A Journey Down Smokey Hollow Road

Detours sometimes cause area residents to take 'the road less traveled' in their attempt to get to their destination. On a recent beautiful late summer day I found myself on Smoky Hollow Road in northern Grant County, Wisconsin.

Let me share with you some of the natural beauty to be found in our own backyard. I started from County Road T and headed south. At that end the road is high on the ridge and the area resembles prairie lands. Soon we start descending into the hollow.

This is not a road for the faint of heart. In places it narrows until you are quite sure it is not possible for two cars to meet. There is a one-lane bridge, which is approached at a right angle. One definitely doesn't want to meet a car on that stretch of the road.

The road then winds through the hollow following a small stream. At many locations there are rock outcroppings on the left and a short drop to the stream on the right.

The higher side of the road features many shade loving plants, such as ferns and moss. On the right there are sun-loving plants like Golden Rod, Brown-eyed Susan and Queen Anne's Lace.

At a bend in the road an old tree stump is nearly hidden by the vines covering it. The moisture from the small creek below and nearly constant shade allow the deep green plants to quickly encompass anything that doesn't keep moving.

Spotted Jewelweed adds splashes of color along the sunnier side of the road. On the shaded side the berries from False Soloman's Seal and bittersweet create bright splashes of color in a mostly green background.

On a hot summer day this stretch of road is a welcome relief from the sun and heat. For long stretches trees grow on both sides of the road with their leafy canopies meeting overhead.

Here only a faint glimmer of filtered sunlight reaches the road and the plants growing along it. On the road, in the cool shade, it is so quiet and still you can hear the buzz of a mosquito. If you are seeking serenity this is a good place to start looking.

As the road winds down the lower stretch you catch glimpses through the trees of bright sunlight and fields of Golden Rod and Brown-eyed Susan growing across the small stream. In an open spot the flower stalks of mullein plants stand like candlesticks to light your way.

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