Ever since moving to the Midwest, especially upon moving to Wisconsin, I've had one goal: enjoy the seasons as much as possible. Now that I have a traveling partner by my side, I've been able to take advantage of exploring as much as possible. 

One place that I checked out this winter was Monticello, WI. A small town but it definitely has its charms, especially when it's covered in snow. Snow makes everything look picturesque.

Upon arrival you will see their welcome sign (shown below) and I've always admired the design of the bricks with the typography of their town's sign. Both styles somehow don't belong as if from a different era yet still blend perfectly together.

Many have wondered why I take photos of broken and shattered barns/farms. I've always been fascinated of abandoned barns and usually yell at my husband to pull over quickly so that I can take photos of them. Coming from Miami, FL I was never exposed to the "country life" and never saw many barns until I moved up to the Midwest. Seeing a bright shiny red barn is always exciting and picturesque. However, being able to find the worn-to-the-ground barns makes you appreciate the character of the architecture and the history of the building. Many of these buildings have been passed down for generations and so much work was involved just to get these farms up and running. These buildings have been the livelihood of families for decades, maybe even longer. Such strong history is not very common in Miami. Seeing buildings still holding strong after decades, or even centuries, is admirable. We take history for granted sometimes and even if we move on with our lives to build new fancy homes, we still leave behind old architectures that hold on to the last breath of history left inside of them. 

I've seen so many shattered farms, barns, and homes left destitute for years in Wisconsin and I can't help but wonder who used to live there? What history do these buildings hold? How long have these buildings been around for? What could have caused the families to abandon these homes and let it go to waste? Maybe we'll never know but I can't help but wonder. 🤔

Never forget that even though we all move on to bigger and better things in our life, you always leave behind a memory everywhere you go. Make sure to cherish those memories and preserve them as much as you can. Someone has to. 

Thanks for checking out my blog! I hope you enjoyed all of my winter adventures this season. 

Next up: Spring!

Since I'm originally from Florida, Winter is still a fairly new concept for me that I'm wrapping my head around. Though I've lived in the Midwest (Chicago) for 2 years now, the sights I have been seeing in Wisconsin has blown my mind 🤯. 

Exhibit A: "Freezing Fog" creates "Rime Ice"

Have you ever heard of freezing fog before? Or even Rime Ice? Yeah, neither have I until I moved up to Wisconsin. Apparently this is a real thing. It's a very dense fog that has rolled through for about a week or two and since the temperatures are below freezing, it creates these amazing crystal-like snow from the frost on all of the trees called "Rime Ice". Check out a sample of what I am referring to:

I was amazed at how intricate the details were depending on the tree or branch the frost was occuring on. There was a tree I had been eyeing all week that I wanted to take a photo of near my home. I was fascinated with how white with frost it would get from just this "freezing fog" that would roll through each day. The day before taking these photos, the sun came out and the trees were completely defrosted. The next day, the Rime Ice came back at full force and I had to take advantage of the opportunity to bust out my macro lens to take these photos. I'm glad that I did because a day or two later all of the frost was gone. 

Don't forget to visit the Winter Collection in my shop. Some of these macro photographs can be found in my shop as wall art, mini art prints, or even on home decor items such as pillows, mugs, tech accessories, and more. Click the button below to check out the collection

Even though Fall is my absolute favorite season, Winter definitely has its perks. When you get that first snowfall for the season, everything changes. The landscape, the people, the mood, the views... everything. This will be our first winter here in Wisconsin and when we received our first snowfall for the season, I couldn't have been happier. Most people would look out the window and fall right back into bed. Nope, not me. I was jumping out of bed and rushing to get ready to go take photos. When we first opened our curtains to look out the window, my mouth was to the floor of how much snow we got in one night. We easily got about 7-8 inches of snow and it truly was a Winter Wonderland all across town. 

Here are some photos around the neighborhood:

It snowed for over 24 hours so it kept snowing as I went out photographing around town, including when we went to go explore the downtown square. 

After exploring town, my husband wanted to drive me through some rural areas of Illinois by the border and I'm glad that he did. The beauty that I found was breathtaking. We drove towards the town of Winslow and I immediately told him to pull over when I saw a small creek off the side of the road with trees covered in snow. It was probably one of my favorite winter photos I have taken. It made for an amazing panorama. 

As we continued on, there were open fields of hills covered in snow with the wind turbines still active. Growing up in FL I was never exposed to wind turbines very much but ever since moving to the Midwest I see it often and it always takes my breath away. Something about it just puts me in awe at how massive they are yet graceful with the backdrop of farms and open hills as far as the eye can see towards the horizon. 

As always, most photos are available in my shop. This time I have created a Winter Collection so check it out by clicking the button below and purchase your wall art or home decor items with these very photographs:

So our final destination has finally arrived for our fall explorations: Door County. 

I've heard so many people talking about this place after I moved to Chicago, that I knew I needed to make this a bucket list travel destination. From the photos I've seen people post up of this place, it was definitely a place I needed to be for fall. When we finally arrived, I was able to finally see why everyone raved about this place. The colors. Oh the colors. This place was like no other place I've ever seen and if you're ever wondering where is the best place to see fall... Door County. Bookmark this idea now: Door County, Wisconsin. You will thank me later. 

On our way up to Door County using Route 42, we came across a historical marker so we decided to check it out. The real reason why I wanted to stop here was the view of this cute little gazebo/covered bench surrounded by beautiful colors all around. I was definitely rewarded for stopping. Check out these views:

Apparently this location is classified as "halfway to the north pole" at 45th parallel (45 degrees north latitude) and is the midpoint between the equator and the north pole. Here's the plaque to show you what I'm talking about:

We continued on our way to our final destination: the Peninsula State Park in Door County, WI. I read great reviews of this place so I wanted to check it out. The views were absolutely breathtaking at the peak of fall season. I constantly had to pull over to take photos. They have hiking trails but the real beautiful spots were along the driving path as you head up to higher elevation.

I still recommend you pay it because the views are worth it, at least for one trip. For more information click here for admission and park info. 

Now let's get to the good part. The photos. Check out these views I took from the park as drove along through the park:

Amazing views right? Well it got better when we reached the top where the skies were blue, fluffy, and perfect. This was probably my favorite photo I took from the trip:

One amazing find that we stumbled across was the wildlife in the park. A woman was stopped in the middle of the road taking photos and pointing out towards the woods. We slowed down our car and when my husband looked, he pointed out to me the family of deer. I immediately got out of the car and took out my telephoto lens so that I could get close while still keeping my distance. It was a beautiful sight to watch them graze and walk through the forest. 

As you can see, I loved this place. One of my favorite features of this park was the overlook point where you see for miles the bright red and orange trees in the distance. 

It was definitely an amazing journey to get to Door County and leaving it was just as beautiful. 

I heard that there are even more amazing views if you travel up Route 42 all the way to the top by Northport, WI. We only went as far as Ephraim, WI. Next trip I'll definitely have to check out Sister Bay and Northport. It's also been recommended to travel through Route 57 so I'll be checking that out as we leave Door County the next time around. 

Hope these traveling tips helped plan your next fall adventure for 2021! 

TIP:  Make sure to visit the fall report as you're planning your seasonal trip adventures. Here's the link to the Wisconsin Fall Report to bookmark for next year. Only go during peak season. It changes every year but it usually happens around October. As soon as it's near peak on the map, the following week will be ultimate peak and that's when you should plan your trip. 

Now that fall is done 🍂, I think it's time for some Winter adventures... ❄⛄❄