Hello!  I’m back!  And you didn’t even know I was gone!  Well, a few of you did, but most did not.  The husband and I have just (as in this evening) returned from a vacation to Sun Valley, Idaho.  You’ve been reading posts about a recent over-nighter we took to Mt. Rainier the entire time I was gone.  I do so love scheduled posts!  But, now I’m back (with a whole slew of photos and stories to share with you!)

The theme for the weekly photo challenge, “Change,” is perfect.  First, our trip was a welcome change.  It’s been a while since we’ve taken an entire week off of work to rest and recharge.  Second, we needed a break after the husband’s stint in the hospital.  Hard to believe that all happened just last week.  He’s doing well, by the way.  We definitely took it easier than normal, but he still managed a 14 mile bike ride yesterday and this morning we hoofed it up Dollar Mountain, a short but steep climb.  Finally, the seasonal change in the Sun Valley area was making itself apparent.  Lots of aspen trees.  Sigh.  I love aspens.  Something about the sound of aspen leaves in the wind.

This photo is actually for my husband, you just get to benefit from it, too.  It was taken earlier this week at Alturas Lake, which is in the Sawtooth Valley.

We arrived at Alturas at…I don’t know…9 am or so?  My husband shared that his Dad would take him and his brothers to Alturas just about every summer for a few nights of camping.  I can imagine that, in the height of summer, Alturas is bustling.  But, in the third week of September it was absolutely desolate.  We were literally the only people on the shores of that beautiful lake.  The morning was stunning, the last of the mist burning off the lake, the sky crisp.  Just us.  In our own little world.  Him, sharing old memories, us together establishing new ones.  How can you get better than that?

You can’t.