For those of you who would like to see the Blue Ridge Parkway in full autumn color, I have a nice video for you. I filmed this about 2 weeks ago. I hope you enjoy it.
My Miata Meets the Blue Ridge Parkway

Migration video #1

I have just posted the first of several videos of the trip with the Miata, I have hours of video through the scenic parts of Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and the Blue Ridge Parkway through Virginia and North Carolina. I plan to post additional ones during the next few weeks, as time permits.

The first one is a tour through the very scenic Babcock State Park in West Virginia. Enjoy.
My Miata Meets...Babcock State Park, West Virginia

Monday, Oct 17

I flew back to Minneapolis today to prepare for the second stage of the migration. In a couple weeks or so I will drive our Highlander down to Florida, by a more direct route.

I am still learning about this blogging, and I have much to learn. I am thinking of keeping this blog going to share some of the wildlife photos I might capture while in Florida.

If you have enjoyed it or have any suggestions for making it better, please drop me an email directly at:
steve73@aol.com

Thanks,

Steve

Friday, October 14

Friday, October 14

                                                 The pictures say it all. Blue skies!

 Finished the Blue Ridge Parkway today. What a fantastic ride. Drove late and made it to Macon,
Georgia. I plan on sleeping at Pine Island Cove tomorrow night.

 Thanks to Bobby Wertis for suggesting this trip. It was a fantastic idea.

                                                      Adventure before dementia!

 Thursday, October 13

The day started out foggy and rainy. But after a couple hours it had cleared up a lot.

It was almost 300 miles of hills and curves and it was awesome.

The scenery was incredible. I stopped at the old Mabry Mill, and the Blue Ridge Music Center.

I arrived at another old favorite of mine just before dark. I had visited it in the spring a few years ago. The Julian Price Memorial Park is beautiful anytime of the year.

It’s getting late and I have another two long days of driving ahead of me.

Dream as if you'll live forever

Live as if you'll die tomorrow

Mabry Mill

After 300 miles of curves. Notice the smile.

Julian Price Memorial Park Panorama

My itinerary, written on toilet paper, got wet. So changes had to be made. It rained through most of the day. Even the best laid plans…

It was a day full of hills and curves, with even more planned for tomorrow. Miata sighed contentedly when I gently shut her down this evening. I did the same. This is type of road for which the Miata was designed. So I am getting to see her at her best.  And Florida has precious few of these roads, to my knowledge. Since Florida will be her home it’s good we re both getting a taste of these roads now.

Distant vistas were non-existent today. Sometimes fog slowed me down to a crawl. Bright blue, sunny skies are great for cheerful autumn shots. But photographers know that for deep, saturated colors, overcast skies and wet leaves often make for more beautiful shots with great mood.

Overlook. I'm supposed to be able to see West Virginia. Nope.

I ended the day after traveling the entire length of Skyline Drive. It is essentially the Blue Ridge Parkway as it passes through Shenandoah National Park for about 70 miles. The speed limit was 35 mph and much of the time I was going less than that because of the rain and fog.

I am hoping for a break in the weather that will allow me to see some of those mountain vistas as I travel the first part of the actual Blue Ridge tomorrow. I have plans to make 300 miles. Hopefully that is not too optimistic. I have a reservation in Blowing Rock, NC so that is my goal.

So, why do they call these the Smoky Mountains?

Hopelessly lost, but making great time.

Click on the pictures to see more detail

It was cloudy today, delaying the top removal until the afternoon. And rain later made it necessary to put it back up. Typically my itinerary is written on toilet paper, making changes likely, even necessary. I adjusted my route through the mountains of West Virginia to revisit a favorite of mine from a previous trip, Babcock State Park. The main attraction is the Glade Creek Grist Mill, which was completed in 1976.  Fully operable, this mill was built as a re-creation of one that once ground grain on Glade Creek long before Babcock became a state park. It is used to grind corn meal and buckwheat flour, which is available for purchase by visitors. The water level was too low today to allow for grinding because of lack of rain.

