Hey Phil! I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist! You and I and a number of others on this forum really do live in some of the most beautiful places in the country, and autumn is a season that can just take your breath away! Like the Great Smokey's, the Keweenaw is a place well known for it's fall colors. I can name some others too... the north shore of Lake Superior (Duluth and north), the Black Hills of South Dakota, the Colorado Rockies (did you ever see those golden aspens from the air? Wow! - Merle, I wondered when I saw your photos whether your area isn't much the same), and I could go on and on..

Anyway, Mt Bohemia Ski Resort (about 20 miles north of us) has a fall colors ski lift weekend each autumn. For $7 you can ride the ski lift, up AND down, and see the fall colors. We went on Saturday (our first ANNUAL trip! :-) and had just a wonderful time. The colors have peaked, but we had a day of hard wind on Thursday and a lot of leaves blew down. When you look at the photos in my slideshows, note the soft grey areas in the wide angle shots (looking down on the lower hills). Those are bare tree tops mixed among those that are still covered in leaves)

As we were looking out over the area surrounding Mt Bohemia, every so often, I'd just have to say... 'Well, it ain't the Great Smokey's, but I guess it's not too bad...' Phil, I hope you have a good sense of humor :-) It was all in fun. I just got such a chuckle out of your comment about people forgetting you lived in one of the most beautiful fall color areas in the country. Actually, I hadn't known (or maybe just hadn't remembered) just where you were.

So, After the ski lift we drove over to Lac La Belle (Lac La Belle is the bigger lake that you see in the photos that we took going up the ski lift and from the top of Mt Bohemia) and stopped at the general store for potato chips and more photography. From this side of the lake, I took pictures of Mt Bohemia (and the ski lift area we'd just ridden up). But then.... we got pulled into the Bear Belly Bar and Grill by the delicious smells that were 'wafting' out the back (lakeside). Side note, one of the photos is of a mounted bear inside the Bear Belly. There are, I think, three mounted bears there, shot by the owner, his wife, and one of his kids (yes, they really do hunt bear here). Our friend, Dave (part time cook and part time bear hunting guide) was cooking and we had char grilled burgers and some of the best fries ever! Then over to Steve and Bonnie's place (Dave and Steve both play darts with Gary on Wednesday nights) which is a huge log cabin that they personally built with timbers logged off their own land and which is right on the lake and just gorgeous, for a 'sit' on the back deck and a half hours chat before heading home through the Gay and Mohawk route! What a day!

I hope you enjoy taking this trip with us. The link is at the bottom of my post.

Oh, and when you look at the photos, and laugh at the ones of Gary and I (closeups) while riding the ski lift, just remember we are, after all, newly weds!

And, while we're at it, let's hear about YOUR part of the country. What is it that you love about where you are at? It could be fall colors, it could be mountains, it could be the climate, it could be...... anything!

I am new to the Keweenaw, but I can tell you right now that I love the people here. I love the summers. I love the fall colors. I love the fact that we have long white sand beaches and crystal blue lake Superior... beaches that will rival those of a great many tropical beaches for sheer beauty, PLUS, we have the great northwoods! All at the same time. We have miles of 'bush' trails. We have waterfalls. We have a magnitude of wild life. We have great weather for Hostas!

You should come visit Gary and I. We'd love to have you!


Once you get to the link below, just click on the button that says 'start slideshow'.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mount Bohemia and Lac La Belle Fall Color Trip