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.

Minimum Wage Increase?

Heading home in the rain last week

On our way home from the Smokies we made a stop at the visitor center in Berea, Kentucky.  It's one of my favorite places to stop now.  Clean bathrooms, big rig parking, and lots of local art including the collection of whimsical frogs that tempts me to open my wallet and bring one home.

A little more money in my pocket needed to bring one of these guys home though the price is fair for the work

 I watched the two Wisconsin gubernatorial debates on YouTube the other night and one of the hot topics in our state right now is a proposed hike in the minimum wage.  Governor Walker does not support raising the minimum wage because he feels folks that have those sort of jobs should be working toward something better by going to school to elevate themselves and that if we raise the minimum wage there's no incentive for them to do so.  He feels minimum wage jobs are a starting point for high school kids and that we shouldn't expect that people are "trying to live" on that kind of job/wage.  Wow, right?

I personally think that is an incredibly elitist point of view and shows his real lack of understanding for the common man.  Plus, it's a little hard to further your education in this state when he cut all kinds of funding to the UW system. Trust me, I heard plenty about that because my daughter was a UW student at the time.  Besides, not every individual is capable of pursuing a higher education.  What about those who struggle academically?   Or those who are going to college full-time while supporting themselves without grants and scholarships?  Or those trying to raise a family alone and don't have time to go to school? Are they supposed to rely on handouts from family or the government?  Or starve?  Or perhaps just cease to exist?  No secret who I'll be voting for in the coming election.  He also went on and on about the people he helped get in to technical programs to get good jobs to earn higher wages...but failed to mention all the ways he blocked others from getting a higher education.

The proposed hike to $10.00 an hour is maybe a little higher than is realistic, but out of curiosity I did a little research into what the rest of the states' policies are in this matter.  As of August 1, 2014, 23 states have minimum wages higher than the federal minimum wage.  Ten states enacted increases this year including the Midwestern state of Michigan.  Many are moving to a wage that fluctuates with the Consumer Price Index.

From Sara Burnet, Associated Press release yesterday:

 The impact of raising the minimum wage has been much debated over the years. A report by the Congressional Budget Office in February estimated that a federal minimum wage of $10.10 an hour, which President Barack Obama supports, could cost 500,000 jobs nationwide. But the 13 states that raised their minimum wages at the beginning of 2014 were adding jobs at a faster pace than those that did not, according to a Labor Department analysis in July of state-by-state hiring data.

Minimum wage proposals tend to be popular even in conservative states, said John Matsusaka, a University of Southern California economist who studies public ballot issues. All 10 of the statewide measures considered since 2000 have passed, he said.


Arguments for and against minimum wage hikes are many, but you can't argue with the fact that the minimum wage has not increased along with the rate of inflation.  For that matter, neither has my wage.  As an Optician I've been making about the same amount of money per hour for the last 10 years.  And my wage didn't increase when I worked "across the border" in Illinois either, just my hours.  This year I got my first raise in 6 years and I'm seeing an additional increase in my commission rate (which was practically non-existent before) so I'm feeling like my wage is finally where it should be, but what about everybody else out there?  I know I'm not the only one who has seen little if any wage increase over the last decade even though the cost of goods (not to mention fuel) keeps increasing.  Good grief, have you noticed what we're now paying for toilet paper and paper towels?  Bottom line, more money in workers' pockets equals more money in circulation and more tax revenue collected to do more good and balance more government budgets, right?  What's going on in your state and how do you feel about it?

Only One Hike?!

Well, it was one of the strangest RV trips we've taken yet.  Truck trouble meant we never reached our intended destination but arrived in the Smokies a week early instead.  Sounded kinda sweet, but then fate stepped in again and instead of getting an extra week there we got a little less than a week at all.  Just because you're on vacation life does not stop.  Vehicles need maintenance, both of us struggled with a virus we are still fighting and tragedy struck back at home.  I did manage to get one hike in with my Smokies buddy, Sharon.

