The Blazing Hills

It's that time of year again.  The days may grow shorter, the skies may grow grayer, the weather may turn colder, but - for a time, at least - the leaves compensate with their own fireworks show.

Now, this part of the country isn't known for its spectacular fall foliage.  Unlike back East, we have fewer "show" species.  We get gorgeous yellows and golds on our big leaf maples, but to find eye-searingly bright colors, you have to do some looking.  Which is what we did today.

Every year, we mean to go looking at fall leaves.  And nearly every year, we never do.  Things come up.  Family plans fall through.  Nobody pins down a date.  But this morning we had lighter gray skies, and many of the trees around town had been teasing us with color explosions for weeks.  Enough was enough.  Mom, my sister, and I grabbed our cameras and headed up I-90 to look for fall leaves.

 

Our first stop (after gas) was Rattlesnake Lake, where we bypassed the lake itself and visited the Cedar River Education Center.  We hadn't been there before, and were pleasantly surprised.  It featured a cool water feature running around and through the entire facility, a small educational center explaining how water travels from the ocean through the ecosystems, and nice views of Rattlesnake Lake and Rattlesnake Ridge. (No, no rattlesnakes - at one time, evidently,  camas plants were abundant in the area, and their seed pods rattled in a manner reminiscent of rattler tails.)  A central garden area featured rain drums, which are drums played by rain (or rather driplines) in a random fashion.

A trail near the center led by a row of old maples in their fall yellows and golds, remnants of the old company town that worked the nearby hydroelectric projects.

Inside the interpretive center were some neat displays, including this overhead root ball.  Either the illuminated portions were artistic additions, or people should reconsider drinking the water around here...

After that, we poked our way further up the interstate.  On a small side road we happened upon a beautiful stand of vine maples and some neat snags.

More meanderings brought us to this picturesque hollow stump.

Further up the way, more vine maples...

And about as high as one can go, with yet more color lighting up the alpine slopes.

On the way back home, we meandered through back roads filled with autumn's glory.  The sun finally broke through, painting the world in vibrant colors beyond my ability to photograph, let alone describe.

In a few short weeks, the color will be gone.  The grays and browns and rain-dampened greens will again dominate for the long, cold months until spring returns.  I've never minded the grays so much, being a local native.  Even so, I still enjoy this last burst of color.  It may not rank high on a national level, but it's enough for me.