The air starts to get warmer. You wake up at five in the morning and can already feel the promise of a hot day ahead. Just the barest tinge of the nighttime coolness filters through your open window and fluttering curtains.

It is summer.

Colorado is wonderful in the summer. It is hot, but not humid. There are hundreds of adventures just waiting for you to choose them. Mountains and lakes and trails and shows.

I love driving around, taking in the sights. (Here’s a thing that confuses me every time: sites or sights? Probably not totally interchangeable, but maybe sort of? Somebody please advise!) Parking on the side of a dirt road and adventuring around. There is wonder in every view.

I think it’s telling that one of our most beloved and famous venues is not man-made. We Coloradans want to live and play and breathe in the natural magnificence.

Fourth of July rang in this weekend (more on that later this week). For me, Independence Day always sort of marks the beginning of summer. Yes, technically summer starts weeks before July 4, but there’s something about spending a day in the sun, eating delicious grilled food, staying outside late into the evening watching explosions that makes me want to grab every last moment of summer to keep in my pocket all year long.

So here’s to summer! Get out there and enjoy it, lovelies. Only comes once a year, so better embrace it.