Changing seasons

Lots of fun things going on out here in these days before Brita and Ben's wedding. Lots of friends and family arriving, it is so wonderful to see everyone here. We had a beautiful sunny day today so took the chance to go for a hike. It was steeper than we had expected, and our flat-lander lungs took a little extra work, but we had a good trip uphill for about an hour. We had hoped to make it to the top of the ridge in the background and look over the top to the 5 lakes on the other side, but we were a little limited on time (had to get Dan back to meet up with the guys to go play disc golf). The descent back to the car went much quicker!

The view across this meadow towards Squaw Valley is like a picture postcard. There is a golf course running across part of this valley with the ski resort down towards the end.

One interesting aspect of being here right now is that this is very much the "off-season" for the area--after the summer vacationers and before the snow flies and skiers arrive. It's kind of fun to pause and imagine what it all looks like under a thick blanket of snow. There are very few people around, many shops and restaurants are closed or operating on shortened hours. And lots of maintenance and improvements visible wherever we go. Feels like all the locals are either hurrying to get the necessary things done before the rush arrives, or taking advantage of the lull to get a little R&R for themselves. I hope they are ready for a good winter!