Smell of Summer

I am not a warm-weather person. I love a 45 degree climate when all you need is a light jacket, jeans and sweater to go outside. However, I do love the smell of summer, it makes me giddy like a 13-year old flirt. I love when I open my door and take a step outside and there is a sweetness that fills the air. I don't know if its cut grass, flowers, or the sun radiating off the hills. Either way, that smell drives me wild. On Saturday, I had to be up early for a service project and upon opening the door my knees weakened. It smelled like summer.

Summer is almost here and while we still have some cold days I am starting to think about our summer plans. I picked up a hiking Montana book to scour out some nice trails in the Missoula area and immediately, I was circling the map, checking driving distances, and already thinking about what to pack. We love camping and backpacking and no longer living in Seattle means we can do this things almost effortlessly.

Being pregnant, of course, I have to limit myself to the easier hikes. So I kept my eyes out for 10-mile overnight hikes and was surprised to find so many of them within 100-miles of us. Living in Montana I have taken for granted the wide range of beauty that is in our state. Whether you want densely forested pine trees, mountains, or ancient cedars, lakes, and waterfalls, or high dessert its all here, it just depends what direction you drive. The trick is figuring out where you want to go first.

There are several 2-day trips that I would love to take, I think it just depends on the weather. I have a feeling the smell of summer will send me somewhere...just anywhere but indoors!