I'm a born-and-bred native Coloradan, which means I can never stop talking about how my home state is the best. For me, it's a fact; it's not up for contention. Being fit and--even more so--outdoorsy is undeniably a personal quality most of us strive to achieve. It's definitely something we value and admire in others. When we get almost 300 days of sun annually, it's hard not to brag about how much blue sky we get. The past three days, I've walked outside to sunshine in a T-shirt and my bare feet. Yesterday, I walked all the way to my neighbor's house with no shoes on. At the end of December. Part of me wondered if I'd accidentally come home in March.

Okay, you get it. The weather is glorious. Granted, I don't live in California, which means that it could be 60 degrees in the early afternoon and blizzarding by the end of the night.

These are all things that a lot of people know about. What they don't realize is that the real treasure is our clear, pine-scented mountain air. Nothing manufactured even comes close. Car fresheners are, frankly, embarrassing, and candles aren't much better. Sorry, Yankee Candle, but even your attempt at "Pine" falls short.

The real thing is sweet and dry, accompanied by the cacophonous, crashing whoosh of a thousand evergreens. And it's the only air I ever want to breathe.