colorama!

 peak leaf color change is a slow rolling timepoint, migrating slowly from the north to the south in fall. i love fall and am eager to get it kicked off, so in the end of september we escaped madison and her green leaves and drove up to vilas county with friends from some cabin and paddle time. vilas county refers to their peak leaf color days as COLORAMA! and frankly, that's apt. it was gorgeous up there. 

this is the first time we've been to this friends' cabin without snow on the ground and skis in the car top carrier. the drive was certainly easier without going in the ditch or dealing with blizzards and 4pm sunsets. it was just beautiful. as we got to the most rural part of the drive, far from the highways, well into the evening and traversing dirt roads as we approached the michigan/wisconsin border, the most impressive lightning display lit the sky over and over and over. 

the next morning, we paddled, we rested, we biked, we went for a run, we cooked and talked and played board games and felt so so happy to be normal again for a weekend. 

the next day, we packed up all the bikes and kids and drove to a trailhead to join a pretty impressive network of roadside bike paths, which are part of the "heart of vilas county" bike trails. it was great, and the kids hung in there for 18 miles, which included a stop to visit a big fish in manitowish waters, a failed attempt to get ice cream, and an extended stop at a natural playground off the bike path. it was a perfect day.

upon return to the cabin, the kids all got redi-whip sprayed into their mouths because eleanore is a more fun mom than i am,

and the adults snuck out for a sunset paddle.

there were stories to read,

and smores to make. 

the next day was monday, and these kids buckled down to their virtual learning, testing the limits of the wifi capacity at the cabin. it works, everyone logged on, learning happened.