All good things (and bad things, I will add) come to an end. We thoroughly enjoyed our month at Solitude in Big Cottonwood Canyon, but we are moving on to the next adventure. We have moved back to Centerville for a few days to regroup and repack and then we are hitting the road!

Hiking in the canyon was definitely one of the perks of October. We hiked to Lake Solitude and I got to join my friend Karma and her hiking group, the Crone Rangers, for a pre-Halloween walk to Willow Lake. No matter the conditions, whether snowy, muddy, or cold, hiking was always invigorating. We enjoyed being close to the valley, so we could pop down and meet up with people. We loved having lunch with Nathan’s cousin, Rachelle, and I had a much-needed dinner with my ballet buddies. We had another delicious dinner with Nathan’s local siblings and played games. October was a great month!

We’ve also been working on some improvements to Margaret’s house here in Centerville. We’ve been painting rooms one at a time and Nathan has done a lot of clean out and reorganizing. He’s a great son. The contractor who is building her new house says that excavation will start this week. We are sorry that we won’t be here to enjoy seeing the first shovel-full.

Now it’s time to move along. We’ll be visiting family and also enjoying some beautiful nature, which is what we love to do! First, it’s a stop in Idaho to see my eldest brother, Torr, and his wife, Jane. Then on to Portland to see our youngest, El, and partner, Adia. We will check in next week from our Oregon perch overlooking the Pacific. Have a great week!

Hello! We are still enjoying our time in the beautiful mountains of Utah. We have seen the progression of autumn into early winter here during the past two weeks. The gold leaves are fading with each passing day and we’ve awoken to snow a couple of mornings. We are enjoying time for rest, hiking, practicing, and spending time with people we love. We hosted Nathan’s sister Erin and her family for dinner, swimming, games, and a hike through the snow (with snowballs, of course). We also had Nathan’s brother, David, and his family visit yesterday for lunch and a hike to Willow Lake. And we can’t forget that my sister, Jana, came for a sleepover! We’ve been able to hang out with family (at niece, Elisa’s, misson farewell and visits to cousin Ben’s family and Aunt Carolyn) and with friends (hi to Emily, Kevin, Kathy, and Dave and my dear friend, April!). We’ve also been spending some time visiting mom, Margaret, and helping her with some projects. I even got to put in a couple days of work at my sister’s place of employment–it’s always fun to help out at Concord & 9th and see what they’re dreaming up! We’ve stopped in the valley for shopping, a movie, and a couple of meals out. It’s been a great balance of “vacation” and normal life and we are loving it. Have a great week!