Getting the flavor of...

Wisconsin’s ancient skull-crackers

The cannibals of Aztalan, Wis., are worth a detour if you’re ever driving west from Milwaukee, said John Bordsen in the Charlotte, N.C., Observer. Centuries ago, a city stood on the Crawfish River there, and its only visible remains nestle today within a serene little park. You’ll find no interpretive ranger at Aztalan State Park, just two large flat-topped mounds of grass-covered earth and nine smaller siblings. Discovered in 1836, the mounds were first excavated in 1919, when charred, butchered human skulls were found in the ancient fire pits. Anthropologists speculate that the people known as Mississippians, whose civilization collapsed around A.D. 1200, practiced cannibalism to show disdain for enemies. Mulling that won’t put you in a mood for dinner. Yet the park’s picnic tables are hard to resist at day’s end—“especially when the clouds are streaked with red and an autumn mist begins to roll up along the river.”

The New England side of California

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New England may be famous for its foliage, but California offers fall colors just as vibrant and for a longer season, said Christine Delsol in SFGate.com. “Our ‘autumn’ show actually begins in August, and pockets of color last well into December.” Set your compass for Weaverville, in the state’s northwest corner, and you’ll currently find the surrounding hills “awash in pink, yellow, and orange hues.” Or cruise around Orange and Los Angeles counties, where liquidambar and ginkgo biloba trees are only now throwing off “dramatic bursts of orange, yellow, and red.” Mid-November is peak season across much of the state, though the fireworks show has been going for months. California’s Mediterranean climate supports a wider variety of species, after all, and its varied altitudes cause some regions to pop far earlier than others. To keep up, consult CaliforniaFallColor.com, a site that’s been tracking the fall foliage since 2009.