The Tuesday Greats: Fat Bear Week, soup szn

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Happy Tuesday, friends.

Since we all seem to be so stressed lately, both by national events and about the fact that summer just won't seem to end here in the South, I wanted to share some good things I've discovered lately.

I'll be posting my roundup of cool things I found both online and in the wild every Tuesday. Maybe it'll be a great way for you to disconnect for a few minutes during your Tuesday or find new things to appreciate as you get your mind in gear for the week.

There's so much content and new things happening here in the digital age. Not all of these are online, but many are. If they're not online, they're pretty easy to find. Hopefully one of these can help you relax and unwind as you begin your week:

It's Fat Bear Week!

Yes, you heard that right. It's Fat Bear Week.

Every year, Katmai National Park in Alaska has a fat bear competition. Fans fill out brackets to determine which will be the fattest bear on the Brooks River in Alaska.

The bears spend all summer eating so that they'll be able to survive through winter.

The fattest bear will be crowned on Tuesday. You can still vote for which bear you think will win!

Here's a link to the Katmai National Park Facebook page. Here you can find everything you need to know about Fat Bear Week and see pics of all these lovely fat bears.

P.S. I'm voting for Holly.


Bye, summer. Hello soup season. 

A cold front is coming, supposedly.

If you've been in the South in the last month or so, you know we've had some record-breaking heat. I'm over it.

I spent all summer training in the heat and my body is just over it. Even if you didn't train in the heat, you're over it. I'm over the high energy bills, the sweating and the despair of the heat.

Forecasters say the low is 43 degrees Saturday. I'm so excited. I'll be making vegetarian chili at home this weekend. (recipe coming later).

If you have a favorite chili or fall soup recipe, please send it my way! I always want a new soup to try.

We're so close to beautiful fall colors

 We just made it through "peak week" for allergies (usually mid-September) and we're approaching "peak week" for fall colors.

Smokymountains.com has this great interactive map that shows when the peak fall colors will be in your area. You can slide the bar to see when is the best time for a fall hike at Cheaha State Park or Oak Mountain State Park.

It's looking like peak colors will hit Central Alabama around the week of November 9-16.

Here's a photo I took during a long run at Oak Mountain State Park on Nov. 3 last year. I love beautiful fall runs.



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