Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Our June Adventure: Perrot State Park in the Summer

I am going to skip this week's travel post  to share our June Adventure with you instead.  I will continue sharing our vacation to Colorado next week.

As most of my readers already know, my husband and I decided after the New Year to go and have a monthly 'Adventure', (if we weren't already on vacation that month or traveling for some other reason).  These adventures can be either day or weekend trips anywhere from as little as an hour from our house to a full day's drive.  For the month of June, we decided to re-visit Perrot State Park since we only saw it in the winter and we wondered what it would look like in the summer.  If you missed that post, you might want to check it out HERE before you read any further so that you can contrast the pictures and get information on the park.

Well, what a difference a season makes!  The first thing we noticed was how lush and green everything was due to all the rain Wisconsin has gotten this year.  We felt we were in the Amazon Forest!  Then, we noticed how views were obstructed due to all the foliage on the trees.  Hiking in winter might be a tad cold and slippery, but we had great views all the way up the bluff on our hike in the winter, whereas in the summer, we couldn't see anything until we got to the very top.



 We decided to take a different route up instead of just hiking the Brady Bluff trail, so that we would have a new view.  But we also knew the best views were at the top of Brady Bluff, so after looking at the map, we decided to start hiking the Perrot Ridge Trail and then connect to the Brady Bluff via a cross-country ski trail once we were on top.  The Perrot Ridge trail is about 1.5 miles and very steep.  You have to be in fairly good shape to hike this one as you will get a very good quad and glut work-out.  It's a very narrow trail in the summer, as the woods want to grow into it.  It takes you mostly through forest land and it is not as well-traveled as the Brady Bluff trail, so it is very peaceful.
 Once you make it to the top, the very first good clearing, you see this view.  It was a perfect spot to stop and take some pictures.  Below is Ashley and my son-in-law Jason.  They were home visiting for the week.  My son Jordan had to work in case your wondering why he is not in any of the pictures.

 After a brief respite, it was time to hit the trails again.
 The boys playing around with photograph perspectives as we hike down some steep stairs.
 A view of one of the wider forest paths.  I never took a picture of the narrow paths because I was too busy trying not to be whacked with a prickly branch.
 By now we reached the top of Brady's Bluff.  The views were stunning!  This time, the sun was out and there weren't any clouds so we were able to see farther into the distance than we did in the winter time and we could see the nearby city of Winona.
 I found this beautiful orange wildflower happily growing in the sun on top of the bluff.
 Just look at this view!  Gorgeous!
 As you descend the stairs down, there is a landing with information on the geology of the park.
 My husband and Jason checking out an interesting rock formation.
 To get down off the bluff, there are lots of interesting, winding stairs that remind me of a Japanese garden.  It's so pretty, and I always marvel at the skill and hard work it took to build these stairs into a bluff (you can see pictures of the stairs on my first Perrot State Park blog post).  This is one of the views I captured from the staircase.
 Once we were off the Brady Bluff trail (another .5 mile hike), we connected to the River View trail because we knew it would take us to the parking lot.  It is a flat trail along the water's edge.  This is a view of the railway bridge.
 We spotted this gorgeous butterfly just sitting on a moss covered rock waiting to have his picture taken.
 Remember the ice covered waterfall I showed you in my winter Perrot State Park post?  Well this is what it looks like in the summer:
 Nothing.  Just a constant drip.  It was very nice and cool inside the curve of the rock formation however, and I did enjoy the cool mist!  I also loved the amazing moss accumulations.  Gorgeous!
 Look how lush the path is leading to the waterfall.  Ashley looks like she is going to be swallowed up by foliage.
 Even though there are no real falls, the rock formations and moss are fascinating.

 Well, by now we reached our car, and we were hungry and tired.  We decided to go back to the same restaurant we visited the first time, only this time we would eat outside and enjoy the beautiful weather and views.  We all ordered Mushroom Swiss Burgers with fries, they were delicious, but I never took a picture!  You can always tell when I'm starving if I forget to take a picture of my food before I eat!
 There is a boat dock right off the back of the restaurant, and people drive up with their boats to stop and eat at this restaurant.  These are the views from the dock.

 I can't leave without sharing one more story.  Whenever Ashley and I go anywhere together we always ask each other what the other one is wearing so that one isn't more over-dressed than the other.  I told her I was wearing my hiking sandals with a black tank and olive green cargo pants, so she assumed I would be dressed very casually.  Of course, I had to accessorize because I felt naked without my jewelry!  Ashley thought it was so funny that I had to have a necklace and bracelets, and that my tank was 'sparkly' instead of plain.  What can I say?  Who says you can't wear jewelry and sparkly clothes hiking in the woods?
Have a great day!  Amy

2 comments:

  1. Wonderful images !!!! Thanks for sharing this wonderful moment with us !
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome shots- what a pretty place! :)

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

    ReplyDelete

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