How to Survive an Arizona Summer

Some say you need oven mitts to open car doors during an Arizona summer. While I’ve never seen that practice in action, it’s not a bad idea. Nor is avoiding direct sunlight, staying indoors and cranking up the air conditioning if you want to survive an Arizona summer. A few simple tips will help you stay cool and alive in the heat of the desert.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Air conditioning
• Ice cubes, water
• Car windshield shade
• Towels
• Sundresses or other breezy clothing
• Common sense

1. Time your outdoor activities. Make sure any outdoor exercise, dog walking or landscaping is done before sunrise or after sunset. It gets hot and stays hot in Arizona by 8 a.m.
2. Stay inside. When it hits high noon, hit the air conditioning. Try to be inside during the hottest part of the day, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., at work, at play or on your day off.
3. Protect your car. This includes putting shades in the windshield and a towel on the driver’s seat, especially if the seat happens to be black leather. You can also cover your car when not in use to help preserve the paint job from being baked by the sun.
4. Dress appropriately, which includes sunglasses, sun hat and sunscreen. No matter how cool combat boots may look with a frilly sundress, ditch the boots and go for sandals. Skip heavy, dark fabrics and police uniforms.
5. Drink lots and lots of water. Dehydration can actually kill you and your pets. Carry a waterbottle at all times. Another good method for cooling down is to suck on ice cubes or rub them on your face. Dogs love them.

Tips & Warnings

• Mix sunscreen with your face and body lotion so it becomes an automatic application every day.
• Make especially sure to carry water with you when you're walking the dogs. They'll need it.
• Remember it's a "dry heat" so it's not as excruciating as heat with high humidity.
• Shut the shades to block the sun's baking rays. Better yet, invest in shades specifically made to still allow light in but keep baking rays out.
• If you don’t have air conditioning, put a bowl of ice in front of the fan to circulate cool air. If you don’t have a fan, I’m sorry.
• Never leave your pet or child unattended in a car during the summer. They can overheat in about 5 minutes.
• Don't forget to put suncreen on your toes, ears and other often forgotten places.