Summer Town in the Fall

A couple of weekends ago we headed back up the cabin.  It is all new for me, because the latest in the year I have been to Bear Lake before this year was the weekend after Labor Day.  I wasn't sure if we would be bored at the cabin when it is to cold to go out on the lake, but so far we have done a pretty good job of keeping ourselves busy and happy.

First off, the drive!  Most of the leaves had fallen down in the canyons, but there were still a few leaves hanging in there.  Is there anything better than some colorful leaves, a bright blue sky and some sunshine?  Can't help but be in a good mood with stuff like this out the window, even if Cora is asking if we are almost there for the 582nd time.  Glorious:

The drive up to the lake is much less stressful in the late fall.  Not very many big boats getting pulled up the canyon to get stuck behind and then try to pass.  Have you ever noticed that as soon as a passing lane finally comes, everyone speeds up about by about 15 mph, especially the person in front of you?  They have been going 10 mph below the speed limit for the last 10 miles, but as soon as a passing lane hits, they are five over and you have to go crazy fast to pass them and hope there are no cops in the canyon?  Just me?  Anyway, there was hardly anyone else driving that morning, and it was niiiice.  You know, except for the asking if we are almost there yet part.

After we finally arrived and got settled in at the cabin, we took a trip to the local park.  The weather was cool, but still plenty warm enough for swinging!  Dax can almost swing himself, but still appreciates a good push from dad, as you can tell from the look on his face:

After we were done at the playground, we took a walk on the boardwalk.  Again, we had the place all to ourselves.  Preston snagged each kid a cat tail.  'Tis the season for cat tails to be turning into massive amounts of fluffy fuzz, which is like a dandelion on steriods.  Tons of fun if you are a kid, which these guys happen to be:

Though the leaves were gone from most of the mountains, down in the valley by the lake the colors were still going strong.  It was like walking through a postcard of fall:

 Or running, if you are Dax, who doesn't walk anywhere, really.  Crazy beautiful.  Autumn is the most beautiful season, don't you think?  It is so gorgeous that it always makes me a little sad because I know it will soon be gone.  "Nothing gold can stay," or so says the poet.  Bittersweet.  But I will try to soak it all that gold in while it is here:

After our excursion, we headed back to the cabin for dinner.  Cora and Preston hung out on the deck, looking for some of the deer or moose that wander through the yard.  It was cold, so Cora was snuggled up in her blanket.  Preston on the other hand, enjoys some "brisk" air as he calls it.  They didn't see wildlife, but got some good snuggle time in.

The next day was another perfectly sunshiney day.  I went for a run that morning since I was a week away from a half marathon (more on that later).  I had my running hat on, which usually keeps the sun out of my eyes, but the sun was reflecting so brightly off the lake that I had to run with my eyes closed for a while until the road curved.  May be time to invest in some sunglasses that don't fog up when I sweat, um, I mean glow.

After a shower and some lunch we headed out on another hike.  These two wanted to head straight up the mountain!  They were like little energizer bunnies and kept going and going!

There was a big yellow patch of quakies high up on the hill that we almost reached:

After all that hiking, we had to reward ourselves with a shake at LaBeaus.  I was surprised it was still open all week in October!  It was nice enough to eat outside.  Arden really likes the fries and fry sauce, and Dax is always at the ready to take down a corn dog or two or three:

It is nice to be the only ones eating at LaBeaus, instead of waiting for an hour like you have to during summertime.  I am finding that I really like Bear Lake in the fall.  There is no traffic, and everything is nice and quiet everywhere you go.  And it is awesome to sit on the deck and watch the daytime turn to night and the full moon rise:

Ahhhhhh....so peaceful.   Can I just stay up here forever?

We had to head home for church on Sunday, but again, at least we had the pretty drive to make going home a little easier:

Bye Bear Lake!  We'll hopefully be back soon!