Friday, May 20, 2016

Summer Survival Guide

Insider tips for enduring Scottsdale’s triple-digit summers

We won’t lie – summer in Scottsdale is hot. In fact, every year one of our local meteorologists makes a show of trying to fry an egg on the sidewalk. But don’t sweat it – with these tips, you’ll breeze right through the Scottsdale summer like a local. Who knows – you might even enjoy it!

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Seek out Shaded Parking

It’s normally the first rule of parking – close is good, far is bad. Forget it. During summer in Scottsdale, the rule is: shade is better than anything else. Just watch and you’ll see locals circling the parking lot like vultures, bypassing prime front-row spaces in search of a tree, an awning, even a tall building that will block our cars from the sun and keep them a few degrees cooler (and by “cooler” we really mean less hot).

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Cover Those Seats

Didn’t get a shady parking spot? Cover your leather, pleather or vinyl seats with a towel or you’ll hit higher notes than Beyoncé when you sit down.

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Head for the Pool

If it’s after 8 a.m., the only reason to be outside is to be in the pool. Triple-digit temps can’t ruin a good pool day, no matter how hard they try. If you really want to show summer who’s boss, reserve a shaded cabana and order up a pitcher of prickly pear margaritas. That’ll show ‘em.

Scottsdale CVB Desert Landscape

Reacquaint Yourself with Sunrise

Summer hiking is great – if you do it early enough. Set your alarm for oh-dark-thirty, grab a double-shot of joe and a large bottle of water (or two), and hit the trail at dawn. Just keep it short – a mile or two at most – because once the sun comes up, those temps will be on the rise.

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Revel in the A/C

Fortunately, just about every building in Scottsdale has air conditioning, so your midday options are many – shopping, museum-hopping, spa treatments, indoor rock climbing, go-kart racing and, of course, fabulous dining.

Arizona Desert Sunset from Dustin Farrell on Vimeo.

Embrace Your Inner Night Owl

When the sun goes down and temperatures slide back into the relatively cool double digits, the locals come out to play (trust us, after 110-degree days, 95 at night is practically chilly). Check out live concerts under the stars, Flashlight Tours at the Desert Botanical Garden, high-energy nightclubs in downtown Scottsdale and night-vision desert tours.

Always Wear Shoes Outside

Summer pavement, red-hot coals – sort of the same thing here in summer. Just keep in mind that walking on hot coals looks brave on YouTube. Walking on hot pavement? Not so much.

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Watch out for Haboobs

Wait, what? Haboobs (yup, that’s really what they’re called) are massive walls of dust kicked up by monsoon winds. They’re most common during July and August, and usually precede a brief, but spectacular, thunderstorm.

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Finally . . . Remember, It’s a Dry Heat

We’re not just blowing sunshine here – there’s real science behind it. It’s called the Comfort Index and it works like this: If the air temperature is 100 degrees Fahrenheit and the relative humidity is 10 percent (pretty typical for a Scottsdale summer), the temperature your body actually feels is five degrees cooler. On the flip side, 100 degrees with 80 percent relative humidity feels more like 145 degrees to your body. Now that’s hot.



from Official Travel Site for Scottsdale, Arizona http://ift.tt/1nJUAUw
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