I am staying at Front Royal, VA at the northern end of my planned trip through Shenandoah National Park, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The small specks visible in the sky are a few of the hundreds of leaves falling from the trees.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.

Tuesday evening finds me in Lexington, KY. Whenever I set out on trips such as this I am reminded once again what an extremely large country is our United States. A longer day but not much more mileage, 484 miles, due to my stopping in a few places for photos, and to set up the video cameras for video footage. Once again a gorgeous day with the top again down most of the day.

This little red roadster is such a fantastic experience. With so little metal encompassing one, not only is ample sunshine admitted, but also the scents from fields and forests, smoke from smoldering leaf fires, and even the occasional bakery bread, all quite delightful. Unlike normal convertible-top automobiles, this little sports car has a suspension designed to take corners. The result is not a particularly smooth 

ride. But it does remind one that this is no ordinary passenger car, and demands your full attention. The steering is exceptionally responsive, crisp and tight. It is a dream on tight curves and corners and it has not failed to track exactly as I intended in turns, no matter how tight. And also unlike ordinary cars it does not seem to lean to the outside of the turn, at least not that I can ascertain.

 

Leaving the Interstates behind in Kentucky I found US 62 to be very scenic with many hills and curves to please the Miata. I stumbled across an Archabbey and Seminary at Saint Meinrad. It is quite large.

By tomorrow evening I hope to be through West Virginia and at least approaching my starting point for the Blue Ridge Parkway at Front Royal in Virginia.

Sunday eve in Peoria

I am spending the night in Peoria, IL. It was a long day, almost 11 hours but only 450 miles to show for it. Traveling two lane highways is perfect for the Miata but it doesn’t rack up the miles like the Interstates. I didn’t even stop for photographs. The color was nice but not spectacular. It isn’t at peak in southern Wisconsin yet. It was a gorgeous day to be driving with the top down, along the eastern bank of the Mississippi.  Great vibes, and a grand day to be alive. Tomorrow into Indiana and Kentucky.

My departure on October 9 looks good. After completion of the trip I will post links to videos I plan to make along the way taken from fixed camera positions on the Miata.

If I am able to capture some interesting scenery along my route to Florida I will post the photographs here. I am planning on departing around October 9, but the actual date depends on leaf reports from along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Snowbird Migration Begins...

Autumn is the time when some creatures of the northern hemisphere prepare to move to warmer climates to spend the winter. They have been doing so for many thousands of years. In some cases seasonal migrations are millions of years old. It is a relatively new phenomenon for humans. And for the Russell’s of Apple Valley it is very new.

Sandee and I had an epiphany of sorts this past winter. We had rented a home on Pine Island, near Ft. Myers in southwest Florida for a month. We were down there from mid February through mid March. Considering the winter we left behind in Minnesota it was like a brief visit to heaven. We fell in love with the island and with the weather. It was about 80 degrees and sunny every day but one while we were there. Now that may seem a bit monotonous, but we did not view it that way. We encountered no icy driveways to negotiate. We shoveled no snow. We did not need to insure we had plenty of layers before venturing outside.

Pine island Cove

Instead we kayaked, and photographed wildlife and birds by the thousands. Sandee rollerbladed. We had pleasant dinners outside by the canal. We visited nearby friends and relatives who had already discovered this hidden paradise years ago.

After one week we realized we had discovered something quite unique and very, very pleasant. We decided we might just look at some real estate. We had absolutely no intention whatsoever of buying anything when we went down there. At the end of the first day looking we had not only found a lovely little place but had made an offer on it.

Our Florida home

The place we picked was a manufactured home in a community of such homes called Pine Island Cove. It is a 55+ community and is beautifully manicured and maintained by proud homeowners. I find it interesting that about 75% of the homeowners are also snowbirds, most from the upper Midwest. There are more from Michigan than any other state. It is a two bedroom, two bath of only 934 square feet. But it does have a covered, screened lanai in front and an even larger one in back that nearly doubles the actual living space. One of the selling points for us was the covered, indoor pool in back. The yard is very small which should help insure our yard work will be minimum. It is located on a canal with access to the Gulf of Mexico through Pine Island Sound.

