There is nowhere I'd rather be in mid-October than Yellow Mountain. This weekend, the colors changed before our eyes, starting out green with splashes of brilliance on Friday and finishing gold and red with only patches of green by Monday. In the Appalachians, the fall mountains take on the look of a patchwork quilt, and the colors in NC rival those anywhere.
Yellow Mountain always has an Oktoberfest party, and this year it was a Saturday brunch. My mom's picture above and mine below show the lawn next to the Pavilion where we gathered. Normally, a great place for kids to run. Though it had snowed about a week before, the weather was perfectly warm in the daytime during our weekend.
Isaac was sick and Jonah was exhausted, so we didn't stay too long - but long enough to see mountain friends, eat some German food, and take in the view.
Then back to our own deck, which has our favorite view of all (along with the Bald).
All weekend long, the leaves were brilliant against deep blue skies.
We had fun just playing in the yard around the house.
A shot of Jonah's awesome boots:
I want that camera!
Eyes reflecting the sky:
Jonah has started giving great hugs.
Jonah still insists on walking everywhere, holding my hand. With Adam, he tends to crawl a lot more; with me, this is his preference.
Gorgeous leaves. Still mostly green at the altitude of our house, but they are obviously in transition.
After a short nap, we couldn't wait to get the boys (and ourselves!) up to the Bald. My favorite place on earth. Adam carried Jonah in the backpack, and Isaac and I took our time walking - stopping for pictures, to explore the sticks and leaves and woolly worms, and to talk about the ecology of the woods as best as I know how.
The sun was starting to sink low in the sky, and the light was golden.
Coming out of the woods after the short hike, seeing the clearing and the rise of the Bald again for the first time in so long...Isaac and I were gleeful.
We kept trying to catch up to Adam and Jonah, but there was so much to explore.
We passed Taylor and her friend Devin on the way up, and they took some pictures of us. We're only partway up to the top, but already the view is stunning.
And we continued on, holding hands most of the way.
The Bald.
Jonah on top, bathed in sunlight.
Isaac was so much more aware of the space and the long views and the beauty than he was last summer when we were here. I loved to see him running across the open meadows, asking to go explore just a little farther, and stopping just to look and ponder it all.
Jonah was somewhat oblivious to our location, but he liked having all of us together, and he found his usual things to investigate - the top of the water bottle, for example.
Me, in my happy place.
And maybe Isaac's too.
I could have stayed all night. But as the sun got lower, it got cold. Time to go home for wine and cheese and a great dinner!
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