We had called and left a couple of messages, left a happy birthday song on his daddy's voice mail, but just hadn't been able to connect with them.  Then, quite unexpectedly, they called back while we were hiking up the hill.  I was amazed that we got enough signal to get the call, being out in the middle of nowhere and all.  But the call came through so we stood there in the forest, surrounded by trees, and sang to him again and wished him a happy birthday.

Then it was on further up the hill, to the top.

Hiking through the woods - really nice.

This tower was the same height as the other way but its a bit up higher on the hill than the other one. 96 more steps to the top and we made it!

And once again we were rewarded with a spectacular view.

So we spent a little while at the top, soaking in the marvelous view.

Being a little farther north the colors were a little farther along, a little passed peak.  But still really nice.

If you know where to look, they say you can see the first tower we climbed from the top of the tower on Timms Hill.  I guess I didn't know which way to look.  But then again, I didn't spend a lot of time looking for it.

Back down from the tower we signed the guest register and made the hike back down the hill.  We didn't leave any too soon.  As we were making our way down the trail back to the car the rain finally started.  It had been kind enough to hold off all morning but now it started up.  Not real heavy, at least not at first, which was probably a good thing considering the trail was all leaf covered and would have gotten pretty slick once the leaves got good and wet.  By the time it started getting heavy we were in the car and on our way home.

Then there was the drive back home, with a stop at our favorite ice cream place, of course.  It was a very good day.  I am always amazed at the colors around here in this part of the country.  We need to make this an annual thing, a Fall Foliage Excursion!