Florida Everglades Surveyors beat the heat with Duluth

"I started as a rodman on a surveying crew in Fort Lauderdale 32 years ago in April," said Surveyor Tom. "It seemed like a dream job!"

When spring turned to summer, he found out his dream job was more like a steam job. "Working outdoors is a test of survival down here...temperatures over 100 degrees F, and near 100% humidity...just think of attempting to do physical work for 10 hours straight in a sauna!"

Tom and his crew spend their days swinging machetes, lugging heavy equipment through mucky swamps infested with blood-thirsty mosquitoes, alligators and snakes. The danger is not what lurks just below says Tom and his crew. It's keeping cool in the scorching sun.

"I always find it amusing when the radio issues 'heat advisories' telling listeners to limit their time outside to 20 minutes while my crew and I are about to spend the day cutting with machetes and bush hooks through shoulder-high palmettos."

With their keen machete skills, we're glad our heat-beating workwear didn't disappoint! Here's what they had to say: