SkyWatch Friday: Along the Boardwalk

Another 'Flashback Friday' photo from last year about this same time, when Nik and I were taking a late spring hike along the Simmons Woods boardwalk. This year the marsh and trees are no where near as green as this picture shows them to be... but at least the sky is blue and the sun is shining!

See more SkyWatch Friday photos here.

You can see for miles and miles

The above photo was taken on the way up to Granddad's Bluff point, off the right side of the road.  It's looking north towards Onalaska, Wisconsin, and westward to Minnesota.  You can see parts of both the Black River and the Mississippi River in the distance. It had rained earlier in the day and was still very warm so there was a misty haze illuminated by the sunset.

The image below was taken from the top of Granddad's (where the telescopic view finders are) and it also looks northwest, but with a closer focus.  The marsh at the bottom of the picture is part of the La Crosse River flowage, which goes through Myrick Park, and eventually meets up with the Mississippi River in downtown La Crosse.

Click each one to see the enlarged images. These seem quite appropriate for Skywatch Friday!

Pewaukee River Watershed

The creeks and marshes in the lowlands of Pewaukee converge near the Simmons Woods Wetlands. From here the water flows into the Pewaukee River, which in turn empties into the Fox River to the south. We recently took a hike in Simmons Woods Park and took the above shot. The trees are barely leafing out, but it is still a place of pristine, natural beauty. This view looks east towards a heron rookery (see image below) where the Great Blue Herons make their nests in tall bare trees within the safety of the marsh.

Cat Tails

These cat tails surround the boardwalk at the Simmons Woods marsh area in Pewaukee.