The Great Heat Wave of '04, Day 8: The Smoke Cometh

Yesterday evening the smoke started blowing into the valley. Today it is pretty thick. Here was the view from my deck two weeks ago, and here is the view today:

You can barely see the mountains right behind the house. The nice thing is that the smoke has kept it a bit cooler today, although it is still hot. But the smoke is stifling in its own way. The smell is still faint, but it seems to make the air hang heavy.

(Don't worry, the fires that made this smoke are a long way off.)