Sports commentary: Raining buckets of fun

According to the calendar, Monday was the first day of summer. According to my thermometer, we are still experiencing some sort of winter-that-never-was.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and rationalizations to this wet and cold weather we are having, but mine is simple. I am concerned. With every day that we get this miserable weather, we are losing another day of summer.

Summer already goes by too fast and each September I feel a wave of disappointment about all of the things I didn't get to do. So with this year's late start to the sunny weather I have decided to make a list of everything I want to be sure get to this summer. When you live in a vacation destination like Bigfork with beautiful surroundings, it is easy to miss out on simple pleasures and even grand adventures. It is my hope that this bucket list of sorts will ensure a little less remorse when the warm days are gone and perhaps my list will inspire all of you to spend more of each summer day doing something you love or even forgot that you used to love.

Learn to kayak — I don't think I'll be battling the Wild Mile this summer, but I would like to get in a boat and at least do some lake kayaking for the first time.

Hiking — I've gone on a few short hikes, but this year I would like to make it a part of my weekly routine.

Floating the river — Last summer I took my first inner tube ride down a river with a group of friends.

It was a really fun experience and I was wishing that I had made time to do so prior to our late-August trip so that I could make it out a few more times afterwards. Perhaps this year I'll even get some friends together for a legitimate rafting trip as well.

Glacier National Park — I have spent an embarrassingly small amount of time in the Park and it is my hope that I will be able to explore it to the fullest this year.

Go fishing — When I was growing up, my family did a lot of fishing, but I have not spent nearly enough time with my pole in the water the past 10 years. I purchased a fishing license a couple of months ago when I went paddle fishing and I intend to get some more use out of it in the next few months.

Riding my bike — A lot of my friends ride their bikes around town, on the Swan River Nature Trail and on other trails in the area. I need to get my bike out this year and join them.

Golf — I learned to play golf a couple of years ago, but I struggle to find time to work on my game (which needs some work for sure).

Tennis — One of my favorite unknown facts about me that I like to share with my friends when the occasion arises is that when I was a kid I took tennis lessons. The fact that I took these lessons as a child is a large contradiction to the rest of my personality and hobbies. I'm pretty sure my parents signed my older brother and I up for them to get rid of us for a couple of hours a few days a week. However, now that I'm older, and have access to some great courts, I would like to get back into playing. I bought a new racquet during our first sunny week back in March, but I have yet to have my schedule and the weather line up long enough for me to even take the packaging off of it.

Enjoying the tourism side of things — As locals, it is easy to laugh at some of the things visitors will spend money to take part in an attempt to gain a 'real Montana" experience. However, in some cases I think the locals may be missing out on a good time. I would like to go check out places like the Great Bear Adventure in Coram, where you drive through a fenced park that is home to grizzly bears and black bears. I also plan to check out the maze at the Amazing Fun Center. Additionally on my list are the House of Mystery, outdoor laser tag and a hot air balloon ride.

Wayfarers State Park — Every time I go to the park I think to myself, "I need to spend more time down here." There are great trails on the grounds and the beach area isn't too bad either.

The car races — For the past two summers I have said that I will make it up to Montana Raceway Park for at least one race. With this year's schedule boasting a race on the Kalispell track nearly every weekend, it shouldn't make it too hard to make this a reality.