It was a short sale, and while it took us over 3 months to finally negotiate the frustrating experience of a short sale, we ultimately ended up with a nice place at a much lower price than we could have imagined. We spent several weeks down there this summer picking out a new laminate floor, buying furniture at the many consignment stores nearby, and painting every inch of the walls and ceilings. While we still have some more painting of trim, and on the lanais, it is essentially ready to move in.

Pine Island is just north of Sannibel Island, which many people are familiar with. It is a bigger island than Sannibel and is actually protected somewhat by the barrier islands of Sannibel and Captiva to the west. It is not widely known by the tourists, as there are essentially no beaches. Much of the shore is made up of mangrove bays. These mangroves provide unlimited nesting and feeding areas for shore and sea birds of all types. The bays are overflowing with all types of herons, several types of egrets, white ibis, roseate spoonbills, pelicans, many osprey, and countless other species. Twenty five pairs of bald eagles call Pine Island home. To see a short video I filmed from my kayak showing the mangrove bays and tunnels check out this YouTube video:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13T3Vmx5TJ4

The island is basically agricultural, with palm tree groves, mango groves, lychee and other tropical fruit. Palm trees from the island are shipped around the world. There are growers of hybrid hibiscus, and organic vegetables. It is also very popular with sport fisherman who go out after tarpon and other game fish.

It has a small town atmosphere, little to no traffic and skies so dark you’d think you were many hours from any civilization. And it is so very quiet. With mostly agricultural zoning, they have escaped the cement and skyscraper development which tends to predominate on other Florida islands. There is not a single traffic light on the island.

Alligators are sometimes seen in our canal, and a bobcat was spotted only a short distance from our house. Egrets, herons, and wood storks walk around the yards as though they are neighbors, which they are. This summer an egret walked right up to Sandee and I as we were sitting on our dock. He looked at us for about a minute, then walked between us and looked me in the eye from about two feet in front of me. That was an experience I will not soon forget. They are beautiful, delicate creatures, but their rapier-like bill is potentially very dangerous.

As new snowbirds we are about to begin our migration. Part of that migration will be to drive our vehicles down. Sandee’s back does not allow her to drive or ride for long periods so that job has fallen to me. She will fly down as true migrating snowbirds do. As usual the hard work falls to me.

Sandee thought we should maybe get a small, fuel-efficient vehicle, which we could leave in Florida for when we fly down during the summer. Ever the attentive and doting husband I immediately set out to find the perfect car for my lovely bride. No ordinary car would be sufficient for such a wonderful woman. Ultimately, I settled on a beautiful little 2006 Mazda Miata MX-5. It is a pretty red roadster with a black top that quickly comes down to let in that wonderful winter Florida sunshine. It also goes up quickly for that hot summer Florida sunshine.

We don't plan on spending much more than six months down there. We love Minnesota in the spring, summer and fall. We hate Minnesota winters. We love Florida winters but hate their summer. So becoming snowbirds seemed like the most logical thing in the world.

The timing of the migration lends itself well to seeing some of the spectacular autumn color on the way. I am planning the trip to drive the most scenic highways of the states through which I will be traveling. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a little out of my way, but it is a 469 mile highway that is also a National Park. It runs northeast to southwest along the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. It winds through the prettiest parts of Virginia and North Carolina, almost all the way to Georgia. I have seen the Blue Ridge Parkway before, but never in the fall. I am trying to time my departure to hit the peak of the color on the Parkway. The Miata is made for curvy mountain roads, and with the top down I should get a good view of the color.

(All photos by Steve Russell). To see the best of my wildlife shots taken this past winter in Pine Island, see:  http://www.pbase.com/photoguy73/root