Team Skaggs: Storm King

On Saturday we went to a place called Storm King Art Center, in no small part because I just love the name. Storm King. If we have a third child (which we most certainly will not) I will name him Storm King Skaggs. Even if he's a girl.

But probably the bigger reason we went is that we have heard it is absolutely amazing. It's about an hour's drive up the Hudson River, which in late October is knock-you-over gorgeous. It's a sculpture garden or "open-air museum" that is 500 acres of the most beautiful landscape you have ever seen. Especially in mid-autumn. And it is home to more than 100 carefully sited sculptures by some of the most famous artists of the last century. Read more about its history here.

I knew we had to get out of town this weekend because the leaves have been changing colors and I needed to head up the Hudson to get my very first dose of real fall foliage. We rented a Zipcar and headed north.

Stopping at the New York/New Jersey state line:

We were a bit rushed because we had to wait until after Ella was finished with soccer and hit some traffic on the way (other leaf watchers), so I know we'll be back again (and again). I'll let the photos speak for themselves (and I promise, I only chose the best ones - I took dozens and dozens of photos). And remember to click the pictures to make them bigger.

Pyramidian by Mark Di Suvero

Three Legged Buddha by Zhang Huan

Eight Positive Trees by Menashe Kadishman

Schunnemunk Fork by Richard Serra

Storm King Wavefield by Maya Lin (even the landscape itself has been turned into art)

Mermaid by Roy Lichtenstein (Ella recognized this as the artist of Grrrrr!)

Jambalaya by Mark Di Suvero

For Chris by Mark Di Suvero

Ella gets to bang the inside with a mallet which produces a thunderous noise.

Beethoven's Quartet by Mark Di Suvero

Five Swords by Alexander Calder

Suspended by Menashe Kadishman

The Arch by Alexander Calder

Momo Taro by Isamu Noguchi

And the highlight for us was seeing two more Andy Goldsworthy pieces. We've seen several in San Francisco and have watched his documentary Rivers and Tides. We even re-watched it for Sunday Family Movie Night which was fun after seeing this piece that is highlighted in the film. If you haven't watched it, please do. It's the most beautiful movie.