A Fall Photo Tour

We took Aurion, our Islander 28 sailboat, out for a fall leafing last weekend, and what a beautiful weekend it was! We really lucked out on the weather, sunny skies, warm temperatures and just a bit of wind to get a little sailing in both Saturday and Sunday. We anchored out by Long Point Saturday night, the low temp. reaching down to 41 degrees, and is one of our favorite anchorages. We were expecting the Harvest Moon that night, but not that it would rise directly in front of us! It was full and boy did it light up the sky! Stars, what stars? We had a restful night and were treated to a gorgeous morning to enjoy our coffee to. I am guessing that will have been our last chance to anchor overnight for the season, as our beloved Islander 28 is due to be hauled out for the winter on October 25th this year. Dang it!

The leaves were in spectacular color, given what I had anticipated after having the driest September on record for the last 132 years. We motor-sailed along the Wisconsin side of Lake Pepin enjoying all that nature could provide. We saw eagles, pelicans, a couple of grebes, and acres of beautiful foliage. Sunday we were surprised to see our friends on their Com-Pac 25 come motoring up from behind us to give us a quick hello. They spent the evening farther up river in a large shallow bay which they are able to navigate with their fancy shallow draft abilities. It was nice to see them again.

After that it was time to make a bee-line for our harbor as it was about an hour and one half motor back to our marina in Lake City, Mn. We had a fantastic weekend enjoying the beautiful fall leaves in what has to be one of the best places to take in the amazing landscape sporting it’s finest fall colors.