Let Cooler Heads Prevail

It's been hot lately. Not beastly hot and dry like the Midwest, but seasonable steamy. So far this year Chattanooga has seen only 20 days at or above 90 degrees. The hottest day this year was July 26th when we hit 97. Still it's enough to get me daydreaming about hiking the Matanuska Glacier in Alaska. I had been near the glacier in 1999, and had the chance to hike it on a return trip two years ago. The sky was bright blue and the day was warm by Alaskan standards. But near this 4 mile wide block of ice which stretches up the valley some 24 miles, it's almost chilly. Almost. It was afterall a sunny July day. We hiked back nearly a mile. And for the first time in my life I felt like I was on another planet. This one looking a lot like the ice planet Hoth from "The Empire Strikes Back". I go back there in my mind on a steamy August day like this. I feel the coolness of the blue sky and blue water that's frozen in my memory. Hang in there. 38 days until Autumn officially begins.