Welcoming Autumn

Warning: this blog contains no gossip. So don't look for any. (Just to let Michael know we're taking his advice to heart.)

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. It's not hot, and so you get to unpack all those sweaters, fuzzy socks, and flannel sheets. Last night it got so (unseasonably) cold in our house we had to turn on the heater, and I got a little giddy. I never realized before how much I love the smell of warm air coming out of the vents. I didn't even remember that warm air coming out of the vents had a smell. I am such a cold weather nerd. Anyway, it was wonderful.

Last Friday (the day before the torrential rain) we went hiking up Taylor's Canyon (see slideshow below). It was beautiful and crisp. We almost turned back when it started to sprinkle, but luckily we held out, and it stopped after a few minutes. So we kept going. And going. And then the ridge looked so deceptively close that we kept going some more. We kept going so high and so long that before we knew it, Nathan was hungry. Oh, dear. Luckily we were so far up the trail that no one saw us as I fed him while sitting on a rock.

By then it was getting dark so we had to turn back. The ridge that had looked so close got farther away the closer we got (does that even make sense?). So we left our dreams of hiking up and over to Snowbasin for another day. We'll make it sometime.

It was almost dark by the time we made it back to the car. But Nathan was a trooper through it all. He loves being outside, so even though we interrupted his nap, he was happy. He looked and looked and grabbed at whatever he could. I don't know how, but he got hold of a leaf and played with it for a long time, until he finally fell asleep. We're training him up to be another hiking, mountains, outdoors-in-general enthusiast.

I love hiking in the mountains, especially in the fall. It makes my soul feel clean and alive. We'll have to do it more often. Too bad it's SNOWING in the mountains this weekend. Darn winter storm warning.