Hobby Thread - September 26, 2026 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. For this week, the Wheel of Hobbies (TM) is feeling adventurous and decided on a fall scenic drives theme for this Hobby Thread.

A scenic drive in a scenic season? Yes! Tell me more!

[Top photo: Million Dollar Highway, Colorado]

Scenic drives are fun. Great roads can produce great experiences. There is a lot of world out there, so why not explore it? Seasonal changes add an extra twist that can make the same drive a very different experience depending on the time of year. Autumn colors are like a great frame that complements and highlights a great road.

Let's talk about great fall scenic drives (or great areas to explore). Let's use AI for something useful and productive and ask for top 10 scenic fall drives in the US. Discuss, debate and add your favorites and hidden gems below.

What are you hobbying?

The theme may not be your favorite but give it a chance before you judge and bail out. Any adjacent hobbying is in scope, so jump in with your interests, stories and questions.

In any event, the thread is not limited to to the theme. Anything (legal) you are hobbying is welcome. Even if the theme does not speak to you, you might learn something or be entertained. If not, offer something else relating to hobbying. If all of that fails, just check in and say hello.

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Leave politics and religion to threads elsewhere (unless your hobby is building or restoring churches). Pants? Nope. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.

Play nice and do not be rude. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls.

Top ten scenic fall drives in the US (per Grok):

1. Blue Ridge Parkway (Virginia & North Carolina)
469 miles connecting Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains national parks. Ridgeline views, 200+ overlooks, and staggered color from high peaks down into the valleys. Often called America's favorite drive.

2. Kancamagus Highway (New Hampshire)
34.5 miles through White Mountain National Forest from Lincoln to Conway. Classic New England maples, birches, and waterfalls in a short, concentrated burst of color.

3. Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
105 miles along the Blue Ridge crest with 70+ overlooks. Easy access from the DC area and one of the most reliable East Coast leaf-peeping routes.

4. Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park (Montana)
About 50 miles of alpine drama, waterfalls, and golden aspens against glacier-carved peaks. High-elevation color comes early; the road itself can close with snow.

5. Million Dollar Highway / San Juan Skyway (Colorado)
The dramatic US-550 stretch between Ouray and Silverton (part of the 233-mile San Juan Skyway loop). Golden aspens, sheer canyon walls, and high-mountain towns. Peak is typically late September to early October.

6. Historic Columbia River Highway (Oregon)
75 miles through the Columbia River Gorge with waterfalls (including Multnomah Falls) framed by changing maples and oaks. Combines river, cliffs, and forest.

7. Beartooth Highway (Montana & Wyoming)
68 miles from Red Lodge, MT, toward Yellowstone. An All-American Road with high-alpine tundra, lakes, and early-season color against rugged peaks.

8. Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park (Maine)
27-mile loop (plus the Cadillac Mountain summit spur) mixing ocean, granite, and mixed hardwoods. Compact and spectacular, especially around Jordan Pond.

9. Vermont Route 100
The state's north-south spine through the Green Mountains- farms, villages, rivers, and dense maple forests. Often paired with shorter side roads like Route 7A.

10. Newfound Gap Road & Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee & North Carolina)
Newfound Gap Road (US-441) crosses the park at high elevation; the 11-mile Cades Cove loop adds valley views, historic buildings, and wildlife. Elevation range stretches the color season.

Same question for Co-Pilot produces similar, but slightly different results:

1. Vermont Route 100 (Vermont)
Often called one of the best fall foliage drives in North America, this route runs through the Green Mountains with classic New England scenery, farms, and small towns.

2. Kancamagus Highway (New Hampshire)
A legendary New England leaf-peeping route through the White Mountains, with overlooks, waterfalls, and dense forests.

3. Blue Ridge Parkway (Virginia & North Carolina)
America's most famous scenic byway, connecting Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks. Expect sweeping mountain vistas and long stretches of blazing color.

4. Newfound Gap Road (Great Smoky Mountains, TN/NC)
A 31-mile drive climbing through multiple elevation zones - meaning long-lasting, varied foliage. Wildlife sightings (including black bears) are common.

