Taking a few folks out for a cruise tomorrow to see fall leaves (mostly maples); wondering if Mille Lacs is turning and worth the trip, maybe Gull, other suggestions? Bit of a run from Maple Grove so checking for updates before I head too far down the road….
Tonka is starting to turn but isn’t really putting on a show yet.
Thanks much.
Pete
Burning fossil fuels for the sake of seeing some leaves change color before they change at your own home isn’t environmentally friendly….Have a little patience and save the planet 
For the record, many despise the Traveling Leaf People. Yes, to all others you are known as the Traveling Leaf People.
We non-traveling patient leaf people have meetings to which we discuss how to minimize and mitigate your movements, which causes unnecessary traffic and pollution in areas north of your home such as Mille Lacs and Gull Lake among many others…..
Taylor’s Falls is one of the worst affected locally. Traveling Leaf People account for 104% of the greenhouse gasses emitted there in the months of September and October. Further more, they cause an average delay of 11.7 minutes to hunters and fisherman going about their normal fall business (math)
Unfortunately, the leaf color change is due to the slowing of photosynthesis, and the trees are unable to reabsorb the CO2 from your gawking vehicles. (science)
Traveling Leaf People’s emissions warm the globe, causing the leaves to change later and later every year, which is counterintuitive to there initial intentions. Their impatience is causing them to be impatient, and delaying the leaf transformation to which they seek. (stuff)
It’s a vicious circle that must be halted before it’s too late. If the cycle continues, leaves won’t change color until March and Traveling Leaf People will be searching year-round when they could have simply waited a week (math+science+and+stuff)
I noticed the farther north you go the better. I was up west of grand rapids the past week and really the only trees turning where the maples. Everything else was pretty green yet
I don’t understand how Leaf People have cars that can only go 35 mph?? 
Weird year, some areas are ripe and others not. I came back from leech Sunday and it was hit or miss on the same road within half mile. Swear the color changed drastically from Saturday to Sunday.
It’s gonna be a good weekend to go up either way. The more north you go the better.
The trees in my area seem to be changing fairly quickly. Mille Lacs should be good as well. But!, The leaves seem to be a lot more dull than most years. Wondering if it has anything to do with the “drought”.? Either way, this would be a good weekend to go check them out.
The trees in my area seem to be changing fairly quickly. Mille Lacs should be good as well. But!, The leaves seem to be a lot more dull than most years. Wondering if it has anything to do with the “drought”.? Either way, this would be a good weekend to go check them out.
Up on kab the trees looked like they were ready to turn but they didn’t have much color besides brown in the first place. My thought was the same. The drought must be effecting the change over.
For the record, many despise the Traveling Leaf People. Yes, to all others you are known as the Traveling Leaf People.
We non-traveling patient leaf people have meetings to which we discuss how to minimize and mitigate your movements, which causes unnecessary traffic and pollution in areas north of your home such as Mille Lacs and Gull Lake among many others…..
Taylor’s Falls is one of the worst affected locally. Traveling Leaf People account for 104% of the greenhouse gasses emitted there in the months of September and October. Further more, they cause an average delay of 11.7 minutes to hunters and fisherman going about their normal fall business (math)
Unfortunately, the leaf color change is due to the slowing of photosynthesis, and the trees are unable to reabsorb the CO2 from your gawking vehicles. (science)
Traveling Leaf People’s emissions warm the globe, causing the leaves to change later and later every year, which is counterintuitive to there initial intentions. Their impatience is causing them to be impatient, and delaying the leaf transformation to which they seek. (stuff)
It’s a vicious circle that must be halted before it’s too late. If the cycle continues, leaves won’t change color until March and Traveling Leaf People will be searching year-round when they could have simply waited a week (math+science+and+stuff)
Uh, um, what. Are traveling leaf people more to blame then the traveling circus, or traveling fisherman, or the guy out smoking a quick doob on the back roads. Or is it just the leaf people and their priusus? I’m obviously asking for a friend. I imagine my big diesel has nothing to do with it, because I don’t like leaves any way 
I greatly envy anyone who has the time to travel with the changing leaves. I’ve never been busier in my life. I’ll blink and wonder where the snowdrifts came from when I finally get a chance to check out the fall colors.
