Hot Dry Snow
It was a cold, gusty and cloudy morning high up in the Himalayan Mountains. A tall, husky, hairy white beast of a creature woke from his slumber with an ear piercing howl. He lumbered out onto the ledge outside his cave halfway up the Cliffside and stretched his arms as he let out a deep yawn. Bits of ice and snow driven by the high winds pelted him in the face as he took in the gloomy scenery below. All around him was nothing but rock, snow, and ice. Rolling clouds tossed and heaved around the peak that stood just above his home. Beyond the valley off to the east, he could see a large storm front closing in on his mountain. Soon the trail down to the forest would be impassible. He would have to hurry if he wanted to catch his breakfast before the storm blocked his way.
The winds increased as the creature carefully climbed down the steep cliff to the next ledge. The long, fine hair that covered most of his body was quickly becoming matted with ice and snow. As the creature was about to step onto the ledge, his foot slipped on the slick ice and he fell to his knees, banging them hard on the rocks below him. He howled loudly in pain, and the shrillness of his cry brought down an avalanche of snow and ice on top of him. He stood up and shook off what snow he could and turned towards the tip of the ledge. Before he could turn to climb down, a gust of wind pushed him backwards and knocked him off balance. He slipped on the ice and fell on his hind end with a loud thud.
Too frustrated to cry out, he picked up a stone and threw it out into the valley below. He sat on the ledge and mumbled to himself, "I'm getting too old for this!"
Just then, an Arctic Tern flew up, landed on the ledge and perched next to him. The little bird said to the creature, "Hey, would you mind watching where you throw those stones? That's the third time this week you almost clipped my tail feathers."
The creature replied, "I'm sorry little fellow. I'm just sick and tired of all this ice and snow. Every year the winds get colder, the snow gets deeper, and the ice gets slipperier. Surely there must be a better place to live than this."
The little bird chirped up again and said, "As a matter of fact, my friend, you are in luck. I travel a lot, and I know of this place…"
The following year, a couple of hikers in the mountains of northern Washington State found this letter blowing among the leaves. The letter read:
Dear Sasquatch;
Just dropping you a line to give you my new address. I was getting sick and tired of all the ice and snow back in Nepal. Then this little bird told me about a place that he had heard of, and I took him up on it. Man, it is nice here! The weather is warm here all year round, and I have never seen so much grassland. The neighbors here are so friendly and helpful, and the view of the mountain is spectacular! I have settled into my new cave and am doing quite well. Why don't you come on down for a visit some time? You'll like it here! Hope to see you real soon.
Your cousin,
The Serengeti Yeti