She took me to Metcalf Bottoms Trail for a pleasant stroll to Little Greenbrier School and the Walker Sisters Home.  At just under 3 miles round trip it was a good length for a morning hike before hitting the road for a 5 hour drive.

old homestead site marked by stones and purposeful plantings

There was a little bit of a steep climb at the beginning but it was mostly level.  The birds were singing and the lack of much elevation gain made it easy for us to talk, talk, talk.

Mostly we talked about our disappointment in not getting to go on some more hikes together, but we do have that trip to Kentucky coming up and yesterday I dug out my research.  Lots of good hiking in the Red River Gorge area and I can't wait to get started!

creek crossing by Little Greenbrier School

The Little Greenbrier School was built in 1882 and among those who helped build it was John Walker, father of the Walker Sisters.  It was used continuously as a school and church until 1936.

Lots of small branches littered the trail as evidence of all the rain and wind the area had been receiving, but we did come across one large section of maple tree that came down smack in the middle of the trail too. It was easier to get around than it might seem.  See that walking stick Sharon is holding?  It's the one I bought earlier this year.  I finally remembered to bring it and still haven't used it because I gave it to her to use.

When the Great Smoky Mountains Park Commission tried to purchase the property from the five Walker sisters who owned it in the 1930's they refused to sell.   The sisters raised sheep, grew corn and cotton, plowed their own fields, and made their own clothes from the wool and cotton they raised.

Walker sisters' home

Finally, in late 1940, faced with a condemnation suit, the Walker sisters accepted $4,750 for their land, provided they were "allowed to reserve a life estate and the use of the land for and during the life of the five sisters."  Fearing backlash for appearing heartless the offer was accepted.

Walker home interior

For many years the sisters welcomed visitors to their homestead, but in 1953 the two remaining sisters wrote this letter to the superintendent of the park:

Dear Sir

I have a request to you Will you please have the Sign a bout the Walker Sisters taken down the one on High Way 73 especilay the reason I am asking this there is just 2 of the sisters lives at the old House place one is 70 years of age the other is 82 years of age and we can't receive so many visitors We are not able to do our Work and receive so many visitors, and can't make sovioners to sell like we once did and people will be expecting us to have them, last year we had so many people it kept us buisy from Sun up till sun down besides our own work We haven't bin feling very well this winter can't do much at our best. I write poems to sell but cant write very well I use to write of winter but I havent bin able to do much for the 2 last ones My Brother is in the Hospital and cant stay with us much We mis his help We have a Grant Nephew and his wife with us now There was 5 of us living here when we began to receive visitors and we enjoyed meeting so many nice people from different places from every state in the union and many out side, some of them came every time they came to the park, there was more of us and we were more able to care for things, they bought things from us and made it easier to have spinding money. they buy things yet if we was abel to fix them but it is to confining on us now with no more help if we get to feeling better or get till we can receive them a gain we may want to receive them a gain but we want to rest a while it is to much work for us now. Come visit us if you have time.

Very Respectively
The Walker Sisters
Margaret and Louisa

Sharon shared with me that she loves this spot and the fact that people were living their lives here so simply during her lifetime.  She comes here often with a lunch and we sat on the bench and shared a snack together...after she thumped the bench a few times to make sure no snakes were hiding in it.  And here I am walking around not thumping things to check for snakes.  Something else to try to remember.

I'm going to be lazy and not look up the fungus I found on a branch in the leaf litter above.

orange jelly fungus - witches butter maybe?

Or the one pictured below.  Feel free to chime in if you know what it is!

Well, that's it for our brief time in the Smokies.  Wayne was already talking about "the next time" as we were leaving.  I think the next time we're staying on the North Carolina side and doing that zipline at the NOC in Bryson City.  Doesn't mean we won't stay in Townsend again too!

Meigs Trail and Meigs Falls

While everyone else was busy watching the Little River and the kayakers at The Sinks all I could think about was getting my feet up on Meigs Trail.  It starts right behind all those people standing out on that rock.

