The surface temperature is approximately 9,900°F (5,500°C). The outer atmosphere of the Sun gets extremely hot and can reach 1.5 to 2 million degrees. The ironic part about this fact is that Tucson is approximately the same temperature today. That's right, I said it. Tucson is the temperature of the sun. Please see www.weather.com should you have any doubts. Wednesday cools down to a nice 101 degrees F. Some of you may not know what this feels like and believe me, I feel badly about that. Allow me to describe...
1) Time of day does matter: Days in Tucson are divided into warm, hot, really hot, and are you kidding me? It is 100 degrees by the time it is 8a.m. so, if you have to do anything that requires movement, effort, or being active outside my suggestion is to wake up about 4:30a.m. If you're not an early riser consider doing any of these types of things late at night. It cools off a bit by 10p.m. so anytime around then would be good.
2) Entering a vehicle: People here avoid getting in and out of their cars like it is infected with some disease. When you open the door after parking your car in the sun it's kind of like opening the oven after it has been baking something for hours... only without the tasty treat. Forget touching your steering wheel. People here know how to drive with mental focus. Also, you may be lucky enough to accidentally have your seatbelt burn you.
3) Shade is worth more than gold: People park an absurd distance away from where they are going to acquire the smallest bit of shade. This shade may only cover the left headlight and quickly move to the parking space next to you as the day goes on, but it provides sense of ease. It seems like if a tiny piece of your car is under shade you will significantly reduce the heat that will await you inside your vehicle. This is false. Shade is also a precious commodity in terms of parks, yards, patios etc.
4) Existing outdoors: Laying out by the pool is not an option, you must purchase some sort of floating device to actually lay in the pool. In addition, you have to drink at least 17 gallons of water whilst laying in the sun (recommended) and continue to splash water over yourself in a constant and repetitive motion.
So now you kind of get an idea.
At my job I get guests who call and very frequently ask what the weather will be like when they arrive. They say things like, "How hot is it really?"... "But it's not humid right?" ... and even today "It's not too hot to lay out by the pool is it?" The response I want to give for these types of questions is "Listen, Tucson is the temperature of the Sun. It is, in fact, really REALLY hot. No, there isn't much humidity, but at 110 F it's irrelevant." But, I refrain and often direct them to Internet resources for more precise temperatures.
The summers in Tucson also increase my wanderlust ten fold.
You may know this about me, but probably not to the full extent... My first love is travel. I spend a little bit of time each day looking up far away destinations I cannot afford and planning hypothetical excursions. I should have been a geography major. I frequent both www.wanderlust.co.uk and www.lonelyplanet.com in order to ease my wanderlust. In the summer it gets very bad. My draw to other places is on overdrive. So if anyone has any ideas for cheap travel or quick getaways I'm all ears. Just remember I'm baking away in Tucson (which is the temperature of the sun) and suffering from afflictions like Wanderlust and Socialitis. :)
I am here . . . . . . .
. . . .but I want to be here
5 comments:
I concur with basically all of the above, but must add one thing.
If Tucson is the temperature of the sun, then Phoenix is the temperature of the sun on an abnormally hot day.
That's right. Tucson is at a higher elevation than Phoenix and is always at least 5-8 degrees cooler.
Therefore, I will point out that it is a balmy 115 degrees in the Valley of the Sun today and thus my sympathy for you is negligable at best.
How would you feel about a trip to Mexico? Or someplace else...My wanderlust is increasing by the minute too...I've just never been to Mexico and heard it can be cheap.
If hell was a town it would be Death Valley but if Death Valley had a cousin it would be Tucson in the summer because this shit is touchier in the summer. I recommend if you are going to travel in the summer I would hit up one of the poles. Alaska would be nice get some cheap sea food wrestle a bear and visit santa in his workshop.
I also am feeling the itch of travel, especially since I may melt upon stepping outside my door during this redic heat. Sin City is still the desert but at least 430 am is a time for wakefulness there....
alcohol intake in the temperature of the sun: drinking in obscenely hot weather will screw with what you once thought was normal and tolerable intake. this can potentially lead to embarrassing sunburns, events, and a 5pm hangover.
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