Itinerant Air-Cooled

It was so very hot today, as a matter of fact, it was the hottest day of my life. Close to the record as I traversed Death Valley too, 125* in the Intellicast hourly list. Although USA Today said it was going to be 127* which would have been the record, I only recorded 123* "in the shade" (there is no shade!) but I was a little earlier than the hottest time of day. This is the pinnacle hottest point of the year though, so I am well-pleased that I timed it nicely. I did finally overheat and get woozy and bailed to this nice Best Western in Pahrump. Though I am not a registered guest, they do not seem to mind my squatting. It was a refreshing 105* at 8:34 PM outside, and I AM camping up the hill when it gets below 100*.

I have lots of pictures and video clips, but here's a teaser or two:

102F here lately, cooling at night to 69F

I camped at Lake Mead in the Westy, and attended an outdoor concert in Vegas with temps around 125, cooling to 95 late at night. Brutal. Glad I did it, but wouldn't volunteer again. Gave up early and drove back to SoCal in the middle of the night. Ran into a wall of cooler air from the ocean near Barstow.

Birdibus wrote:102F here lately, cooling at night to 69F

I camped at Lake Mead in the Westy, and attended an outdoor concert in Vegas with temps around 125, cooling to 95 late at night. Brutal. Glad I did it, but wouldn't volunteer again. Gave up early and drove back to SoCal in the middle of the night. Ran into a wall of cooler air from the ocean near Barstow.

Aww. Lake Mead! Fond memories.

Cindy

Nice narrative Colin. It's been hot and triple digits for so long here in Central TX, that now the weather broadcasters have shifted their attention to the influx of giant cicadas that appear to be relocating from further Southeast.

LOVE the wall of cool air when you can catch one.

I give up around 110*, and I like the western mountain climates that get hot during the day but cool down at night to the 60's. Don't think I would like sleeping when it is still 90* out....BERF!!!

Beautiful pics man, I have been enjoying your write-ups. Something magical about summertime in this country, at least thru my rose tinted goggles anyways

Lucky to get out of the 70's around here. Brrrrrr.

Turns out that the camping idea was not so good. I had just remarked to Cindy at 7:30PM 104* how cool it was to watch rain fall from clouds and not reach the ground. I thought it was just afternoon atmospheric instability that would disappear after sunset. . . wrongo. This was actually monsoon moisture from Phoenix that was only too happy to condense out of the sky as temperatures plummeted to 99* at midnight.

So, I am at my "campsite" up in the hills (just past where the road disappears from view here),



and the shadows thrown from the headlamp beams have me already skittish about sand traps (last year's Arizona debacle, for example) and it looks like some 4X4s have had issues based on canyon deep tire tracks, so I bailed into this little turn-around and parked with a worrisome scrunch into the sand. Man, it was hot and I was sticky from the humidity, and bingo, clattering rain starts to fall, the wind picks up, and guess what? There is a dust storm in the midst of the rain storm that is throwing dirt splats all along the passenger side of the bus where I PLANNED to have the sliding door open for badly needed ventilation. 99* and muggy and desert biting flies and wondering about how deep the wheels would be ensconsed in the sand by morning, and wondering too, if I would allow the interior to take water damage in the name of ventilation. Really now, the stupid rain was dumping little bombs of dust against me as I examined the parking situation, and the sand was blowing dust through the car with bits of water droplets and I was furiously miserable like a little toddler tantrum, " I need to get some sleep!" It was sooooo hot and muggy that I was short shortless and damn close to Calvinless too. I was trying to lay on the floor and it was too hot to even do that. I did not trust my driving in the dark in an unfamiliar setting either. So I sat in the driver's seat with the driver's side window down just enough to pant some fresh air without rain coming in, and I thought, "it is supposed to be dry and clear, I hate this stupid old planet with its stupid rain." Finally found a semi-workable across-the-front-seats perch with a little ventilation under me due to the aisle and a little from the cracked passenger window and slightly more open driver's window, my back was bitching at me for having to play suspension bridge after the hottest day of my life driving across Death Valley, and I pondered my fiftieth year . . . "I could have been a banker."

Biting flies have been powerful this year out here too, never seen such a thing.
Welcome to the camp paranoia! 1/2 of my trips I fret the exit...

woof!!!!

Great show on natgeo last night about death valley, I had no idea that there is a HUGE underground reservoir underneath the park, complete with caves and one species of fish that is darn near extinct.

spiffy wrote:woof!!!!

Great show on natgeo last night about death valley, I had no idea that there is a HUGE underground reservoir underneath the park, complete with caves and one species of fish that is darn near extinct.

It is stunningly beautiful. Used to be a sea floor with sedimentary layers. Then the mid-continent plate hit the pacific plate and lifted the floor and drained the sea. Then a separation allowed a lake, Lake Manley to exist and it evaporated with shoreline erosion "rings" as it went down. In 2005, there was a flood that filled Death Valley briefly.

This area seems to talk Planet Star Space Time, unmoderated by life.
Colin