123 degrees Fahrenheit, 51 degrees Celsius. While others start to moan at high temperatures of 20s, this man sits calmly in thick gear on his motorcycle. “Once you’ve driven off and dressed, it’s not that bad. But the landscape beats the pain of the heat,” says Chris Foster from San Diego, who is touring the national parks this summer. In Death Valley, which is so popular with tourists, in the US state of California, 54 degrees Celsius were measured for the first time this year on Wednesday. The place in the Mojave Desert is known for its high temperatures. In 1913, 56.7 degrees were measured here, which is the previous record since weather records began. Abby Wines from Death Valley National Park is excited to see if the record could be broken this year. But everything is still in the normal range, she says: “In a normal summer I would expect exactly that, we actually always have 125 degrees or higher in July. That happens every summer. So, this is only the beginning of the Death Valley- Heat.” The heat doesn’t seem to keep tourists from coming here either. Traveled from Vermont: Doug Cummings: “It’s hot. Now I see why you have to stay hydrated here. And being my age, 56, walking up and down these hills. It’s different.” How do those who live here do it? Willo Alford advises everyone who comes to Death Valley: “Stay inside! Only go outside if you have to, we’ll do it.” Death Valley is the driest national park in the United States. It is located southeast of the Sierra Nevada, mostly in California and a smaller part in Nevada. The region is a hot spot.
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