Leaf Peeping--Chapter 1

Kerry and I really enjoy taking a driving tour in fall in search of fall colors. A couple of years ago we dicovered the beautiful colors of Michigan and so when it started to rain, back at the end of September and put harvest and other farm work on hold, we decided to go for a drive. After checking the internet and finding that the colors in Michigan were already good, we packed up the car and headed out late on Wednesday afternoon. The first night we got to Thief River Falls, MN. Not so much color yet but we also enjoy seeing how the farming is going in different areas. We spent the night at the 7 Clans Casino but avoided the casino. The nest morning we continued on our journey east, through Duluth and on and the colors started to improve. The first glimpse of a beautiful red or orange maple tree is always exciting to us. Our destination for this day was Ironwood , Michigan.

On our drive, we saw the signage directing us to Copper Falls, WI. Kerry had seen something about this during his research at home and so we made a bit of a detour and took in this park. The colors were not so vivid here yet, but we saw enough to satisfy us. What we did find though was a beautiful walking trail along a river, and that allowed us to view different sets of waterfalls. The trail was beautifully maintained and had lovely paved trails and stairs at places. It was a great hike and we really enjoyed our stop.

One set of falls we were able to see.

A different set of falls or rapids along the trail.

We realized as we walked that the river was running in two different directions and after a while we came upon this site, where the waters come together and make their way through the rocks , to flow on together . After we had taken in our fill of the scenery, and hiked far enough, we continued on to Ironwood, where we found a room for the night , enjoyed a gorgeous fall evening, and relaxed, and looked forward to gorgeous scenery and colors for tomorrow.