I was recently introduced to a tool offered by Tucson’s Department of Transportation (TDOT) that I have used numerous times since: The TDOT Map Center. This website is so amazingly useful I had to share it with everyone.

First, a couple caveats. You have to use Internet Explorer to view the site and you have to install their plug-in to view the maps (free of course). After that you’re good to go!

They offer twenty mapping services, from Hydrology information to Floodplain Maps (for you Marana residents I suggest reading my old post) to HOA maps to Parking Permit maps.

After selecting a map to view you can toggle checkboxes on the left-hand side to turn on/off those options. I’ll admit, the interface isn’t as refined as I’d like it (would look much better with Flash) but who am I to complain?

Besides the map center, the TDOT website offers a multitude of resources for Tucsonans and I encourage you to explore their site when you have some freetime.

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Now that summer is in full swing and ninety degree weather would be welcomed with open arms (compared to what we’ve been getting) I thought it would be a good idea to talk about some ways to deal with the heat. Most of this is probably common knowledge to those of us living here but for visitors and potential Tucsonans it might be useful information.

Use sunshades in your car and crack your windows. With temperatures reaching more than one hundred degrees regularly the interior or your car can easily reach upwards of one hundred sixty degrees! Put up some sunshades to keep the heat down a little bit and leave a window slightly cracked to allow your air to breathe a bit. Unfortunately some people fail to understand just how dangerous that kind of heat can be and go and do something dumb like leave their animals in the car while shopping at the supermarket. Worse yet are the stories we hear every year about children being left in a hot, parked cars. Jay over at his PhoenixRealEstateGuy blog just wrote about 3-month old Amberlee Elizabeth Brown whose father left her in a car for nearly two hours; her core temp was 109 degrees when paramedics arrived and unfortunately she passed away Friday morning. Sad stuff.

Exercise early or late. The city is alive with with running, power-walking, child-strolling Tucsonans in the summertime between 5-7am; after that it starts it starts to heat up pretty quick and exercising outside isn’t exactly pleasant. The exercising brigade starts up again in the evening hours as the sun is starting to go down because of the cooling weather. As someone who carries a gym membership (I’m guilty of rarely using it) I can tell you that gyms tend to fill up pretty quickly before work, at lunchtime, and just after work.

Drink plenty of water. This one is mostly common sense but even I sometimes get behind on the water-drinking curve. The normal convention says that you should drink 2 liters a day and more when exercising.

“By the time one becomes thirsty, it is possible to already be slightly dehydrated. Further, be aware that as you get older your body is less able to sense dehydration and send your brain signals of thirst.”

For visitors and new Tucsonans it is probably a good idea to use lotion and lip balm your first few days here because the dry weather hits some people harder than others. Best to play it safe and stay moisturized until you’ve become acclimated, humidifiers might also be a good idea.

Take a drive up to Mount Lemmon!

Located about 30 miles north of Tucson on the Catalina Highway, Mount Lemmon is a great summer weekend getaway jaunt with temperatures twenty to thirty degrees cooler than Tucson. Be sure to stop by the mountaintop town of Summerhaven and have a slice of their renowned homemade pie.

Just a couple quick tips to beat the Arizona heat, if anyone else has suggestions feel free to leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list!

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