5. Park Loop Road (Acadia National Park, Maine)
A short but spectacular coastal-mountain loop with views from Cadillac Mountain and stops like Jordan Pond.

6. Route 7A (Vermont)
A postcard-perfect drive between Bennington and Manchester, flanked by the Taconic and Green Mountains.

7. Cherohala Skyway (Tennessee to North Carolina)
A high-elevation drive with sweeping overlooks, connecting Tellico Plains to Robbinsville. Brilliant reds and golds line the ridges.

8. Million Dollar Highway (Colorado)
A dramatic Rocky Mountain route between Silverton and Ouray, known for golden aspens and steep cliffside views.

9. North Shore Scenic Drive (Minnesota)
A 150-mile route along Lake Superior with waterfalls, lighthouses, and dual foliage seasons thanks to the lake's microclimate.

10. Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway (New Mexico)
A loop around Wheeler Peak with high-desert aspens, alpine lakes, and mountain towns like Taos.

Same question for Claude produces similar but different results:

1. Kancamagus Highway (New Hampshire) - 34 miles through the White Mountains, widely considered the gold standard for New England fall color. Peaks mid-to-late October.

2. Blue Ridge Parkway (Virginia/North Carolina) - 469 miles along the Appalachians, with overlooks at nearly every turn. Color moves from north to south through October.

3. Skyline Drive (Shenandoah National Park, Virginia) - 105 miles with 75 overlooks over the Shenandoah Valley.

4. Route 100 (Vermont) - Runs the length of the state through classic Vermont towns, covered bridges, and maple-heavy hillsides.

5. Adirondack Trail / Route 30 (New York) - Loops through the Adirondacks, especially vivid around Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.

6. Columbia River Highway (Oregon) - Waterfalls plus fall color in the gorge, with Vista House as a highlight stop.

7. Highway 12 (Utah's Scenic Byway) - Less about foliage volume, more about the contrast of aspen gold against red rock in the Escalante area.

8. Mohawk Trail (Massachusetts) - One of the oldest scenic drives in the country, winding through the Berkshires.

9. Talimena Scenic Byway (Oklahoma/Arkansas) - 54 miles along a ridge in the Ouachita Mountains, an underrated option in the South.

10. San Juan Skyway (Colorado) - Aspens turning gold against high peaks; late September to early October is peak.

Interesting to see where they agree and where they produce unique recommendations.

What are your favorites for fall scenic drives? (Let's focus on scenic drives in the fall season for fall colors and not just scenic drives in general.) Are there good routes that Grok, Co-pilot and Claude missed?

Pleased that we've done many of the drives, but not all were fall drives. Gives us a good excuse to go back again...

Curious - anyone familiar with a waterfall spray booth? I've certainly seen small hobby sized spray booths with fans, but only recently stumbled onto a video showing a waterfall spray booth in use.

Most videos on YouTube show airbrushing and small scale painting. Does anyone use a similar set up for other use cases?

Horde sourcing knowledge - hypothetically, if someone was choosing between a sliding screen or a retractable roll-up screen for a sliding glass door to a back patio, which would you pick? The sliding screen door is more simple and cheaper but always visible. The retractable roll-up screen disappears, but adds cost and mechanical parts.

Anyone have experience with a roll-up retractable screen for a sliding door?

Horde Hobbying:

PabloD is building a Bayou Jumper radio - this is 98% finished! Perhaps he can jump in and tell us more about his project:

We featured Project Farm on the recent Wednesday ONT as the niche YouTube channel of the week. Given how much the channel does tool reviews, it warranted an additional mention here.

There are only so many places that one can post this and people will appreciate it.

Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did a tool theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

Notable comments from last week:

Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

Reminder: if you put links in the comments, use a URL shortener and describe what you're linking to. Failing to do either or both makes you barrel-eligible. Don't make people click to find out what you're linking.

Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Or just email to say hello. Do mighty things.

posted by Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

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