Perfect Summer Days

Mark Jimenez

There’s no denying that summer in Las Vegas can be a grind. Two years ago, 2024, we saw a grueling summer with the highest temperate ever recorded in Las Vegas, 120 degrees. 2025 brought what many locals called a mild summer. 2026 is off to a burner of a start, with several 100+ degree days already on the calendar while July and August stare us squarely in the face.

While spring and fall are my favorite times of year to run, there are certain days in the summer where I can’t help but run with a huge smile on my face. Today was one of those days.

I got home late last night, after having been at the Aces game that lasted past 9pm. I decided that I’d just deal with the heat and wake up when I open my eyes. If I don’t set an alarm, I’m usually up by 5am anyway. Still, as I get older, it takes me about 90 minutes from the time I wake up to the time I’m able to leave the house for a run. My wake up routine is pretty straightforward. I wake up, hit the head, then make coffee and let the dogs out. It was when I let the dogs out that I noticed the water on the ground.

“Oh, did it rain last night?” I thought, still waking up.

My First Hint

Then I saw that it was actually still raining, if it could be called that. Just a few drops here and there in party cloudy skies. I stepped outside to be with the dogs and I immediately felt the humidity. I’m a desert boy so 30% humidity is pretty high for me. The air felt sticky and thick, and as I looked to the west I could see there were more scattered clouds coming in.

I kept my fingers crossed that we’d get a good summer thunderstorm, but the conditions just didn’t feel right for that. I absolutely love a summer thunderstorm, where the skies open up, the rain falls fast and biblical, and the lightning crashes all round you. I don’t run in that weather, but I sure do love sitting on my patio and watching that weather.

I finished my morning routine and headed out the front door towards Floyd Lamb for my 7 mile route. It was cloudy and overcast, but I immediately started to sweat because of the humidity.

I also couldn’t stop smiling.

As I got to Floyd Lamb a few rain drops started to fall. Nothing serious, just light drops As the creosote bushes got wet they released the smell of desert rain, and that only made me smile more. I stopped to take a few pictures of the valley around me and I was reminded that the desert can be a beautiful place.

We don’t get days like this very often and I was determined to make the most of it. I knew that in the desert, it’s possible for cloudy skies and rain to disappear into a 105 degree day before I can say antidisestablishmentarianism. Which is a fun word to say, but not necessarily a fun concept since I believe in the separation of church and state.

In any case, I did my loop around the Northeast detention basin and headed back. The rain started to pick up, but I only noticed it when I ran by the shade structures and heard the pinging of the rain off the metal covers. I admit I got a little sad as I left Floyd Lamb and was once again back on the street. As I left the creosote bushes behind me the smell of rain faded, even as the rain fell around me.

I ran by Arbor View High School and saw a couple of their runners out. That made me nostalgic for my days of coaching over at Shadow Ridge and the ghosts of summer practice gone by.

A mile later I was in my neighborhood and got to see KJ as she was headed out to do an early morning inventory count (one of the pleasures of owning small business is keeping track of everything you have in stock, it’s loads of fun <— that’s sarcasm). A quick wave and a kiss and I was back home. I stood outside for a while just enjoying the light rain while I could, soaking it in.