Fall is Here
Gone are the late sunsets and warm nights. Shorter days and cool night are here... I'm not quite ready for winter yet, but there is nothing better on a chilly fall night than a campfire surrounded by friends.
Campfire Fun 
My friends and I like to get together on the weekends in the fall and have a nice cozy campfire. We all huddle around the fire with blankets and cocktails and enjoy each other's company. Sometimes we talk about how our weeks went, spent away from each other. Sometimes we tell stories from before we knew each other. Sometimes we just sit in silence and listen to the crackling fire and maybe the sound of a creature in the woods. It is something we all look forward to.
Relaxing
Most of my friends, including myself, work second jobs — in one form or another in the food industry, and the end of the busy summer signals a cool down period. Business slows down a little bit before hunting season starts, which is quickly followed by snowmobile season. Fall is a great time for all of us to regroup and relax after a hectic summer.
We love to have a cook out while the sun is still out and there is a little bit of warmth in the air. We grill hot dogs and hamburgers and someone usually brings a salad. Most importantly, we have a cooler full of beer and s'mores supplies!
Once the sun goes down and we get the fire going, we play card games and laugh.It is one of the few times in our crazy hectic lives that we get to really unwind. We have all grown up and changed so much from when we first met. Now we have full time jobs, some of us have kids, and some of us are buying or building our own homes. It is really easy to lose track of friends as you grow older. This is one way we make sure to all stay up on each other's lives.
Winter is Coming!
Soon enough, we will run out of time to enjoy the outdoors without a snowsuit, so I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can while it lasts!
Weekends to camp are running out too! State campgrounds are only open through Columbus Day, so book those campsites now before you run out of time. And don't forget to check out local businesses for your campfire supplies! Stop into Kalil's Grocery in Inlet for your s'mores supplies, or check out Charlie John's for your cookout needs (make sure to also take a look at their all new selection of microbrews!).
In related ADK autumn outlook news:
