Stacey and Darrell hired us for three days in October… a halloween party on Friday, a sunny recreational Saturday at Crater Lake followed by a Sunday wedding on the rim. It was the last open day of the season… the lodge was about to shut and the roads would close as soon as people were out. Sunday morning found us with much lower skies and rapidly dropping temperatures… enough that the bridal party wore long underwear and hiking boots under their beautiful dresses. On the rim, the cold wind was close to unbearable… guests wrapped in plastic parkas braving the sleet and the freezing fog. The flowers popped in that stark light. Stacey braved it somehow in her spaghetti strap dress.

The party was down the hill in a little grange hall in Fort Klamath… homemade pies and fine BBQ. As the rain subsided, I asked them to come across the street with me to play in the high grass.

Up on the rim, the roads were closing for a long white winter.