A timely question, as this writer noticed the temperature gauge in her car hit 99 degrees today, and we're still only in mid-May. We're fast-approaching that can't-drive-'cause-the-steering-wheel's-too-hot-to-hold can't-walk-'cos-your-shoes-will-melt-into-the-sidewalk time of year. And I love it!
Yup. As a transplanted Brit, yours is a question I'm asked often, to which I reply that the insane weather is one of Las Vegas' chief attractions for me. I used to drive a convertible and I stood out like a sore thumb as an obvious non-local when I drove around with the top down in August! But having been here for a few years now, the novelty of reliable sunshine has worn off just a little bit, and I'll admit there are some downsides to living in a furnace for many months of the year, the most bothersome of which currently is having to water my tomato and bell pepper plants in the wee hours of the morning so the roots don't boil.
The wording of your question is key: As a tourist, you seldom experience those extreme temperatures. For a past QoD, (01/04/06), we called around some casinos to find out what temperature they generally maintain and it's often 30 degrees or more cooler than the temperature outside -- we found a range of 65-74 degrees back then. In the days when I was just a visitor here, the temperature differentials between inside and out resulted in some of the worst head colds of my entire life -- in Las Vegas, at the height of summer!
Now, as a QoD-deskbound local, I don't visit the casinos so much, and certainly seldom at a rate of more than one a day, so I don't tend to experience that constant fluctuation between boiling and glacial. When I do visit the Strip, I always take some kind of jacket/sweater/wrap, so that I don't get deep-frozen while I'm inside, then baked in the parking lot, then iced again in my car or at the next port-of-call.
Tip two: Make sure your car has plenty of Freon in the a/c system. And don't drive a black car (like I do!). Then again, Anthony Curtis (aka, ironically "A.C.") has survived here for many years in beat-up old vehicles (his rides of choice) with no a/c and has lived to tell the tale via a self-cooling mechanism that chiefly consists of chilled Heineken. But he's not normal.
Tip three: Drink lots of water, even if you're not feeling particularly thirsty and especially if you are -- and are quenching that thirst with alcohol. Often, of course, nothing hits the spot quite like an ice-cold beer or a frozen margarita (see QoD 05/17/07), but it's so easy to get dehydrated and that's not good, especially the morning after. If you start feeling light-headed and/or slightly nauseous, that's probably what it is. Again: drink lots of water.
Tip four: Use sunblock, and that means you too, guys. The high-factor stuff with protection against UVB and short and long-wave UVA rays (look for avobenzone, oxybenzone, or zinc and/or titanium oxide in the ingredients). UVA light is the main culprit responsible for long-term skin damage, so it's essential to use a sunscreen that contains broad-spectrum UVA protection, but you'd be surprised at how many sunscreens don't (Neutrogena, Blue Lizard, and Lancome all offer good products). There's nothing sissy about using sunscreen and nothing macho about melanomas or sexy about a leathery lizard complexion, so be smart. These days sunscreen comes in so many forms -- creams, oils, sprays -- there's no excuse not to douse yourself liberally in the stuff. And no way to ruin a vacation/weekend like an OD of sun on the first day that confines you to your room with someone pouring yogurt over you for days on end. Take it slow and easy, especially if there's one of those deceptive cool breezes blowing, or a covering of cloud.
Tip five is mainly for the ladies: Avoid those "outdoor air-conditioning" systems that spray you with a fine mist of water if you have hair like mine that's liable to frizz. Those things are the bane of my life
