Summer turns the once green mountainsides to a dead shade of brown. The snow caps disappear from the peaks. The lakes, ponds and reservoirs shrink significantly. New fires pop up every day threatening life, property and air quality. Water is wasted in abundance. Energy costs go way up.

Traveling during the summer season is crowded, congested and expensive. Summer road construction is the gift that keeps on giving. Car accidents and related injuries happen much more frequently. DUI arrests go up. “The 100 deadliest days on U.S. highways” happens to be from beginning to end of the summer months.

100+ degree temperature days are easily the least pleasant time to be out and about; nothing but oven-like crowded parking lots and the buzz of air conditioners. In the midst of cold days, you can always add more layers. During summer, you can only take off so much — especially as card-carryin LDS folk. Forget to sunscreen the kids before going anywhere and they’re fried like a southern chicken. I don’t know how you Arizona and Nevada people do it.

From a sports perspective, the most interesting thing that happens is news and drama related to the still-months away football/basketball seasons.

I will say summer is the best time to be up in the mountains, when the greenery, waterfalls and wildflowers are in full swing. Utah has amazing summer hiking all along the Wasatch Front. But unless you live up there or make it up frequently, I don’t feel it makes up for the summer negatives.

We all learned to like summer because it meant we didn’t have to go to school as kids. Being an adult and looking at it compared to the other seasons, it easily ranks fourth out of four:

1. Fall — football, weather, fall colors
2. Spring — weather, greenery, basketball
3. Winter — scenery, winter sports, less traffic, holidays
4. Summer — gross