Another mystery: Once, hiking a mountain, she felt tired and went into convulsion.

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The top of the mountain, he felt, called for an extra-long swing that would make kids feel as if they were flying toward the lake.

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"At that moment I felt that taller than the mountain, " said the former hotelier, roadbuilder and apple farmer, who now has the greatest of stories to tell his 17 grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

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Lingering over dinner and gazing out at the glorious mountain panorama, we felt privileged to spend time in such an astonishing place.

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Besides the Midwest and Rocky Mountain region, coastal states have also felt the heat of late: New Jersey, for instance, has experienced 16 straight months (not including data from June) in which average monthly temperatures measured above normal.

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If playing cowboy at J Bar L was a singular experience, my stay at Mountain Sky Guest Ranch, in Montana's Paradise Valley, felt pleasingly familiar.

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