craigdailypress.com

School's out.

The sun is blazing and the air conditioner is cranked up.

Thursday marked the first official day of summer solstice -- the day of the year with the longest hours of daylight in the northern hemisphere.

The Yampa Valley offers a plethora of activities to fill summertime hours -- from the air-conditioned Thunder Rolls Bowling Center or floating down the Yampa River, to golfing at Yampa Valley Golf Course or fishing at Loudy-Simpson Park.

A spokesperson from the bowling center said this summer has been relatively quiet. Thunder Rolls hosts leagues six days a week in the winter and scales back to five in the summer.

The Craig Parks and Recreation Department offers a number of activities at the outdoor Craig Pool Complex.

Sylvia Griffiths, Pool Complex aquatics manager and lifeguard, said the facility is open three months of the year for public usage, and an additional month for area school use.

Public and school usage combine for more than 40,000 users, and about half of that total comes from the public alone.

Hours are 1 to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Griffiths reminds visitors there will be limited hours July 6 to 8 when they host the Craig Sea Sharks meet. Call 824-3015 for more information.

The Parks and Recreation Department also provides girls softball, T-Ball, youth soccer, a British Soccer Camp and a myriad of field trips.

And then there is fishing.

The Winkler family of Craig, Jared, Tina and 2-year-old daughter Mckinley, try their luck fishing at Loudy-Simpson in the summertime.

"We come out here maybe three or four times a week," Jared said. "We just enjoy sitting in the sun, relaxing and being together as a family."

The Yampa Valley Golf Course celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and hosts a number of tournaments through early October.

Men's club plays every Thursday and women's club members convene every Wednesday.

Ann Marie Hamilton, one of two Class A golf professionals at YVGC, said they are busier in the spring than summer because an influx of golfers from Steamboat Springs.

YVGC typically opens earlier in the season than Steamboat area courses.

"We get a lot of golfers here from Arizona, California, Florida and all over the Midwest," Hamilton said.

"We are just in town for a couple of days after exploring Rocky Mountain National Park," said John Cerino, of Tucson, Ariz. "The hotter it gets, the more north we go."

Contact the YVGC at 824-7031 for more information.