Falling Fast

I went for a motorcycle ride last Saturday. First day of autumn. It was rainy and muddy and slippery. Curtis, who I rode with, crashed several times and his lighter motorcycle couldn't make it up one steep road, so he finally gave up and climbed through the sage brush instead. Twenty pounds of mud stuck to our boots and tires and packed into the motorcycle forks and shocks.

We drove for miles up and down hills looking for an ATV accident. We drove 65 miles (one way) just to start the search. We found nothing. Apparently the caller's cell phone died before we could get any useful details about their whereabouts. Maybe they got themselves out before we arrived and never bothered to let anyone know.

Anyway.

The leaves are changing, there's a chill in the air, and the mountains were BEAUTIFUL. We stopped atop nearly-ten-thousand-foot mountains and looked down over cliffs falling away for thousands of feet. It felt ***so good*** to be out there. For the next 24 hours, I felt like my quality of life had jumped three notches.

Now there's a light dusting of snow above 11,000'. Get outside! Go see it! Walk through the leaves before they've all fallen from the trees! This is Utah's most beautiful time of year and it DOES NOT LAST LONG. As you sit reading this post, YOU ARE MISSING IT.

Don't worry that it's cold out. It's not that bad, just put on a jacket. Don't worry that it's raining. Wear a hat and something waterproof. Wear gloves or put your hands in your pockets. Don't worry that it's dark. It will only get darker as the year stretches on, and you can't afford to put this off any longer. Don't worry that you have no one to walk with - company would only distract you from the season.

As I sit writing, I am missing the season, too. I'm putting on my shoes right now and going for a walk.