It was the last day in the mountains. The end of the trip was just hours away. Little did I know there were still a few spectacular sights waiting for me.

As we rounded the bend, there it was. The sun, just beginning to set behind the mountain peak across from us. It felt like it had waited for me. It had waited to shine its last, golden rays and create a halo around the mountain as it slipped silently, quickly,  from view.

Ah, fall. The days get shorter and there’s a bite in frosty air. Sweaters are required for walks through the garden that was so full of life just a month before. But don’t lament the loss just yet. For bright spots of orange dot the brown landscape.

The pumpkin patch is alive and well. It lifts the spirits of those who carefully pick their way between those giant, orange spheres. It is one last patch of life before the world is covered in a blanket of white.

Sometimes in life it feels like we’re climbing a mountain. And it feels like that mountain is so tall, we’ll never reach the top. We get tired. We ache. And we want to give up half way through the climb.

But don’t give in. Keep climbing with every ounce of strength. Because the view from the top is incredible. There is nothing quite like it. And once you’ve conquered the mountain, you can shoot for the moon. Because it’s not that far out of reach.