Fall in the Ozarks

If I had every available color pigment, in every imaginable hue; every artistic tool of every shape and size; and the ability of the masters throughout history; I still don't think I could paint anything that comes close to the beauty around me in this breathtakingly beautiful Ozark fall.

Fayetteville routinely comes out on "Most Beautiful" lists. Truly, Fall in the Ozarks is wondrous. After four years living in the Hudson Valley and two years in Massachusetts, I naively assumed I would never see the kind of riotous color of a New England fall anywhere else. This year, though, I admit I was wrong. This may be the most glorious, vivid, words-can't-really-describe-it fall color I've ever seen.

We got our first glimpse of the extraordinary palette to come with our train ride a couple of Sundays ago from Springdale to Van Buren, Arkansas.

The Arkansas-Missouri Railroad has scenic tours along the rails in NW Arkansas, and we've wanted to take the kids since we moved here. Justin planned this one perfectly - the leaves were approaching peak; the weather was glorious; and the layover in Van Buren was just long enough for lunch but not long enough to get bored in the three-block-long Main Street.

We were upgraded from the Club Car to the Vista Dome - and oh, what a view we had.

All Aboard!

 We were on board with the local Photography Club, so the train made several stops on the way down there. While we weren't able to get off the train, it did give us the chance to get some great photos of our trip and the view from the train:

That was a week ago, though - and in the seven days since our adventure on the rails, the colors have REALLY come out. This is one of our little maple trees in our backyard:

That's just the warm up...

That glorious blue sky!! I told the kids to enjoy it - I think Saturday may have been the most perfect Fall day of my life. I got this great shot of Old Main from the Library terrace:

We were at the library for the inaugural session of the Fayetteville Math Circle, yet another amazing thing about living in a University town. After the session, we headed over to Wilson Park for some fun with a friend:

Climbing on the castle at Wilson Park

Such a gift to have a Fall day like we did on Saturday. I don't really know where to begin to describe the leaves this year, and these pictures are just pale imitations of the real thing.

Wish you were here!