Over the weekend, Holly Leivdal and family took a drive to the Western end of the U.P., to do some exploring at the Porkies. She snapped a few photos of her boys checking out the color at Lake of the Clouds and more of the family on the trail they hiked, too. What a great way to spend a family day and with the added benefit of plenty of activity for the kiddos to wear off some of the energy from the first few weeks of being back in the swing of things with schoolwork again.

An adventure like this could double as a field trip for Holly’s boys, as she Homeschools them and they get plenty of hands-on learning, as well as the book learning, too. For instance...they may have learned about that huge “burl” on the tree in the fourth photo. Here’s a lesson about it for the rest of us, in case you didn’t know...
“A burl is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds.”

The Western Upper Peninsula Visitors Bureau takes us to Michigan's Trailhead, the Western Upper Peninsula, for a look at Fall there.

Why oh why am I 500 miles too far south? It looks like a relatively early Autumn this year. This satellite image was taken yesterday. It has been slightly enhanced to increase the contrast and brightness, but it shows how things are really popping up.

For those that want to follow the satellite imagery source then follow this link to what is called MODIS True Color Imagery and then click on Lake Superior (or any of the Great Lakes) in the map.