October on the 400 Trail

One thing that I think it’s worth stating over and over again is that you don’t need a lot of money, and you don’t need to be an athlete to enjoy nature and outdoor sports.   Ever since I can remember a state park sticker was a priority in my family.  That one vestment meant that there was always something we could do, no matter how broke we were.

This weekend we spent Saturday on the 400 trail. Our hope was that we would still be able to catch a lot of color.  For the most part that was a bust.  The trees along the trail have passed it.  Thus begins the slippy slope to winter… For most of the day the sun hid behind the clouds and the day remained cloudy and cool.  We heard gun shots in the distance most of the day which reminded us to stay right on the trail and not to wander off in the woods.  All in all though it was a good day on the trail. We saw hawks, snakes and even an otter along the way.

Sunday we picked up grandma for a bit of fall color touring through the Baraboo Hills.  We again visited Durward’s Glen which was still amazingly beautiful.  The trees are filled with yellows and oranges but the leaves were falling like rain in the occasional stiff breezes.  It’s hard to tell what the color will be like next weekend. There is a good chance it could be much less colorful.  We’ve hit that time of year..  Maybe you’d still get lucky… but maybe not.

We then worked our way over along Lake Wisconsin and traveled the still closed (but open), Highway 78 to Sauk-Prairie where we stopped by a little diner called Lystra’s Venture Restaurant.  It’s got to be one of the last of the old family diners!  You know the ones.. they can’t offer “old-fashioned customer service” because they never stopped in the first place. Certainly worth a stop if you want to time warp back to the 70s.

This gravel road goes to the right of Baxter’s Hollow and ends at another less used hiking path.

Lastly we took a drive over to Baxter’s Hollow where you’ll probably remember a hiker was lost recently.  It was great to see the roads and bridges finally repaired so we can once again drive all the way back to far parking lot. We also took time to drive down that long gravel road that goes past the main hiking trail.  It was worth it, but don’t go down there on a rainy day with anything less that 4-wheel-drive.

All in all we really enjoyed the weekend here in the Baraboo Hills.  How was your weekend?  Did you visit the area?  Feel free to share your experiences either here or in the forum.

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