HOT STUFF!

Ladies & Gentlemen, seriously high heat is coming later this week and there's going to be HOT STUFF over a huge, giant humongous area--like from Mexico to Alaska.

Down in our winter stomping grounds, it's probably going to be 108 to 109 in Rimrock but it could be as high as 112!  That's HOT STUFF!

In Alaska temps could possibly push 90 degrees and, trust us, that's HOT STUFF for those far north latitudes.  Boise, Idaho, and Missoula, Montana, might make it to 105.  Salmon, Idaho, might be a wee bit cooler in the high 90's, maybe crack 100. YIKES!

Stanley, Idaho, normally The Lower 48's Icebox, will probably peg 90 degrees.  That's probably right about where we're going to be here in Idaho Falls: 90-93 degrees.

When it gets this hot, there's no where to run, no where to hide--it's just HOT STUFF every which way.

We can't remember the hottest it ever was when we lived in Rimrock but we're thinking it was probably in the 112 vicinity.  We don't recall ever talking about a 113, 114 or 115.  You see, when it get's to 110, you begin to talk about each degree of heat as a separate entity.  Trust us, by some strange osmosis, you can actually feel the difference between 112 and 113.  It's kind of like the Richter Scale for earthquakes.  It's exponential once it gets above 110. (It's possible it might get to 120 in Gila Bend, so at least Rimrock will feel much cooler by comparison!)

One thing we learned while living in that straw house is that straw is no defense against heat.  It's a great defense against cold but it's worthless against heat.  Somehow, being inside that straw house magnified the heat and it often felt even hotter INSIDE that it did outside.

The other thing we learned was that the location of our home in Rimrock saw higher temperatures than the so-called official "Rimrock high."  So, for example, if the official high was 100, it generally would have been 102-103 on our thermometers.  During the summer we kept generally 3-4 thermometers scattered around the property so we could have a pretty good idea what the high temps really, truly were.

If it really gets to 112 in Rimrock, it wouldn't surprise us to learn that it might be 114-115 at the straw house.  A +2-3 degree shift was common there.  Anything over 110 in Rimrock is borderline unbearable for most people no matter what kind of a cooling system they have.  However, when the temp pushes well above 110, it's really and truly HOT STUFF!

The trouble with the upcoming forecast high temps is that they are expected to last and last for days and days.  This is the time of year Arizona People get "cabin fever."  It's too hot to go outside so everyone stays inside and hopes the electricity doesn't go out.  Then they start getting "cabin fever" from all that indoors time in weird swamp cooler air.  Our hearts go out to our Dear Friends there.

The other thing on everyone's mind right now is a four letter word that starts with an "F".  No, Not THAT four letter word!!!  This four letter word is F-I-R-E!

People are all silently praying that a fire doesn't break out somewhere in the parched forest or range lands.
As the HOT STUFF scorches Rimrock once again, even though we are in Idaho, we pray that no one starts a wild fire.

Please, Dear Lord, keep Rimrock, The Verde Valley, Arizona and The Southwest safe from any more wild fires.  We pray for rain, we pray for the monsoon and we pray for cooler days ahead.