Well hello Iowa, nice to meet you

Saturday morning dad, Kristi and I headed out the door for an over-night in western WI.  We started off the adventure at the beautiful Wyalusing State Park.  The first spot was a point that overlooked the Mississippi River and the vast amount of trees that were beginning to change colors.  From there we hiked a few miles down to the river and then back up.  A quick trip down the road took us to our next hiking spot which was supposed to lead us to two sand caves.  Well, we found one and a couple waterfalls, which were amazing to see, but we never found the second.  Instead, we stumbled upon a path that probably hasn't been used for years.  It was fun to add a little more adventure to our already beautiful day.  The weather was absolutely perfect too!  Except for the pain in my ankle (which I thought was from my new hiking boots, but actually was from my SA ankle braclet), the hiking adventure was exactly what I needed.  We were planning on just grabbing a hotel when we were done hiking for the day, but little did we know that the first two weeks in October are the busiest for the hotels and everywhere we stopped and called were booked.  So we decided to head across the bridge to Iowa and see if we could find anything.  After a few phone calls we got ahold of Bill who had an option for us.  He rented out a unit with three bedrooms and he had just rented it out to a single guy who was open to sharing it.  So we met David who had spent the last 10 hours on his motorcycle and shared this SUPER cute, historical unit with him.  I guess Mark Twain stayed in this place and it looked right over the Mississippi.  My room was so cute, although noisy being right across from the railroad tracks and the barges that came through during the night.  And the quaint little town was like being in an old novel.  The shops still had the look of the 1800's and they were surrounded by the Mississippi and breathtaking fall-colored trees.  After dinner, we went to bed early-we were exhausted from our day of hiking.  This morning we grabbed some breakfast before heading back over the bridge to WI where we boarded a small pontoon boat that took us on a two hour guided tour of the Mississippi.  It was great to see all of the beautiful landscape, complete with bald eagels.  We grabbed some lunch at a local restaurant before heading to a you-pick apple orchard.  I was like a kid in a candy store when we got there.  They had all kinds of apples to try, hot and cold apple cider, wine tasting, kids playing in a giant sand-box filled with corn, pumpkins, apple sling-shot contests, and of course you-pick apples.  I loved every moment of it!  And the drive home was a perfect way to wrap up the great weekend.  We took the scenic way back, and as I drove I again felt as if I were living in a different time.  Cows dotted the hillsides with the beautiful fall cololrs behind them.  I could not have asked for a better weekend to start off my favorite season.