getting out for a bit

It was raining pretty steadily on Sunday morning when we took Paul to the airport for his flight back east. Because of that, after we said goodbye to our friend, there wasn't much left for us to do but go to Ruth's Diner for breakfast, stopping along the way at the Salt Lake Coffee Break for an interim cup of joe.  We were seated at Ruth's shortly after its 8 a.m. opening and the place filled up around us quickly, especially since there was no seating on the patio due to the weather.  H had a breakfast burrito and I had a spinach and mushroom omelet, with a half of a very good grapefruit.

Looking west down Little Cottonwood Canyon

We went home the long way - continuing up Emigration Canyon to the reservoir overlooks and then back down Parley's Canyon to circle around home.  We puttered around for a while, doing laundry and picking up the house, until it stopped raining.  The clouds lifted a little bit and H suggested we head up to Alta to see if there had been any more flash flood damage in Little Cottonwood Canyon.  There were a few rocks across the road and the shoulder seemed washed out in places but in general it didn't look that bad.

Weather-watching at Cecret Lake

We drove up to the Catherine's Pass trailhead and parked there for a quick walk up to Cecret Lake.  There were a few other people there but nothing like the hordes that had been coming up in the height of wildflower season.  Since we passed folks on the way up, we had the lake to ourselves for a little while.  It was quiet and pretty, with low clouds making their way up Albion Basin, hovering below the mountaintops.

Low clouds over Albion Basin

Back at the truck we paused for a couple of beers, giving directions and people- and cloud-watching.  It never really cleared up but that didn't really matter. What matters is getting out into the mountains, however you can.