Okay, so I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that I don’t get a lot of sunsets.
Generally, I find that all of the buildings, posts & wires kind of get in the way
of a good sunset photo. Well, the crazy weather coming off of Hurricane Sandy
gave us a really incredible sunset tonight. The colors were so incredible…
especially the “layered” effects. So I had to make an exception… and found that
with a little extra effort, you can get a pretty good sunset picture from the
third floor of Lillstreet Art Center. Who knew?!

So the morning sky was spotted with clouds. And a little windy that usual…
okay, a LOT windier. And they’ve already been talking about how much worse tomorrow
is going to be! They’re saying that Hurricane Sandy is “sharing” some of it’s punch here in
Chicago as it devastates the East Coast. They’re getting pummeled… and we’re getting windy
& crashing waves! So instead of another beautiful sunrise morning, I was more intrigued by
the waves as they were crashing in and “exploding” over the sides. So much fun trying to
“catch” the picture, but not get caught by the waves! No one wants to be soaking wet
for the headwind ride home!

Time it right… and sometimes you catch a good one… like this one that almost got me!!!

And we’ll see what’s up for tomorrow. As the hurricane is predicted to hit land on the
East Coast, they’re also predicting that the wind & weather in Chicago will be worse too.
There’s already been talk of them possibly closing down Lake Shore Drive… as well as
the lakefront bike trail! Say it isn’t so…

We woke up this morning with a sign on the cabin’s patio door windows! Apparently,
after we had gone to bed, my parents decided to put the signs on the window! Too cute!

And the morning kept getting better… with yet another beautiful sunrise over Moccasin Lake.

Followed by a fun birthday breakfast for Julie in Lake Tomahawk. A great way to start our day
before heading over to Amy’s for the start of the final day of ART DETOUR.

So we finally made it to Pigeon Road… and set up our booths pretty quickly. Then, before
the customers began to arrive, Wendy, Julie and I decided to go out on a quick “field trip”
to see more of the Northwoods and do a little GeoCaching at the same time! Neither of
them had done it before – but both were eager to try! So I checked my iPhone app and saw
that there was a GeoCache hidden somewhere near the boat landing of Horsehead Lake.

We followed the hints & compass on my phone and it lead us towards this tree. Upon closer
examination, I found the GeoCache tucked neatly in the crook of the tree. So we opened it up,
signed to log scroll and left behind one of Amy’s new buttons! It may have been their first
GeoCache find… but now both Julie & Wendy are hooked!!!

We made it back to Pigeon Road Pottery before any of the customers got there for
ART DETOUR. You know how Sundays are always a slow start at the art fairs.
What with church, brunch, hangovers, whatever…

It was another long day playing outside with customers. Two of my new favorites actually
returned with a homemade peach cobbler to keep us warm! Thank you Jean & Tony!!!

The end of the day, and the end of ART DETOUR, was signaled by the Oktoberfest clapper!
And Wendy was all to excited to get her tent taken down, get all packed up and finished with
yet another art fair. A huge sigh of relief for all of us!

Welcome to the Wisconsin Northwoods!!!
Sure it’s only the first weekend of October… but we woke up to SNOW!!!

So quiet up in the Northwoods… and even quieter when there’s snow!!!
The perfect morning for Sarah to take a quick stroll before we head back to ART DETOUR.

Well, it’s official. My first art fair EVER in the snow!!! Luckily, the snow didn’t
stick for long. But it was still cold. And we were “treated” to even more snow showers,
snow flurries, and more snow throughout the day! There was a lot of huddling around
the campfire, making s’mores or “chilling out” in someone’s tent trying to stay warm.
In an odd way, it was kind of fun. I think we bonded and played together because we
were “stuck” outside freezing for the day.

Sure it was cold. Sure there was snow. Sure we were freezing our butts off.
At least Wendy’s sunflowers gave us a small glimmer of summer warmth!

Welcome to Pigeon Road!!!
This what Amy’s street looked like this morning when I got up to start setting up
my tent. The colors were perfect. A little chill in the air, but bound to warm up, right?!

And then the games began… with a FULL car of fun to unpack and set-up!!!

But when the Fall colors are at their peak, it’s really tough to stay focused.
So my tent and shelf set-up took a little longer than normal… as I kept getting distracted
by the beautiful colors all around! Especially as the sun & shadows kept changing!

But finally… my tent was up, my shelves were built and all of my pottery crates & supplies
were safe inside my tent. Packed away for the night…

So after Katlyn & Wendy showed up and assembled their tents, Amy, Wendy & I went
shopping for some ART DETOUR supplies. Imagine my excitement when I found the jumbo,
oversized marshmallows!!! Okay, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t need all SIX bags of them.
But extras are good, right? I know I alone could easily polish off a bag for dinner!!!

So my car was all packed up… jam packed. And I was headed north.
It’s always such a relief to finally be driving. The rush, the hassle, the panic of
prepping, packing & loading done. At that point, it is what it is. Now it’s just time
for an enjoyable road trip. And I love road trips. Beautiful scenery, good snacks
and great music to sing along with the entire way! And let me just say…
I sound pitch-perfect incredible when I’m singing in the car by myself.

As I was leaving Chicago, it was dark, gray and rainy! I had kind of hunkered down
and mentally prepared myself for a long gloomy drive. But when I got up to the Madison
area, the gloom ended and blue skies began. And the rest of my drive was beautiful!!!

The Fall colors were stunning as I was driving past them. You know I had to snap a picture!
Who needs to stop?… or slow down?… these were taken through the car window at 70mph.

And you know you’re in Wisconsin when you pull up behind this at a stop light…

As my drive continued and started to feel a little too long, I was treated to a beautiful sunset.
I had hope to get to Amy’s while the sun was still up… looks like that’s not going to happen.

By the time I finally got to the Rhinelander exit, the sun had gone down – and was casting
a beautiful glow across the sky. So moody with reflections across the lakes.

When I got to Pigeon Road, Amy had just gotten home from work and had bought take-out
Chinese food for dinner. My favorite part was the fortune in my fortune cookie.
One of the funniest I’ve ever gotten!!! Gotta save this one…