What is it like to live in the AZ heat? True story. [View all]

[Coyotl]

It was way too hot for days on end, so I was getting ready to leave the Phoenix basin and head to the Oregon Coast and cool my heels at the Country Fair. But first, I had to repair the VW van because all that heat had made the main seal leak and the clutch was slipping. I scheduled the work and had to do some begging to meet my schedule. The owner's Dad agreed to come in and R&R my engine. I dropped it off at 9 AM and walked the two miles to the college campus.

At 4 PM, the van was ready to go, so I walked back in the 115° in the shade sun, taking breaks at every air-conditioned quick mart to stand next to the cooler for a while. That's where the floors are actually cool. When I got to the shop I found the owner's 70 year old Dad had workedd outside, in the shade, with a fan. OMG! Now that's a Native Dad. I drove home with all the windows down, what with no air-conditioning in VW vans that old.

Out near Superstition Mountain, east of the city, I turned north on Ironwood and drove past the high school, a 25 mph zone. The 120+ degree sun was blasting half my face, and it was sooo hot I could feel the relief of the power pole shade even at 25 mph. Finally, I was home in my air-conditioned abode and packing. I discovered i had blisters on my feet.

Meanwhile a massive storm was building, an immense thunderhead to the southeast, and it was heading our way. The wind came up, then turned cold. Soon enough, it was below 90. Then the storm cloud started collapsing and the wind really came up. I decided to start driving while it was cooler. Back at the high school, the wind had blown over the power poles. I lamented that loss of shade as I drove around the downed wires.

Out on highway 60, heading west back toward Phoenix a 40 mph side wind was piling thistles on the median divider. The wind shifted to east and increased. A pile of thistles the size of a VW bug almost passed me. By the time I got to Phoenix, I was out of the storm and the temperature was 110 plus again. But hey, the sun was almost down.

I camped at the highest elevation on the highway Vegas. The air was bearable. At 10 AM it was 110 in Vegas. I had to keep the drive down to 50 mph to not overheat. Four hours later I was finally out of the 100 degree plus heat. It was really COOL to arrive in Oregon!