Fall Pictures from Mount Airy Forest

Archie and I took a fall field trip today to the Mount Airy Forest near our house to get some nice fall photos to post. We wanted our southern counterparts to be able to virtually share the fall experience with us. So y'all in the South turn your air conditioners down to anywhere between 40-50 degrees, sit back and experience fall with us!

This picture was taken where you drive to the picnic areas, playgrounds and trail heads.

This is one of the many picnic areas just kind of stuck up in the wooded area.

Again this one is along the roadway in the park. I love the red leaves.

This is near one of the trail heads I take during my hikes a couple of times a week.

This is along that same trail, a little further in.


This is right near one of the playground areas.


I didn't even know this was here until today. This is in part of the Forest I've not explored yet. It's near all the playground areas and is much more populated. Mostly I stay inside the forest where it is a bit more quiet and not as many people. So this part was new to me. It's the "Everyone Tree House". Archie thought it was really cool. We went in and checked it out. It would be a nice to have a picnic in it sometime!

This old fallen oak is on one of the trails I hike regularly.

I've been wanting to get a picture of this huge old oak for weeks, but I wanted to have a size reference. I had Archie with me today, and he provided a nice reference point! It's the same tree as in the picture above.

This picture isn't from Mount Airy Forest, but one I took when my parents visited back at the end of September. We went to Miami Whitewater Forest, which is about a 20 minute drive from home. It's very nice there too, but I haven't had opportunity to explore it very thoroughly, except for our picnic there with my Uncle Chris and family and then again with my folks. Anyway...I liked this view across the very scummy lake to the big dead tree in the front and the pretty yellowish and pinkish trees behind it.

The next two pictures are compare and contrast photos. I took this first one below back in early September, I think, or perhaps in late August. This is a trail I frequently hike. It was pretty dark in there (for broad daylight) with all the green treetops, the sunlight doesn't get through to the forest floor very well.

This next one is of the same place, but as you can see, it's a whole lot brighter in the forest! I couldn't remember the exact spot I was standing to take the first picture, so the vantage point is slightly different, but there is a drastic difference in colour and lighting! It has been really neat to see the forest change so rapidly, from week to week.

As far as our activities go from the past week or so, we've not been doing anything special...just school and work and the normal stuff. We've been enjoying cooler weather, and have had several fires in our fireplace and patio fire pit already. I was reading my friend's blog the other day and saw her pictured in a tank top, and it really struck me... We're definitely not in Alabama anymore! My warm weather clothes have been put away and probably won't see the light of day until late April. Or even May! But I am looking forward to the snow. I'm sure I'll probably be sick of cold weather by the time February rolls around, but for now I am still in anticipation mode.