Tag Archive | fall colors

Paoli Fall Festival

Jan17

10-1-16      Visit Paoli

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Paoli is the happening place to be for fall festivals.  The colors were peaking now, especially by the gazebo.

Fall tree backdrop behind gazebo in PaoliWe heard music nearby behind the old mill, sounded like one of our favorite kind of music, the Blues!

Mill and pumpkins in Paoli

It was coming from The Hop Garden outdoor stage in the backside of the mill.  The sign was out near the street, they also had a Chili contest contest, good on a cool day like today.

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The wonderful music we were hearing was being performed by  Old Black Joe And The 3rd Rail Sparks Blues Band.  They are regulars here, performing most Thursdays between 6-8 PM since 2014. Let’s listen in!

We also enjoyed lunch at the Paoli Brat and Bread Haus.   We had the Chicken Pot Pie,  very delicious!  We enjoyed the music at The Hop Garden while we ate.  The Cherry Pie A la Mode was wonderful too. Owner Cherri Bell makes everyone feel like an old friend upon meeting.  Thanks for the great lunch in such a festive atmosphere!

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Quite an enjoyable afternoon was had by all, we took a stroll up the street to check out other fall scenes. The Paoli House Inn had many pumpkin sculptures out front.

Paoli House

The Paoli Schoolhouse Shops &  Café  stood out against the grey skies.

Paoli Schoolhouse

Paoli Secret Garden has the perfect item for you or for a gift.

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Paoli Secret Garden inside store

Paoli is beautiful any time of the year, stop in for a fun relaxing day by the Sugar River!

Sugar river in Paoli

Fall Maple tree in Paoli

Fall Color Tour 2015 – Holy Hill, Richfield, Jefferson and Home!

Oct30

October 2015

Due to a warm September, the colors peaked a week or so later than usual.  Our first trip was to Holy Hill Basilica on Monday, October 12. We have not been there during fall’s peak before.  It was Columbus Day so it was quite crowded when we arrived around noon. Holy Hill offers a great view anytime you go. Be sure you pick a good weather day, since they close the tower if there are high winds or other inclement weather.

We climbed up the 128 stairs to the top of the right steeple to take in the countryside colors. They were brilliant!

Holy Hill Green Steeple

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It was just as beautiful from the bottom looking up. We found an especially good view with a horse in someone’s yard.

Holy Hill and Horse

And the view from Erin, we got both points of view here!

Holy Hill from Erin

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A stand of beautiful trees to the right of this view on the road below.

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A beautiful hill we found on the way.

Colorful Hill

Earlier in the morning we went to Richfield Historic and Nature Park, just a few miles from Holy Hill.

Richfield Sign and Fall Colors

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We saw the historic Messer/Mayer Mill. They are raising funds for restoration of the mill.

Richfield Mill marker

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Other views in the park.

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Richfield Park History

Richfield Park cabins

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October 16

We were in Jefferson for a wedding photo shoot but came early to get some fall color pictures. They have some beautiful trees and views here.  This is the river from the bridge.

Rock River Fall Colors in Jefferson

The view on the right side of the bridge, Rotary Park.

Rotary Park and Bridge in Jefferson

Downtown the tree by the clock was looking especially pretty, it was barely leafing out when we visited in May.

City Clock in Jefferson

Jefferson Land Office City Clock

There are many beautiful houses in Jefferson, many of them with beautiful trees setting them off in a blaze of yellow and orange. Some had ivy too, adding a special touch.

Ivy House in Jefferson

House with Yellow Tree in Jefferson

Orange Maple in Jefferson

Historic House and trees in Jefferson

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October 21-30

Finished up the month with color at my workplace grounds and near our home.

Fall Color at Work

Our neighborhood looked especially pretty this year.  Our red maple was really showing off (the one on the left)!  A couple leaves were not so happy about the end of summer.

Our red Maple at home

Lone Green Leaf word balloon not changing color

My favorite view was at the train track that goes by our condo community. The colors were peaking the day I got a picture of the Canada Pacific train that runs from Portage to Madison. Here is some video of that train in Portage.

Fall Train CP to Portage

Quite a beautiful and long autumn this year. One for the books!

All Aboard! The Mid-Continent Railway Museum

Jul27

Mid- Continent Railroad Museum

10-9-10 and 8-27-11

The fall colors were all over Wisconsin and it was time for the Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s Fall Color Train rides.  The working train with restored antique cars and museum  are located in North Freedom.  We were excited, as it was our first train ride together.

Mid-Continent Railway Historical Society

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It was time to board the train, lots of people were there to enjoy the ride.  The duration is about an hour.  I got a Railroad Engineer hat on this visit that I wore on our 2nd visit in 2011.

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It was time to go!  The Conductor came by and collected the tickets and told us about the railroad’s history.

Railroad Conductor

The train went through groves of trees that were brilliant with color, the passengers were plastered to the windows,  gasping in delight at the beauty.

Fall Color 1

Fall Colors 2

Fall Colors 3

The trip went out 7 miles from the depot. The engine car then had to detach from the train and then the back became the front on the return journey.

Diesel Train Engine

The return trip was just as pretty, we saw the other side of the tracks better.

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Train La Rue

Train Car restorations

As we made our way back, we could see other cars still being restored.  Upon  disembarking we further explored the museum.

Disembarking Train

Here is a large steam engine from the 1800’s, beautiful!

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Red Caboose

Crossing Tower

Crossing Tower

Water Tower

Water Tower

There is also a museum building where you can see various railroad car displays.

Coach Shed

There is also a picnic area outside with some concessions in the summer.

Mid-Continent Railway picnic area

We had a great two visits here, with another one planned for the August 24-25 weekend this year, when they uncover their newly restored Copper Range #25 car.

After our ride we ate at  a delightful restaurant that continues the train theme, the Railroad Inn Cafe. It’s just a short distance down the street from the museum.

Railroad Inn in North Freedom

Make a day of exploring Wisconsin railroad history!

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Mid-Continent Railway Museum

Governor Dodge State Park in Dodgeville

Jul6

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It was time for our annual Fall Color Tour,  and go to Governor Dodge State  Park for the first time together.  It’s close to Dodgeville, where we went after visiting here.   The colors were near peak and quite beautiful.  we also were there to see two attractions that are there, Stephen’s Falls and the Rock Spring House .  We had a drought last summer so the falls were greatly diminished 😦

We returned spring 2014, what a difference in the falls. Plenty of water was flowing this time. The waterfall was nice enough to pose for a selfie with us 🙂

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Al and Laurie Stephens Falls

The Spring House was impressive.  Here is a view inside also.

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This time, we went up the hill above the Spring House and discovered more that we didn’t see before. The falls were named after a farm family that once lived here, the Stephens.

Stephen's Farm sign

Stephens Farm site

We had a great visit here, This is a very pretty park, especially in fall. Plenty of hiking trails to explore too.

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