Fall Foliage On the Upper Mississippi

The fall foliage is about a week past peak color on the upper Mississippi, but the drive up state highway 35 from Prairie du Chien to LaCrosse on the Wisconsin side is still gorgeous. The sumac is a brilliant red, and there are still flashes of vivid yellow maples, particularly on the hills in the small towns. The oaks look to have just started to change, though perhaps only to a dull brown, so the bluffs are muted, etched occasionally by the vertical white lines of birch. A few yellow and orange and rust leaves cling to branches, though recent winds have stripped many trees bare to near-bare. But the expanse of river, framed by the bluffs, and covered by a bright blue autumn sky, with the occasional surprise of a lingering splash of color, makes us slow down and take our time. Is there anywhere we would rather be that would make us rush through here?