After all, I'd been cooped up all day due to the rain and it had finally stopped.

Wayne went with me for a few minutes but then said he wanted to go watch the water instead.

I checked my watch and started up the trail, vowing to keep my promise and keep it quick.  There were little waterways criss-crossing the trail that probably weren't normally there.

And waterways that looked a little more permanent making their way down the mountain to the Little River below.

What would a good hike be without fungi?  I spotted this one at the bottom of a "seep" next to the trail.

I had to keep my eyes open because there were a lot of exposed roots hiding under some of the leaves that would make for a nasty fall on this trail that climbed steadily up the mountainside.

I climbed for about 15 minutes and it seemed I was nearing a spot where the trail would level off but I turned around and made my way back to the parking lot to rejoin Wayne.  I got enough exercise to hold me over for the day.

After we got back in the truck and headed toward Townsend I made Wayne stop at the Meigs Falls turnout for a look.  I saw some pictures on the internet that looked like they were taken near the falls themselves so there must be a way back there unless they just crossed the river on foot.  Entirely possible at some other time perhaps.

I only have one more post from our short stay in the Smokies.  We got the phone call about Cory's accident on our way back to the RV but knowing that we couldn't get home in a flash anyway decided it wouldn't hurt to delay long enough to complete a scheduled hike with Sharon in before leaving.  Sharon and I are meeting in Kentucky soon, probably right after Thanksgiving so we'll get more hiking done then.

Wet and Wild

After days and days of rain in the area, all that water running down off the mountain started getting a little out of hand on the Little River near Townsend by Wednesday.

In most spots the boulders weren't visible anymore, and water was taking any route it could down the side of the mountain.  I believe they got over 6 inches of rain.  I tried to look it up but the internet wasn't cooperating in my search efforts.

At the end of a day of rain on Tuesday we weren't the only ones who thought a visit to The Sinks might be a good idea.  Just under 12 miles from the Sugarlands Visitor Center this spot usually has a nice cascade visible and the water-carved rock is neat too, but on this day it just roared.

The full parking lot contained not only looky-loos like us, but a handful of crazy kayakers jumping off the rocks and into the rapids.

One...

Two...

Three!

Wayne thought this was the coolest thing and kept professing how much he would love to be down there.  I kept professing how insane it all looked.  Did they not know the river was loaded with small boulders and underwater logjams?  Did they not see the pieces of tree bouncing along?

Still, it was a fun opportunity photographically speaking.  Except I kept having my camera on the wrong setting or fogetting to take the polarizer off so the shutter could go fast enough to keep up with the kayakers.

Not my type of watersport.  I'll take the lazy paddle-when-I-feel-like-it approach I use on a small lake over this madness any day.  I keep telling Wayne that's why we'll make friends when we hit the road, he can find friends who want to risk their lives on the river or go watch cars drive in circles around a racetrack and I'll find friends who like to wander around all day looking for hidden "treasures" on the hiking trails.

Middle Prong Trail At Last

Back home in Wisconsin I'm busy emptying out the fifth wheel for the season and taking antibiotics for an ear infection.  I suspected I might be coming down with more than "allergies" while in the Smokies but I was in denial.  After seeing my photos can you blame me?

On Monday after fooling around under the bridge over what I think is Thunderhead Prong which merges with the Middle Prong of the Little River I strapped my camera backpack on, grabbed that tripod and hit the Middle Prong Trail.

The town of Tremont used to be a logging town that was set up when tracks were moved here for the Little River Lumber Company's operation. Originally the area was owned by William Walker, and he disliked the idea of a large-scale logging operation mowing down his virgin forest so he refused to sell any of his section along the Middle Prong to the Little River Lumber Company when they moved into the area at the turn of the century.

In 1918, Walker suffered a stroke that left him largely incapacitated. On December 26 of that year, he finally agreed to sell Middle Prong to Little River Lumber after Colonel Wilson B. Townsend gave him his word that he wouldn't harvest trees along Thunderhead Prong. Six months later, Walker died after suffering a second stroke. On Townsend's orders, a small train carried Walker's coffin ceremoniously to the Bethel Baptist Cemetery in Tuckaleechee, where it rests today.

