Photo(s) of the Day: The Peaks at Peak

The island in the middle of the lake at the peaks tells you all you need to know.

The Peaks of Otter Lodge and Restaurant.

View from the Parkway on the drive up to the Peaks.

Cattails on the lake.

The path around the lake is great for a brief hike after lunch.

It was peak color on the Peaks of Otter today and my friend Christine Ward and I slipped up for lunch at the Peaks of Otter Lodge.

The color on the way up and the vistas were all you'd expect on the third Sunday of October and the light, especially this morning, was something photographers dream about.

The lunch, itself, is hardly worth the drive. It is a big, expensive ($20 a head) buffet full of mundane, unhealthy selections (and a few healthy ones), ready-made for stuffing yourself silly and seriously regretting it about 30 minutes later.

Go up, forget the lunch and take the hike. It's lovely.