The smell of freshly cooked apple crisp doughnuts wafts outside the country store at Curtis Orchard and Pumpkin Patch as small children feed and pet goats.

Adults pull red wagons full of pumpkins in between rows of apple trees as kittens scramble to get out of their way.

Although the sights and smells of fall can be found either on or off campus, for the student looking for something to do far away from the Quad, Curtis Orchard is one option.

"I think it's a relaxing place to come," said co-owner Paul Curtis.

Curtis Orchard, located about 15 minutes south of campus off Duncan Road, offers a number of fall activities ranging from apple and pumpkin picking to wagon, pony and horseback rides.

Curtis said the orchard appeals to all ages but that "we get a lot of University students coming through."

The orchard is busiest from mid-September through all of October.

"Since we're here with the U of I, we've got people from all over the world coming here," Curtis said.

He said the number of visitors continues to increase. About 7,000 adults and children have already come through on tours alone.

"It gets their minds off their troubles," Curtis said. "It's a diversion for some. For others, it's nostalgia."

Christy Simon, junior in education, used to visit the orchard when she was younger.

"It was always fun to come out here," she said.

Simon and her roommate Valerie Cowser came to Curtis Orchard last week to get pumpkins to carve.

"We just thought it would be something fun on a nice day," Simon said.

Urbana resident Kiley Rook said Curtis Orchard "has a good fall feeling."

"This definitely gets you in the mood for Halloween," he said.

Curtis said he enjoys working at the orchard because he has the opportunity to work with his family. His daughter and son-in-law are also owners. His grandchildren help out as well.

In addition, Curtis said he also enjoys the people who visit the orchard.

"It's a great business to be in," he said.

The orchard is open every day from Aug. 1 to Dec. 23. Admission is free.

For students who don't have the means to venture off campus, they can still get into the spirit of Halloween.

Students in Horticulture 105: Home and Vegetable Gardening carved pumpkins during class last week.

"I was really excited about (carving pumpkins) because I've never got to do it before," said Sheila Parinas, senior in LAS.

Parinas said she always wanted to carve a pumpkin but she always thought it was too hard and never had the time to do it.

"It gets a lot of students into the season and Halloween," she said.

In addition to carving the pumpkins, the class talked about the folklore behind pumpkin carving.

"There's a lot of different formulas surrounding this (Jack-O-Lantern) myth, and they all concern an Irishman named Jack," said Andy Larson, a graduate student who teaches lab sections for the class.

Jack was a "really bad guy" who encountered the devil one day, Larson said. Jack tricked the devil into promising him that he wouldn't go to hell for his actions.

However, when Jack died he was not able to get into heaven because of the terrible things that he did when he was alive. But the devil wouldn't let him into hell because he promised that he wouldn't, so Jack had nowhere to go.

According to different versions of the myth, the devil gave Jack a fiery ember from hell, which he placed inside a carved turnip to use as a lantern when he roamed the world in between heaven and hell.

The legend says that Halloween was when Jack's spirit and other evil spirits caught between heaven and hell would roam the earth, so people in Ireland would carve turnips and put a light inside them to ward off the spirits that night.

"When the Irish came to America during the potato famine, they were introduced to pumpkins," Larson said. "They held their shapes better and were easier to carve."