That tripod I remembered to bring?  Turns out I didn't have the piece for attaching the camera to it, it got left back home in Wisconsin so all my shots of the cascades and cataracts I found were done hand-held.  I stashed the tripod under some bushes across from a bench part of the way up the trail.  Seems like no matter how much you check to make sure you have everything there is always something left behind.

Colonel Townsend sold his Little River tract to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Commission in 1926, but he did so with the agreement that he could continue logging in the area for 15 more years.

Further up along the trail there is evidence of the logging camps, but due to all my delays getting there I only went about a mile up the trail.  I think the next time I'm back completing this trail might very well be the first thing I want to do.

river carving its way through the rock

From Wikipedia: While the logging operations provided an economic boost to the northwestern Smokies, the rapid deforestation of Little River's watershed proved devastating for the river's ecosystem. With the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934 and the end of logging operations in 1938, however, the forest quickly regrew. The Civilian Conservation Corps converted Little River Railroad's railroad beds into roads and trails. Today, other than the occasional stray skidder cable or railroad tie, there is little immediate evidence that logging ever took place in the area. 

cool fungus

If you want to read a good write-up on the trail, hiking in the smokys has one.  I refer to that website and my "Hiking Trails in the Smokies" book a lot when trying to decide which hike I want to do next.  If you buy it from the Great Smoky Mountain Association link I provided or in one of the visitor center stores a portion of the sales goes directly to the park.

It's not easy deciding which trail to hike because they all sound so good! Something else I did when we stopped at the Townsend Visitor Center was buy a yearly membership to the GSMA for $35.  In addition to supporting the park I get a 15% discount when shopping and additional discounts at participating area attractions.  Now I have to go back, right?  I'll also get copies of Smokies Life Magazine sent right to my home, and I used my discount to buy three back issues at the visitor center because it looked so interesting.

What's down this way, I wonder?

This trail has lots of little nooks and crannies to explore as you make your way up the gradual incline. The trail itself is wide and mostly even without much to worry about as far as footing hazards go.  It was nice to be able to look up instead of down at my feet as I moved along.

I had to watch carefully whenever I moved off trail towards the Lynn Camp Prong though, those boulders and tree roots were wet and slippery.  I forgot to look while I was moving around setting up a shot and slipped and fell hard onto a mass of exposed roots.  I had a couple of bruises to show for my lack of mental focus.

But can you blame me for getting distracted when I kept getting presented with scenes like this?  I mean, holy cow!  Please don't stay on the trail when you do this one, there is much hidden just a few feet from the trail that just took my breath away.  I literally gasped out loud when this spot came into view.

After my earlier fall I took my time moving around on the rocks to get some different angles.  I didn't want to leave, but there wasn't much else I could do without taking some serious risks, something one shouldn't do when hiking alone!

If you're out looking for fungi this fall, don't forget to push aside some of those leaves piled up on the ground.  It doesn't really show in this picture but this mushroom had a bit of a bluish tinge that was something I hadn't seen before.

After I popped out from that last cascade I heard horses on the trail.  The group was really friendly and when I saw one of them struggling to get a selfie with their phone I offered to help out.  The next group of horses that passed me on my way down didn't even reply or smile when I said hello.  You just never know.

I thought this trail would be a really good one to explore on horse, but then I remembered all those little cascades that weren't visible from the trail.  Hikers have it made, don't they?  All you need is determination and a good pair of shoes.

While I saw no one on the way up it was a different story on the way back down.  It was a little after 11:00 a.m. and the "crowds" had arrived.  It was still pretty mild compared to some of the better known trails, but I sure was glad I had parked the way I did.  I still had to take my time getting around the horse trailers parked alongside the road.

Next I'll show you the result of the continued rain in the area, it got wet and wild!