Mother Nature can be cruel or downright uncomfortable at times. As an early and far-too-rapid snowmelt causes flooding in the high country of the Northern Rockies, record heat is scorching the Desert Southwest.
How do elk deal with the heat? Many of them stay nearby the closest water hole. A recent photo that appeared in the Payson Roundup shows a bull elk taking the plunge in an effort to beat the heat.
Though summer is still more than a month away, temperatures in Phoenix already hit the triple digits.
(Photo source: DJ Craig/Payson Roundup)