Let ’em gawk, it by and large keeps them off the lakes and out of the woods. Leafers get very weirded out when I pop out of the woods behind a dog and carrying a shotgun.
Let ’em gawk, it by and large keeps them off the lakes and out of the woods. Leafers get very weirded out when I pop out of the woods behind a dog and carrying a shotgun.
I love that
B-man, thanks for the chuckle.
the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
In my defense, I offer the following:
1. Having recently retired, I now have the time to do things like enjoy small adventures like chasing the fall colors. Please note that in deference to the hordes of hunters and fishermen traveling hundreds of miles north, east, west and south each and every weekend, I am opting to travel midweek on Wednesday to mitigate any impact to the masses as noted above. Being a true Leaf Traveler, I’m giving the leaves Thursday and Friday prior to the Friday onslought of hunters/fisherermen heading out for yet another weekend on the road.
2. The Prius will have to wait for a future date as I won’t purchase one until I figure out why Prius drivers can’t turn on their headlights until half past twilight… My ravenous, gas-guzzling GMC 6.2L will be the ride of choice, pulling a 3,500 lb boat with a 5.0L.
3. The cruise I mentioned will be on the water; did I mention we will be dragging crank baits? I’m hoping the leaves will distract unnamed guests in the boat so I can concentrate on fishing for a few hours.
4. Also, please feel free to attend next week’s Nissan Leaf owners meeting to plan future Leaf Traveler convoys to distant destinations.
Best,
Pete
The DNR has a chart of best fall colors….I think you need to be further north still. I like to fish the St Croix in the fall between Afton and Prescott…that’s good for colors. Probably too early for that.
Up on LOTW last weekend they were just starting to change. You could run all the way to Winnie….should be good colors there and dragging cranks could be good.
The rate of color change will really depend on the type of trees dominant in an area. Aspens and Birch seem to be early color changers, while different types of Maples are late. For some reason my silver leaf maples are the last dang trees to change and they are some big mothers and its irritating when they havent fallen and we get our first snowfall!
My Ash trees are dropping like crazy now and they have hardly changed colors. I have a Red Maple that the leaves started to turn a beautiful burgundy color when they are normally a bright red or orange. The last few days they are now turning bright red. Havent seen that before, must have something to do with how dry it was early on.
The Park Rapids area is at peak right now. Tough to beat the view from the REAL big lake too, Superior up the north shore is awesome in the fall and that is almost at peak, plus you can launch in Duluth and miss most of the Travelling Leaf People Traffic north of Duluth. Brainerd lakes area is a little behind according to the DNR’s Traveling Leaf People Map 
Lake itasca was really starting to go last weekend should be perfect this weekend and then see the Mississippi headwaters
There was a traveling leaf people rally last weekend at Silver Bay. It was sorta like going to the state fair. Don’t ask me how I know.
There was a traveling leaf people rally last weekend at Silver Bay. It was sorta like going to the state fair.
Why were there metal detectors at the gates entering town?
There was a traveling leaf people rally last weekend at Silver Bay. It was sorta like going to the state fair. Don’t ask me how I know.
Funny you bring that up. My boss was up north of Tofte camping last weekend and said it was absolutely ridiculous how many Leaf People were out and about. They were staying at the Sawbill Lake Campground.
I doubt some areas will get much fall color at all. I have heard that its the amount of mid summer rain that controls the amount of fall colors. We had almost no mid summer rain in my area. my guess is around here we are going to go from Green to Brown to Down rather quickly this year. I was surprised when we drove to Canada a few weeks ago and there was almost no color and that was all the 850+ miles we drove. Mostly North.
B-Man sounds like an NPR journalist 
North Shore of Lake Superior
Thanks for the laugh Bman. To the OP my vote would be Leech or Winnie. We were up duck hunting a lake next to the south east side of Leech and the colors are starting to look pretty good. As mentioned they were noticeably better driving home on Monday then when we came up on Friday. Happy Leaf Hunting!
Just drove around the west side of the pond yesterday afternoon, it was very pretty. Not quite to peak.
Wear polarized sunglasses, they really make the colors pop. 
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