It's going to be hot almost everywhere in the United States this weekend. The "USA Today" weather map is all oranges and reds. But there are a few places where people have already unpacked their winter clothes. One of those chilly places is Stanley, Idaho. It's often the coldest place in the Lower 48 states. Brett Woolley, whose family has been living in Stanley for 100 years, tells us what it's like to spend August in a town that's often below freezing.

Then...
Its the beginning of September, summer's winding down and autumn is on the horizon. Writer J. Robert Lennon shares part of his short story "Leaves" about warm fall colors in Ithaca, New York this time of year.

Ready, Set, Go!

This weekend marks the start of hunting season in many parts of the country. You have dove hunting, deer hunting, duck hunting and the list goes on and on. Some Western states allow you to hunt one of the few predators left in the wild: the mountain lion or cougar. Richard Perrelli tells Weekend America how seeing a mountain lion in the Sequoia National Park in Calif., changed his life.

Listen to more stories from Saving the Sierra: Voices of Conservation in Action, produced by Catherine Stifter and jesikah maria ross. Funded in part by the California Council for the Humanities California Story Fund.