Well, it’s happened.

Labor day has come and gone, our German and French visitation numbers have plummeted, retirees and adventure-seekers have taken over the park, and I haven’t sweat in three days.

Fall is here.

I have mixed emotions about this. The highs for the past couple days have been in the high 60s to mid 70s range, and I definitely can’t complain about that. But with the harsh weather goes a lot of amazing memories from this summer. It’s been an incredible ride, and life-changing in so many ways. Without this summer I would be on a different path entirely – not necessarily one that is better or worse, just completely different. My value system has changed since coming out here, I think for the best. My life plans and ambitions have changed. And I’ve changed, into what I truly believe is a much better, healthier person.

If all had gone as originally planned, today would be my last day at Canyonlands.  Luckily, thanks to a lot of hard work and a bit of well-intentioned butt-kissing, it won’t be. They’ve officially extended my season here until November 6^th, and I’m so excited for these next few months. It will be so neat to see this place in another season, another time of year – but mostly I’m excited to have more time to explore this place and myself.

Since my freshman year of college I have been making little videos to remember each season. I’ve taken 1,171 pictures this summer. This video doesn’t even make up a quarter of that. Enjoy.

…and just in case the video doesn’t work (which on my computer, happens often), you can also watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OGL4Ubz0Bo