From the bridge over East River Tillard, I followed Mountain Road to its junction with Grant Road, a road I had not previously driven. I took it and passed good to excellent colours along it as I climbed up to Seaview; alas, the sun wasn’t out at that point and I did not stop. In Seaview, I turned right onto Morrison Road and headed northeast for Oban. A little less than halfway to the junction of Morrison Road and Mountain Road, the sun was out and I found some colours, not as good as those on Grant Road, but worth a stop, given the sun. The photos on this page come from this first stop and a second stop a bit further along the road with a view towards St Peters Bay.
ISO 250 21 mm ƒ⁄9 1⁄320 sec
Taken 2014 October 15 in Seaview from Morrison Road 1.4 km (⅞ mi) north of the four corners
GPS 45°41.610′N 60°58.546′W
Photo #1 looks back along Morrison Road towards Seaview, where the red maple that brought me to a stop can be seen right of centre. Many of the oranges are only just starting, but some other reds are also visible, as well as some trees whose upper branches are already stripped of their leaves.
Photo #2 looks forward along Morrison Road heading towards Oban. Here, the colours are red-orange and orange, with a wee branch of red at the lower left. It is still clearly early days for the fall colours here.
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ISO 250 48 mm ƒ⁄9 1⁄250 sec
Taken 2014 October 15 in Seaview from Morrison Road 1.4 km (⅞ mi) north of the four corners
GPS 45°41.610′N 60°58.545′W
ISO 250 24 mm ƒ⁄8 1⁄250 sec
Taken 2014 October 15 in Seaview from Morrison Road 1.4 km (⅞ mi) north of the four corners
GPS 45°41.610′N 60°58.546′W
Photo #3 shows the red maple seen in photo #1 in its full glory, basking in the sun. Its foliage appears a bit windblown in the branches in the upper half of the tree, which is not surprising as Morrison Road follows along the edge of South Mountain.
Photo #4 looks at another maple, caught changing colours. More change is visible in the upper branches, which are orange and gold, with tinges of red on some of the lower ones as well. It’s a bit of a mystery just what colour this tree will finally don.
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ISO 250 45 mm ƒ⁄8 1⁄250 sec
Taken 2014 October 15 in Seaview from Morrison Road 1.4 km (⅞ mi) north of the four corners
GPS 45°41.621′N 60°58.559′W
ISO 250 105 mm ƒ⁄8 1⁄1000 sec
Taken 2014 October 15 in Seaview from Morrison Road 1.9 km (1⅙ mi) north of the four corners
GPS 45°41.689′N 60°58.168′W
After driving another 530 m (⅓ mi) towards Oban, I came upon a spot I had visited more than once in the past, offering a vista of the land lying to the southeast of South Mountain, seen in photo #5. St Peters Bay is the body of water enclosed by the land on both sides; the Atlantic Ocean lies beyond. St Peter’s sits at the head of that bay at the left and outside the scope of this photo. The point right of centre is Pointe Brûlée at the end of the Grande-Grève peninsula. The lake seen left of centre is, I believe, the aforementioned Long Lake.
Little fall colour is seen in the lower elevations, where evergreens predominate, but some glimpses of lighter colours betray areas where the colours are starting. Even here at the edge of the mountain, the colours are just beginning to change, with the notable exceptions of those at and to the right of centre in the foreground of this photo.