I NEEDED to get outside to play hooky today!!! So…

Today was a beautiful “summer” day with blue skies, fluffy white clouds & a gentle breeze. Perfect for exploring Illinois Beach State Park… one of the most under-rated & unknown state parks in Illinois. They’ve recently done a LOT of renovations throughout the park… including new breakwaters & thousands of tons of brand new sand!!! And yet, you can hike & explore all day long and only see a couple people along the way. It’s a well-kept secret… shhh, don’t tell anyone!

Fall is here… and ORANGE is my favorite color! So I’m excited that my back porch has taken on a new autumn appearance! Thanks to the folks at ART IN THE BARN who decorate the art fair grounds with mums, pumpkins & gourds…and then sell them off at the end as a fundraiser for the hospital auxiliary board. I was there for it… I mean… ORANGE !!!

Celebrating a little Texture Tuesday with these great bi-color leaves. No idea what they are… most likely a weed… as they’re growing along the railroad tracks across from Lillstreet Art Center!

Ohhh, that color though!!! Just a crazy pop of color on “that one special tree” along my morning bike route. As much as I’m grasping for Summer to last longer… this tree is pretty AMAZING!!!

Beautiful color… but FAR too soon!!! I’m still desperately trying to hang onto Summer!!!
Officially we have three more days of Summer… no need to jump too fast into Fall.

The first of many falling soon… but not too soon I hope!

Beautiful day for an art fair! Here’s the view from… errr, “above” my tent!!!

So we woke up Friday morning in Fairbanks with a plan… to go find MOOSE!!!

There was a workshop “Meet & Greet” Potluck Dinner planned for later that night. So we had a good day to go see some nature, do some hiking, get some photos & hopefully find some MOOSE!!!

Theresa’s plan was to drive us down Chena Hot Springs Road to see what we could along the way. There are so many ponds, creeks, rivers, swamps, forests, moss, mushrooms… all of them ideal for a moose to be hanging out in. It was slightly overcast, misty & rainy at times, but so beautiful! This was more of the Alaska I expected. But I will say… I was surprised by all of the flowers everywhere??? Again, as an unknowing Midwesterner, I must admit I kinda thought Alaska was always cold & frequently covered with snow!!! Who knew is was no nice in the summer with flowers everywhere??? Not me.

And the wildlife scorecard?…
two scrawny squirrels, some ducks… and still NO MOOSE!!

As I’ve been going through all of my photos from Alaska, it has taken me quite a while to edit them down & prepare them to start posting. But I think I’m finally ready!!! And what better way to start than with another little “teaser”?… and a fun game?!

I had a wonderful adventure up in Alaska for my Pottery Workshop with the Fairbanks Potters Guild. Followed by some great travels afterwards with my new Alaskan potter-friend Theresa. And there “might” just be a trail of fortune cookies waiting to be found along my route… hiking all over & driving from Fairbanks, through Denali National Park to Wasilla, Whittier, Portage Glacier, Seward & Anchorage! Some are easier to find than others… but here are some “visual clues” to help! And then as I start posting more photos, there might be even more “clues” in the posts that follow! Giddy-up…

Continuing on a theme… a sweet moment after this morning’s rain.
A small butterfly getting a little snack from a shaggy pink flower blossom.