Gates open each day at 5:30 and the lights -- all 3.5 million of them -- are switched on at 6:00. I was barely through the gate when this rather startling event occurred. The first picture is of my first view of the lighted mill through the slats of a window on the covered bridge. The second is of the other side of the mill in the few minutes before the people crowded near the bridge for the animated light show (more on that in a bit) moved deeper into the grounds. Every structure, including the water wheel is covered with lights. The third picture shows a tiny fraction of the more than 3000 Santas in "the largest Santa Claus collection in the country." There are some very old and some very odd ones like this Mardi Gras mask. The huge miniature village (Yeah, that makes sense.) includes a Big Boy restaurant, a drive in theater, and much much more. As hinted at earlier, every hour on the hour the covered bridge I entered on becomes the foundation for an animated light show which ends with that "HAPPY HOLIDAY" panel. I didn't have a video camera so the best idea of the show I can offer is through these few pictures: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. There are, of course, several videos at YouTube. Just search on "Clifton Mill".

I'm at a dead stop in the second picture. Cross to the left of me, rocket to the right, stuck in the middle with lots of people. There were some really foggy spots but fortunately, despite being within the area named in the alert, this wasn't one of them. The reason for the traffic jam turned out to be a state trooper and a couple of trucks parked in the right hand lane while some workers shoveled cold mix into potholes. The holes were big and they certainly deserved the attention but you really don't expect to see a work crew walking around in an area that other government employees are broadcasting warnings about.