Trautz' travel saga: YOLO folks enjoy fall colors 2018

A collage of fall colors from our area. Rows of red, orange, gold and mixed.

Some very late blooming flowers along a path.

On a drive to Traverse City, we spotted some early color alongside a pond.

View from the roadside on an overcast day.

A burning bush at a doctor's office in Traverse City.

It's still early for color along the lake shore at Higgins, but one red maple stands out.

I like the stark contrast of the dark bark and bright leaves.

Looks like a flame in the blue sky.

A fallen red maple leaf. The dandelion is still trying to make itself known, too.

This gorgeous view is just across the street from where we turn into our subdivision. It's actually one of the prettiest little bunch of maples we see. They clear cut the area years ago and these new little trees are growing up to be quite colorful.

The pale overcast light washes the reds into pinks.

Just a single branch of orange juts out along the road where we walk.

The red maple in the middle is a stunner.

True orange color for autumn. These leaves give a pumpkin a run for the color.

That's Jason finishing dumping the recycle bin. Even here, we have nice color.

I like how the ends of the branches are bright red while the main set of leaves keeps the dark green. Like a man in a green jacket shooting his cuffs to show his red sleeves.

One of our black and white visitors we get almost nightly. We crumbled a big dog biscuit on the ground and this is one of the animals that came by to munch and crunch. A pretty coat on this one, mostly white, with a blaze of a white stripe down the center of his face. He's a regular visitor after the sun sets. We also get racoons, rabbits and feral cats that we've never seen during the day.

Talk about 'fall' colors of a different kind. Our neighbor, Jean, fell face first into the lawnmower when she tripped in her garage and got two black eyes. It was a perfect hit on the bridge of her nose and these colors are several days after the fall. Luckily, she wasn't hurt badly and it just looks like she's trying to outshine Mother Nature with her racoon rainbow of color.

Karen on a walk in front of one of the pretty red maples. It was a cold windy day until we got into the woods.

A nice mix of colors for the eye.

The leaf litter on the forest floor is mostly brown and dull orange or gold. Not much sunshine gets in here.

These two-colored leaves are interesting.

I'm not sure why they are so mottled or if they ever get to be fully red. We saw many of these on the ground nearby, so I doubt it.

A moss covered stump with little mushrooms like sentinels at the base.

I couldn't resist another mushroom pic. These bright yellow ones could easily be overlooked in a pile of yellow leaves.

Our neighbors told us about a fall color tour drive a bit north of us called the Tunnel of Trees. The road winds from Harbor Springs up to Cross Village along the northwestern knob of the penninsula. We've been driving our neighbors to their doctor appointments in Traverse City as they are finding it difficult to drive safely these days. We get out and about a bit, and they get a driver. So, when the Chamber of Commerce in Harbor Springs said the peak color could be in a few days, we picked a day that was forecast to have some rare sun and all climbed into Herb and Jean's car for the drive. This is Herb and Jean at The Polish Kitchen restaurant where we stopped for lunch.

A roadside stop for the color.

The gold looks burnished on this tree.

Jason walking over to get a closer look at the trees.

Karen in front of the orange one.

In the swale beyond these trees was a mum farm with rows of colorful flowers poking out of the plastic-covered ground.

These roadside waste bushes get some respect for their bright red color.

A nice mix of colors in such a small area.

A colorful knob along the highway.

Another nice view of the mixed colors. This was right across the street from the restaurant.

Considering most of the pictures were taken from the moving car, I'm surprised I got any that are clear enough to post.

It was a weekend, so the traffic on the narrow, winding road was pretty heavy for the area.

Overlooking Lake Michigan towards Beaver Island.

Jason enjoying the views and the hues.

A nice pastoral scene.

Stand-alone color in the surrounding green.

Go for the gold! Even the street signs are into it.

Part of the tunnel of trees. Unfortunately, the sun decided to hide behind some thick clouds for the time we were driving here. The fall color along the lake lags behind the color in the interior and the tunnel colors weren't yet up to snuff. Mostly greens and yellows along the way.

A few bright trees where they got some sun and warmth.

Peeks of sun brightened the yellow right up.

A typical tunnel view this day.

More yellow and golds.

A hint of red in one tree makes it stand out.

The small towns along the road had a heyday with all the visitors, but parking was tricky and traffic snarled. We weren't in any hurry, so it didn't matter to us.

Now, that's yellow!

The cold wind didn't stop us from venturing to the Lake Michigan shore at a small boat launch site.

The scrubby growth along the shore.

The wind was blowing onto the narrow strip of sandy shore.

The small boat ramp.

Rocks have been lodged into the spaces in the large metal grate that acts as a ramp, making it look like a rock carpet.

The wind was starting to whip up the waves so they splashed up onto the structure. Some splashed up from underneath the structure and caught some folks by surprise.

Herb, Jean and Jason near the parking lot of the boat launch. Jason did find a rock with some crinnoid fossils in it.

People were wrapped in blankets to keep the wind off.

Another little tunnel of trees along a side road.

After we turned around to head home, the sun slowly crept back out again, but the angle made it mostly impossible to get a photo from a moving car.

A small field stone church. Field stone structures are among our favorites. They have such character.

A famous landmark restaurant, Leg's Inn at Cross Village. The white spindles along the balcony of the roof are old inverted cast iron legs from woodburning stoves. A Polish immigrant used local materials to build the original Leg's Inn back in the 1920's. From their website: "The twisted and tormented forms of trees, roots and driftwood collected by Smolak from the surrounding area, along with the stones washed smooth and round by Lake Michigan's waters, aroused the artist in him - and from them he created this unusual building, fixtures and furniture. He once said: "Nature is the greatest sculptor - I am only helping to make the artistic objects more visible to the ordinary eye."" We didn't stop to go in, but apparently the furnishings inside are something to behold.

A single huge oak with some color.

Driving home, we started to see blue skies again.

Stands of birch turn bright yellow in the fall.

Their white bark make them stand out against the green.

A sentinel red along the road. Tough to get a picture without power lines in it.

This line of red maples are all the same age and color. The wind is blowing the leaves and you are seeing the backs of many of them.

A pleasant country roadside splash of gold.

The big oaks hover near the roadside in deep gold and browns.

Hello yellow.

One bright red shot of a branch stands out in the yellow.

A very typical roadside scene along the highway here.

Rolling hills of yellow and gold.

Late aftenoon roadside view.

A bit of blue sky creates a contrast for the trees.

We stopped in Gaylord to see the elk. This big buck seemed to be the alpha male as all the rest waited until he was done munching his hay before they dared head towards the bin. When he approached, they all moved away.