SUMMER OUTDOOR MAGIC

“Hot enough for ya?” is a common sarcastic greeting around the office when it’s really hot. The common response includes rolling the eyes and a guttural, unpleasant-sounding groan. Perhaps it’s human nature to grow cynical about certain things as we age, and mid-summer heat seems to be high on everyone’s list. However, when I was a boy, summer, at whatever temperature, was magic.

The big event was “summer vacation.” The last day of school was one of the most anticipated dates of my life when I was nine or 10. Summer marked the last day of school and the beginning of summer vacation. That first Monday morning when I didn’t have to get up and go to school was pure bliss. When you’re a kid, three months is forever, and the first of September when school re-started seemed half a lifetime away. But the other thing that marked summer vacation was being outdoors. I don’t remember spending much time in the house during the summer, unless I was sleeping. Summer was synonymous with “outside.”

For me growing up in a small Kansas town meant a summer daily schedule of something like this: Sleep in. Ride my bike over to my cousin’s house and convince him that we should go fishing. After digging for worms, we’d ride our bikes to the lake. We’d fish, throw rocks, catch frogs, get wet and dirty, and once in a while we’d catch a fish. By noon it was getting hot, so we’d ride home to eat lunch, then change into our swimming suits, get back on our bikes and head for the city pool. We’d swim all afternoon. After supper, we were either on our bikes riding with friends around town, playing basketball in the driveway, or playing “capture the flag” or other yard games until after dark. The only reason to be in the house was to eat, change clothes and sleep. The next day, we’d get up and do it again.

 
A special treat was getting a ride to the farm pond south of town where we could swim, fish, catch frogs, get dirty -- I guess pretty much the same itinerary as at the state fishing lake but in a “wild” setting. When we were a little older, we’d sometimes get dropped off at the pond in afternoon with a cooler of food and drinks, cots, sleeping bags and fishing tackle. We’d sleep under the stars, tell stories, and ending up scaring ourselves. I remember one night when a meteor shower kept us entertained well into the night. My mom or aunt would often drive us to the pond and wait patiently for us to tire of swimming and fishing. If we stayed the night, they'd pick us up the next morning. Looking back, I can see how lucky we were. 

There are lots of opportunities for summer outdoor magic, no matter where you live. There are more than 40 state fishing lakes and 200 community lakes within an easy drive or bike ride. You can find all of them, as well as other useful outdoor information on KDWPT's website. Don't let kids miss out being outdoors this summer and take advantage of the great summer fun found across Kansas.