Wife and I took a trip along the Mississippi River, to SE corner of Minnesota to enjoy the fall colors. We set out early Saturday morning in light rain. Forecast was for clearing by noon. (Hah!) So rain, most of the day, but we did see lots of color in the bluffs. The bluffs are spectacular any time of year. Towering high above the river and extending back from the river for miles they are beautiful. With the rain, we were treated to low ground fog clinging to some of the bluffs.
The back roads wind around, with the river on one side and bluffs on the other side, just enough room for a two lane highway and next to that a set of railroad tracks, allowing commerce up and down the river way. On the Wisconsin side of the river there are a number of old river towns that back in the day were served by the steamboats. Lot's of history along our route...and a new view around every corner.
We stopped overnight in Houston, MN, the home of the International Owl Center. Visited the "ambassador" owls and talked with the staff for a while. Wife got an owl tee shirt for a friend who loves owls.
Sunday was forecast to be warm and sunny. Woke up to thick fog. Finally started out about ten am and could barely see the road, let alone the scenery. I told the wife to go ahead and oooh and aaah when ever she thought it might be appropriate. We did pass a sign that said, "Watch for fallen rocks", indicating we were passing a limestone cliff, so wife did oooh and aaah, even tho' we could barely see the sign.
Fog did start to lift about 11:00, and as forecast, there was sun! Here's a shot of a small river that runs along the bluffs as the fog was lifting.
As I walked to the bank to get this shot, an adult Eagle flew out of the large tree I was headed for. Beautiful sight always.
In spite of weather, we had a great time. Looking forward to going back in that area next month when thousands of Tundra Swans stop over to rest on their way to the Chesapeake Bay, where they winter.