Let's Trek Forward: Summer in Arizona

We moved to Phoenix at the hottest time of the year. Yes, it is a dry heat, but it's still unbelievable. Just our luck, our very first full month here was tied for the hottest month on record in Phoenix with an average temperature of 98.3 degrees Fahrenheit. The hottest August day on record for Phoenix was on August 26 with a high of 117 degrees! I don't think I had ever felt that kind of heat before.

As I walked across the parking lot to my car each afternoon, I could just feel the sun beating down on me and searing my flesh. It's not uncommon for people to use umbrellas for shade. Pretty much everyone out here has their car windows tinted. I'm hoping to get mine done before this summer. It makes a huge difference in how hot it is in your car by the time you get in to go home after work! Typically, when I walked out to my car and the temperature was above 105, I'd have to turn on my air conditioning and wait a couple minutes before getting into my car. And that's with the shiny sun shades in my front windshield!

Like I mentioned before, it's a "dry" heat. This does make a difference in how tolerable it is. When it's 90 here, it's much more comfortable than 90 in NC. The reason is, without so much humidity, your sweat actually evaporates, so you stay a little cooler and less damp. You sweat more than you even realize, and I've found that I need to drink a LOT more water out here.

Because the heat is so brutal, it's not ideal to do anything outdoors in Phoenix during the summer. Luckily, there are some cooler cities that are perfect for a day trip to escape the heat.

One weekend in September, we drove to Prescott, which is about an hour and a half away.
Prescott is maybe 10 degrees cooler than Phoenix and has trees! So we hiked a trail around Thumb Butte.