Better Than Gold in Lake Geneva

So now that we're back home in Wisconsin I figured I better get out quick if I wanted to have any chance at all of catching some fall color.

Of course there are spots here and there with a blaze of color, but mostly it's in manicured yards.  I like that big burst you get from a bunch of trees all in one spot, don't you?

I work in Lake Geneva, and this year it's a veritable gold mine of color.  It's been years since the elements that go into vivid leaf color have come together in southeastern Wisconsin, but this year is definitely our year.

On Tuesday I found this haven of gold on Snake Road, just behind some of the ritzier homes that line the north side of the lake.  Snake Road is a Wisconsin Rustic Road, a road designated for its outstanding natural features that is a lightly traveled local road and not a main thoroughfare.

When I went to the Rustic Road website I discovered they are holding a photography contest.  Hmmm, maybe a submission is in order.

view of the north shore of Lake Geneva from Stone Manor

After my tour of Snake Road I looped around the lake to see what things looked like on the south side.  Stone Manor is always a favorite to have a peek at, either from the road or the lake, and their open lawn gave a great view to the eye-popping color happening on the north side of Lake Geneva. 

Stone Manor used to be a private mansion, but now has been converted  into condominiums.  I'm sure the interior doesn't look anything like it used to in 1901, but I bet the view hasn't changed much.

  

There were some nice trees lining Lake Shore Road on my way around the end of the lake, and they sported a healthy coat of lichen too.

I parked at the Inn on Lake Geneva and thought I'd walk on the Shore Path for a few minutes to see if the color was any good on the south side up close and personal.  If you haven't read my posts on the Shore Path around Lake Geneva before, you can catch up here.

the Shore Path

Not much was happening as far as color goes, but the piers that were out of the water sported a nice layer of barnacles.

Also on the path were a few late bloomers.

Since my eyes had had their fill I called it a day.  But don't worry, the Wisconsin fall color tour isn't over yet.  On Thursday I headed out to Bald Bluff to see what the Ice Age Trail had to offer.