Saying Goodbye To Summer 2025 In Southern Utah

We made a little road trip on Labor Day, and this has been a tradition of mine for many years now. Take make a quick journey in the area to say goodbye to summer. When I was a kid, I used to not like this time of year at all. It meant saying goodbye to the friends I got to see only during the summer. School was starting (where I grew up school didn't start until early September, so Labor Day was still during our break). Weather would cool and in a few weeks we would typically be dealing with many weeks of fog, and then later of course the snow.

About the only thing to look forward this time of year was our local elementary school “Fall Festival,” you know, the one where you “cast” a “fishing line” attached to a magnet over a curtain to snag a little trinket. Yeah, that was the highlight of fall.

Now, I love this time of year.

The calmer, cooler days of Fall speak to my soul in a very satisfying way at this stage of life.

Small Communities Are Best For Fall Getaways

Part of the Labor Day road trip tradition includes stopping in one of the smaller communities in our region. Why? Because I think they are the most lucky. What hustle and bustle (and sometime onry people) they deal with during the summer tourism season diminishes to a whisper after the unofficial end of summer. Their quiet solitude returns, and the event to attend now generally is the Friday night high school football game. Or an end of season family bar-b-cue. Or maybe getting in the latest cutting of hay. Most of the seasonal gift shops and cabins close down, and many eating places close or scale back. That's good living.

People enjoying a warm Labor Day at the Creamery in Beaver / Dr. T

I grew up in a resort mountain town, and we had this happen every year. Like I said, as a kid I couldn't stand it. No more miniature golf or the arcades. The theater would go to weekends only, and that only for a few weeks before closing all together for the year. The lakes got too cold to go swimming or boating, and were closed off. And did I mention school?

But it's different for me in the late autumn of my life. I sometimes wish I was in a small town to go through that transition. I guess that's why the road trip to the smaller towns on Labor Day.

So this year it was just a quick trip to Beaver. My wife said it had been awhile since we had gone to the El Bambi cafe for lunch, and we should get some curds at the Creamery.

Based on what we saw, a lot of people were also saying goodbye to summer. The El Bambi was packed. It took a tad longer to get our meal, but still more than worth it. They never disappoint.

You would wait awhile for an Ice Cream cone on Labor Day at the Creamery / Dr. T

And the Creamery was a mass of people. The line to get an ice cream cone (or other treat) would take at least 25 minutes to get through. But if people were unhappy that summer was ending, they certainly weren't showing. It was Americans celebrating like we do. Happy, having fun, and enjoying the minute.

I know, summer officially goes for a few more weeks, but for all practical purposes summer 2025 is done. As the season draws to a close the light softens, and with it comes a moment to pause, reflect, and savor the final warmth before autumn settles in.