Happy Sunday! Anne is hosting this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge and it is the perfect topic for now as the temperature here for the unforeseeable future will be in the triple-digits and that topic is summer daze.

Looking at the weather forecast, I don’t think I’ve seen so many triple-digit days in a row for my area. If you don’t know, I live at an elevation of 4,300 feet above sea level, the UV is so ridiculously high that you can’t even grow summer crops in the garden without at least a 40% shade cloth and you can’t go out without at least SPF 50 slathered all over your body.

When temperatures get to the triple digits, it’s out for emergencies only. If I need to harvest something from the garden, I would have to harvest them before 9 AM because after around 9:30 AM, I’m not leaving the house unless I’m in a car. However, that is not to say I don’t go anywhere to try to escape this heat. In fact, I have special places which I would go only in the summer if I have the opportunity.

The last time I was at Mirror Lake was in the summer of 2024. I circled the parking lot three times without any luck of finding a parking space. In contrast, when I visited this same lake all the other times in 2017, 2019, and 2022, the parking lot was full of empty spaces. I wondered what happened in between my visits.

Anyway, this is a very serene lake at over 9,500 feet above sea level. The temperature at the lake is often at least 15 degrees cooler, which makes it a summer destination. The only time I can access this lake is during the summer as the road doesn’t open until after Memorial Day.

This is another one of my favorite summer destinations – Bridal Veil Falls. When the water comes down, you can feel a slight breeze and an occasional mist if there’s enough water. I’ve only been there once in the summer and already, I wish to go back some time this summer.

Hopefully, I can make a trip next month.