Tale of Two Seasons

Our long dry spell was interrupted by a quick moving storm that brought a little precipitation. Rain in the valley and snow on the mountain. I knew this would be a beautiful day to see the autumn colors. Finally! Almost 2 weeks late this year! I went over to Grandpa Hank's house to see if he wanted to go for a drive. He was happy to! Burrr, the wind was blowing at 9,000 ft at Mather Overlook. But grandpa kept saying how beautiful it was. He also asked "Has this road always been here?" Haha
He's getting more forgetful. He was really impressed with the snow, because when we left his house it was very warm in the valley. Quite the drastic, noticeable change in temperature.

10,000 ft at the Summit Trailhead the snow had more depth. Not enough to be dangerous. It was already melting under our feet. One of those blink and you'll miss it opportunities. Carpe' Diem! 
Grandpa got out of the vehicle a couple of times, but he enjoyed sitting inside and looking out the window. We discussed how the snow makes the colors pop out more. The words "so pretty" repeated several times.

So, here it is, the tale of two seasons....... Fall and Winter combo.

We drove down to the campground to the meadow......

Nature's artwork:

We finished up the trip with lunch and an ice cream cone at the Great Basin Cafe.
He was full from his chili and I told him that he didn't have to eat all his ice cream. He looked at me with wide eyes and exclaimed, "I'll eat it all!"
Hahaha

It was a special, wonderful day. What a treat.

So Long, September...

Ahhh September, it was sorrowful to see you go. A changing chill is blowing on the wind, mostly in morning and evening. There's a transition of light and energy during the day that you can almost palpate. The last of the "sun-followers" are turning their heads with the dimming light as the petals fall change from yellow to brown. We had a brief period of accumulating cloud formations, but mostly the skies have been clear. We had only one rain storm if I remember correctly.

Grandpa Hanks has been recovering from a fall and pacemaker surgery. He's still on the mend. His body and mind have aged but there is still a twinkle in his eyes. We still enjoy conversations when he puts his hearing aids in.

The school events are in full swing and I can't believe how time passes as it does. We were all geared up for the 2019 Wheel-a-thon. Kids were excited. Isaac rode 16 miles with the Baker School. Willow rode 8 miles with Garrison School. Bryan and I both rode with the kids. They all did such a great job!

Softball wrapped up for the season. We had some great games. It's great to see a crowd running around on the field. The kids have really improved on their skills. It's been fun. Time to transition to another game in another season I guess.

Bryan is finishing up his insane busy schedule. He's almost done with the bat project. He's been to Reno, NV a couple of times for work. Look at this, he's on a "bat monitoring equipment" advertisement. Pretty cool!

Great Basin National Park hosted National Public Lands Day this year. All hands on deck for that of course!

The Milky Way season is wrapping up as well. I took a couple of opportunities to do some night sky viewing before the real cold arrives. Gretchen, Liz, and I went out to Silver Creek to practice astrophotography and have some fun.

This was a brand new experience on the shore of Silver Creek. What a spectacular sight.

Another evening I decided to go to Pruess Lake.
Solitude. Silence. Stars.

Clouds were floating around beginning to build up into a storm....preparing to rain on the scheduled Astronomy Festival in Great Basin National Park. *Sigh*
I look forward to resuming chasing the Milky Way in the Spring.

School picture day arrived. Willow wore some cute cat ears. Isaac wore his suspenders and tie  :)

We've been watching the mountain for autumn colors. It's almost time to visit the changing aspens.
Enjoying the simple joys in life helps time slow down a little :)