500 MILES OF PURE COLOR

On Saturday, October 4, the weather was to be windy. With Tom the weatherman, that meant, not fish, but rather take that fun run to look at the leaves. As I had said in the post of 8 October, we had been watching the Minnesota DNR site for the percentage of color in all the state parks in Minnesota. Maplewood State Park had been one of them.

We knew, according to the site, the area around Itasca State Park would show just like Maplewood. Our decision to drive 500 miles round trip was an agreement between the two of us, although it would require a lot of windshield time.

We weren't 60 miles from town when we spotted an outhouse and a red tree, followed by an old barn and trees, and a plowed field and trees. We knew if we were going to get beyond Grand Rapids, were according to the graph, we were going to have to kick up the truck and barrel.

Our stops along the road were quick. Some of the most amazing photos were taken through the wind shield using a polarized filter. I was drunk with colored leaf fever and knowing it was one day less of winter.

One of the places we had chosen was Hill Mine Annex. It is said you can stand at the top and look down into the former pit mine, now covered with trees. Alas, it was closed for the season. Closed for the season? Yes. Fenced off, locked up, closed for the season.

We angled back through Calumet and Tactonite where we took highway 7, north to Scenic State Park where there are seveal stands of old white and red pine. There had been logging in the area and one of the CCC cabins still stands, cared for by the DNR. The restored cabin may be rented throughout the summer months. It is said the Ojibway used the area for hunting. The park was commissioned in 1921.

The ranger shared a picture of a group of men who lived and worked making Scenic State Park a reality. A family had come to see where their family member had worked and sent the photograph to him later. Much of the park is walking and hiking trails, of which we did neither.

We did, however venture to the CCC cabin and down to the lake.

The ranger stated the maples had been brilliant before the recent hard frost. He was certain the projected rain and the wind would put the park past prime. He suggested we drive highway 38 south.

Although we left Scenic State Park, we still were in Superior National Forest and touching the edge of Chippewa National Forest in our drive south.