End of the year (2020) leftover backyard wildlife

 Yes, it's 2022 and I'm still posting photos from 2020. Instead of using all my extra time during the pandemic I just left this blog slide so it's time to catch up.

We don't often get bucks in the yard but this one had a very nice rack.

Usually the geese just walk across the front yard but this day they decided to march down the street instead.

Just standing in the rain and relaxing.

We have geese on the pond most days but ducks are a little more rare to see.

It's funny how they all line up facing the same way. Not sure what the fourth one from the right is doing but it looks like this photo is about to get "R" rated.

I looked out the back window one day and saw a family of ducks walking around the pool. The little ones just walked through the fence slats but I wasn't sure how momma duck was going to get through.

Turns out she's skinnier than I thought, the feathers make her look bigger, but she squeezed right the fence with ease.

Walking in formation.

Swimming in formation too.
 

Fall Dragon Run

 Unlike Gettysburg from my last post, the FDR is one of our least sedate trips. It's four or five days to fun driving in the NC/TN/GA mountains near the Smokey Mtns National Park.

Bridal Veil Falls on the road between Franklin NC and Highlands NC.

The area is beautiful all year, but especially during the fall when the trees are changing colors.

Foothills Parkway, this is the new part that runs from 321 north to almost Pigeon Forge.

The hills outside of Highlands NC, taking 28 south through the tip of GA into SC was a total blast, nothing but curves and no other cars. I only found this road because I got stuck at a light, lost the group I was driving with and took a wrong turn. Five minutes in I knew I went the wrong way but was having way too much fun to turn around.

One of our favorite routes is Wayah Rd from 23 west to 74. Switchbacks up and over Wayah Gap, around a few beautiful lakes then down the river valley back and forth over the river.

The lineup before we do our group run over the Dragon Saturday morning.

Most runs end with a stop to compare cars and chat about how much fun the drive was, and where to go next. In this case next was lunch at Tellico Grains, one of the best bakeries around then a fast run over the Cherohala Skyway.

Perfect fall day for top down fun driving. Near Canada road, another fun fun road.

 

Gettysburg

 Our car group takes an annual fall trip to Gettysburg. It's one of our more sedate trips, mostly cruising through the pretty fall foliage and history trips through the national park.

All our trips have at least one group photo.

It's not often we get stopped by horse traffic.

It was a damp overcast day.

Nothing to do with Gettysburg but... Look it's a deer!!!

It was a really really scruffy deer.

More Mackinaw City

 

It was a beautiful fall day, perfect for top down cruising, with the heat on.

But it was just a little windy, the whitecaps on the Lake Michigan were breaking over the shore at Petoskey.

Michigan 119, the Tunnel of Trees drive on the Lake Michigan shore.

Mackinaw City

 During the pandemic we took a few short day trips just to get out of the house. Mackinaw City is on the northern tip of the lower peninsula of Michigan.

Downtown is all restaurants, clothes stores, and fudge shops.

No trip to Mackinaw to complete without bringing some fudge home.

The ferry terminal where you pick up a boat to Mackinaw Island.

The Mackinaw Bridge, 5 miles across the straits between the lower and upper peninsulas in Michigan. On labor day you can walk the entire bridge.

Looking over the straits to the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island.

One of the ferries over to Mackinaw Island.
 

Red River Gorge part 2

 

The Red River Gorge geological area is very cool to drive through.

The natural sky bridge.

The car was clean when I started the trip but a couple days and a thousand or so miles and it was very not clean.