The leaves are changing colors, the temperature is dropping, and snow is visible on the mountain tops; as the summer comes to a close, autumn begins.

One of autumn’s famous trademarks is the colorful foliage of trees as the weather turns colder and days become shorter. Eila Yorgason—a student at Skyline High School—says, “I like the leaves and the crunchiness and the colors.” She also said, “Well, the trees look a little bland [for october]. I feel like they could be brighter… But also, I think one of my friends said that it’s a little bland at the start, but then you just have to go a little bit farther [up the canyon], and then it gets more interesting.” 

Another observation by Miranda Park, a Freshman at Skyline, was that “it has taken awhile for it to cool down this year. Like, it is still in the 80s, and it’s October.” 

Along with the scenery, the new season comes with the season’s variety of fruits and veggies. One popular vegetable at this time of the year is pumpkin. Yorgason comments, “My mom every year makes pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, which are good, and we always get these pumpkin pie granola bar thingies.” 

Park said, “I love pumpkin spice things, like stuff from Starbucks. It’s not my favorite, but it’s still really good.” 

With autumn comes a variety of activities to do and sights to see. Yorgason says, “Well, usually what I like to do is make leaf piles and jump in them, but then there’s spiders, so then it’s scary.” Park said,“I like to take photos of all the colorful trees in the mountains… Me and my family usually go on at least one hike during the fall to take family pictures.”

One other side to autumn are the various holidays and festivals associated with it. Some common ones include Oktoberfest, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, and Halloween. 

Zach Schilling—a Freshman Skyline High School student—says, “I usually go to my German friend’s house for Oktoberfest. His dad makes hundreds of homemade sausages, and it is a big party.” Aside from friends’ houses, there are also Oktoberfest festivals taking place all over Utah, with a large number being at ski resorts (i.e. Snowbird and Snowbasin).  

Park mentioned the Mid-Autumn Festival, she said, “The Mid-Autumn Festival changes its date every year, because it follows the Chinese lunar-solar calendar. It always happens around fall. The festival usually celebrates the New Year by eating pastries called mooncakes and looking at the moon.”