The Magic of the Outdoors

With Valentines day right around the corner, I thought this would be a great time to talk about my love for the outdoors. I was inspired while reading an article from The Westrn on Substack the other day that spoke about the passion and creativity of some old Wyoming Outdoor publications and it really got my brain firing.

The article spoke about the passion that used to come through in old publications. Less about advertising a product or location and more about the simple joys and beauty we find around us. Inspiring readers to go out and explore.

For all these years, we all continue to gather outdoors and there has got to be a reason why we're pulled in these spaces and feel better after spending some time out in it. I wanted to explore the moments of magic that I love to experience with you today and hope you take some time to think about yours as well.

There's magic and wonder everywhere outdoors. It’s every time you catch the view on your way up a mountain and then seeing the full picture when you reach the top.

Sunrise view while hiking up Mount Bierstadt in Colorado. There are flowers across the foreground and the mountains in the distance with pinks, oranges and blues in the sky

It’s when the flowers are starting to bloom and at first you see just a couple next to your feet - then suddenly you realize you’re surrounded by them and see pops of color in every direction.

A field in front of a mountain with yellow and purple flowers throughout it

It’s the shade when you enter into a forest and you’re completely enveloped in the trees. Everything has a tint of green and feels full of life. It’s seeing a deer and her baby 40 yards away - them too focused on having a snack to notice you at first, then them bouncing away. It’s seeing the way the sky changes colors in the mornings and evenings. Watching each brush stroke come through - pinks, oranges, purples mixing with the blue.

Colorful sunset over the ocean with dramatic orange clouds. Silhouetted landscape in the foreground, creating a peaceful, serene mood.

It’s walking near an open field on a summer evening and feeling the cold air creeping across it. It’s seeing the sun rays pop through the trees and getting to walk through a moment that feels like magic.

Sunlight streams through towering forest trees, highlighting lush green foliage on a misty day. A dirt path winds through the scene.

It's seeing a shooting star or getting a glimpse of the milky way on a clear night. It’s the colors of fall dancing in the breeze - oranges and reds and yellows spotting the hillsides and crunching beneath your feet.

Kayakers on a lake with a backdrop of autumn trees in vibrant greens, oranges, and reds. The sky is overcast, creating a calm mood.

It’s the silence of snowfall that seems to cover everything. Watch the flakes come down - pausing on your walk to listen to the silence. Noticing the way the snow sits on the branches and fence posts. Paying attention to the glitter when the sun hits it just right.

Snowy landscape with towering red rock formations under a bright blue sky, scattered clouds, and some people walking amidst the snow.

Or when you see something completely unexpected - flowers growing out of a tree, a big puffy dandelion in a clearing, the moss making an intricate design, steam coming off a body of water early in the morning, a type of mushroom you’ve never seen before, a hawk waiting for its dinner, every color extremely vivid in a rainbow, raindrops on a leaf or early morning dew on a blade of grass.

It’s amazing, isn’t it? Each season brings its own beautiful version of magic and what a joy we get to be a small part of it every time we go outside.

That’s right, you don’t have to be deep in the woods to enjoy these moments. Next time you step out your front door, take a second to acknowledge what’s going on around you. Your neighbors' garden, the trees on your street, the clouds overhead. There has to be a reason some of the best sunsets you'll see are from a grocery store parking lot - forcing you to pause all your thoughts and take a moment to soak it in.

Getting outdoors is great for a lot of reasons. But the real why behind all those things, is the simplicity and the magic we get a chance to feel.

Live big.