In pursuit of fall colors

It was back up to the mountains last week with our Canadian guests Māris and Ieva! It was almost a month ago that we were in Shenandoah and I was thinking a week of rain might have knocked a majority of the leaves off the trees, but I shouldn’t have worried; it was spectacular. 

Caesars Head was ablaze with color despite an overcast morning. The observer with Hawk Watch had only just arrived, but reported large numbers of hawks had been counted coasting ahead of the storms this fall, including over 10,000 broad-winged hawks at Grandfather Mountain.

We made the stop at Bald Rock, despite a persistent drizzle. The colors there were no less impressive, with rivers of fog having settled into the valleys.

The waterfall at Wildcat Wayside was running on the full side, and the hillside opposite Highway 11 was simply vibrant.

The show wasn’t confined to the Blue Ridge, as Falls Park and downtown are enjoying beautiful fall color too.

The giant American beech has only just started turning, but it won’t be long now before the brilliant yellows appear.

It was a pleasure showing our guests around town, and I’m thankful for the motivation to make the trip up to Caesars Head as we might have missed these gorgeous views otherwise. Autumn still is not done in the Upstate, and hopefully we’ll be out often checking on its progress…