I'm happy to see that September has found us once again. There's a slight chill to the air, a reminder that fall is just around the corner. It was a near-perfect day to explore the northern section of the Loess Hills Scenic Byway. The route is at its best around the mid-point of the Byway, in the area around Preparation Canyon near Little Sioux in Harrison County.

As I mentioned last week, the best parts of the Byway are off the beaten path, along remote gravel roads that wind through the Loess Hills. If you make the trip, make sure to take the short hike up the Murray Hill Scenic Overlook (the view from the Overlook is in the photograph below) and find your way to the Loess Hills State Forest Overlook Trail (pictured in the second image below).

Also visited: Magnolia, Pisgah, Turin, Castana, Smithland, Oto, Sioux City, Westfield and Akron.