This weekend, I had the honor of serving as the Constitution Day speaker for Grand Lake, Colorado. The town, established in 1881, is one of the most irresistibly charming places that I have ever encountered. Located next to Rocky Mountain National Park, it sits adjacent to Grand Lake, Colorado’s largest and deepest natural lake. Nestled between the mountains at roughly 9,000 feet above sea level, Grand Lake seems untouched by time.

The annual celebration in Grand Lake is one of many held around the country as part of the Constitution Day and Citizenship Day mandate, as outlined in 36 U.S. § 106. There is often financial support for these celebrations, and other towns need to join those like Grand Lake that make these parades and celebrations part of their culture and community.

If you are concerned about the decline in civics education in our schools, this is a way to reinforce such knowledge, as well as a sense of patriotism, across political lines. At a time of political division and violence, people of good faith can come together on this day to celebrate our shared commitment to the Constitution.

Grand Lake is approximately two and a half hours from Denver and situated high in the Rocky Mountains. It is best to do the trip during the day since the dark winding road can be a bit unnerving. During the day, you will also see breathtaking scenes, particularly now as aspens and other trees are turning bright yellow, red, and orange. You can see nature repairing the extensive fires from around five years ago outside of Grand Lake. It makes Constitution Day a big draw for many in the area. I met people who drove in from Wyoming and distant parts of Colorado to experience Constitution Day in Grand Lake.

I had the good fortune of staying at the Gateway Inn, which offers a fantastic view of Grand Lake and the surrounding mountains.

This is a family-run hotel with a popular local bar where local bands play at night. It is a great place to stay for those coming to fish, hike, or just contemplate the Rockies. You can wake up to the sun breaking over the Rockies as I did:

I came to Grand Lake after my friend Ron Paul served as the prior speaker. I was told that the annual celebration, featuring a parade down Main Street, was an experience not to be missed, as people from the town and Colorado gathered in this town to celebrate our constitutional history and shared values.

The sincere pride in our nation was evident everywhere in this town as citizens of all ages to reaffirm their shared identity.

We were led by a wonderful local fife and drum band, shown here (from left to right, Karen McGuire, Patrick Milan, Joe Carroll, Amanda Brown, Joshua Milan, Noah Milan, Nathaniel Moylan).

I was asked to ride in the parade and took some pictures from that vantage point in driving down main street.

Along the streets of this town were families and their pets gathered to cheer the Constitution and our nation. Working in Washington, you can become cynical as patriotism becomes a soundbite or a joke. It is in towns like Grand Lake that you can return to the headwaters of patriotism in our country, a place where patriotism is not some forced demonstration or performative moment.

After the parade and the speech, I returned to the Gateway Inn and later met with around 80 residents and talked in the night about the many issues dividing our nation from AI to immigration to elections. We then went outside to watch the town’s fireworks over the lake. Families put out their chairs to watch a spectacular display as the fireworks reflected off the mirror-like surface of the lake. Families cheered with each explosion as the fireworks brought an end to a wonderful day.

It was hard to leave this town, but I felt restored and rejuvenated by simply being part of their celebration of our Constitution. As difficult as it is to return to tribalism and cynicism of the Beltway, I felt stronger just knowing that there are still places like this that exist in our country.

Thank you, Grand Lake.