A Warm Autumn

With temps in the high 70's and 80's it sure hasn't felt like Autumn this past week. That hasn't stopped the leaves from turning colors and littering the ground though.


I spent a lot of time exploring some of my favorite places looking for fall photo opportunities this past week. One of those places is a little state natural area outside of Baraboo called Pewit's Nest. I was there on Monday for a while, and again on Thursday morning for 4 hours. Pewit's Nest is a beautiful area and when you visit during the week, you will most likely have the place to yourself. The weekends get quite a bit busier as can be expected.


After leaving Pewit's Nest I decided to go to Mirror Lake State Park. I had only been there once before to do some hiking with some friends. That trip was not all that much fun do to the mosquitoes, but this trip proved to be much better. This time I took my kayak and explored the lake instead of the trails. There were mallards all along the shore on the end of the lake where the beach is. The combination of the evergreens mixed with the changing leaves of the hardwood trees along the narrow sandstone bluffs made for a very pretty paddle.


My next stop after leaving Mirror Lake was Devil's Lake State Park. I wasn't sure what I wanted to explore at Devil's Lake so I drove though the park to see what I could see. I drove down a dead end gravel road on the edge of the park that I had never been on before. The light was still a bit harsh for photography but I love autumn scenes of colorful trees that overhang a deserted road.


As the shadows started to get longer, I knew it was time to get out of the truck and do some exploring on foot. I headed up the west bluff trail in search or a great vantage point to photograph the colors on the east bluff. I wasn't disappointed.


I was also keeping an eye out for the more subtle signs of fall.


After hiking back down from the west bluff I noticed some people enjoying the unseasonably warm weather out on the lake.


As the evening went on, I watched the shadows creep up the face of the east bluff as the sun slowly sank below the horizon to the west. With the last warm rays of light highlighting the rock outcroppings on the east bluff, it was time to head for home, after a couple more photos of course.