After a wonderful weekend up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin with my friend
Amy Higgason, it was bittersweet to pack it up and head home. The Fall colors were
incredible. The art tour was a lot of fun. Playing with Amy was great. And I hope
that I helped make her weekend a bit more fun, enjoyable & successful!!!

After four days of the beautiful Northwoods…
it was fitting that the drive home would be equally as beautiful.

Just some more pretty pictures.
The Fall colors were so incredible while I was up in the Northwoods…
I took HUNDREDS of photos!!! Everywhere you looked, it was gorgeous…
and I had to take more & more photos at every turn. Here’s just a few more!

After the Northwoods Art Tour had come to an end, May and I had Monday
to hang out and play. We started the morning again with an early morning hike
along The Raven Trail. It’s a beautiful trail, quite different from the McNaughton
Trail – a little curvier, a little hillier – and some art installations to boot!

Apparently, a couple years ago, there was an art installation project in the woods.
Many of them have been removed – but there were a couple still there to enjoy!
Most notable, an incredible “basket” built around a tree which was my favorite!!!

Further down the trail, there was an incredible, moss-covered bog…
and I do love me some moss!!! The color, the texture, the everything! Love it.

Not to be outdone by the frosty-frozen boardwalk area… just like a Christmas card!
Straight out of a Currier & Ives catalog… an early Fall morning with a frosty finish.

Further down the path, Amy and came upon another beautiful lake that still had some
morning mist floating above the water. In beautiful contrast to the colorful leaves!

Towards the end of the hike, we ran across these incredible white fungi growing off
and decomposing log. Almost flower-like, these mushrooms were beautiful & intriguing.

And

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more beautiful…

Amy and I decided to get up early and go hiking before the Northwoods Art Tour.
So we set the alarms and bundled up to head out into the frozen morning air.
Bundled up, we set out on the McNaughton Trail for some early morning beauty.

And then we made our way around to a smaller lake where the morning mist
had not dissipated yet. And to make the morning even more magical, the mist had
frozen and “frosted” all of the beautiful plants along the lake’s boardwalk.

And then it was back to Amy’s… for another day of the Northwoods Art Tour!

For more photos of my time in the Northwoods… check out my Facebook page.
Do a search for “Fire When Ready Pottery” and click the LIKE button. Then check
out my photo albums for a whole lot more photos!!!

After working in the morning, and a meeting downtown, I hopped into the car
last Thursday to head up to the Northwoods. My friend Amy lives up in Lake Tomohawk
so it was going to be around six hours of driving… plus any “excursions” along the way?
It’s a long drive, but luckily, as the trip started to get a little “long”… that’s when the
fall colors started to burst on the scene! The second half of the trip was beautiful.
So of course I had to stop a couple times to take some pictures along the highway.
I even pulled off a couple times just to “explore” and see some color!

By the time I got to Amy’s place it was already dark. And up there in the Northwoods,
when I say it’s dark, I mean REALLY dark. Pitch black. With no street lights?!
Amy was still at a business workshop, so I sat out on her front porch all bundled up
in a blanket and watched the stars. So much cooler than the few stars we may
occasionally get to see here in Chicago! While I was sitting there, minding my own
business, two deer decided to stroll right past the deck – about five feet away from me!
I think I scared them just as much as they scared me?! Beautiful.
And a great “welcoming party” to the Northwoods!!!