Top o' the morning

One thing that makes the heat more tolerable at this time of year in the Sonora is the relative cool of the nights. While later in the summer it will be 10F degrees warmer at night, right now it still drops into the 60s. So by running my fans all night, I’m able to draw in those nighttime temps and chill the rig down—not just the indoor air, but the furniture and the cabinets, as well as the exterior shell. This pushes the serious heat gain into mid-afternoon. Then at sunset it starts to get comfy again.

However, in just over a week heat gain will be a different sort of problem.

The San Luis Valley is known as “The Land of Cool Sunshine.” Even in the warmest spots summer temps rarely hit the 90s. And in South Fork, close to a thousand feet higher and at the junction of two mountain canyons, warm gloves are suitable attire most early summer mornings. That’s because, by early morning, the cold air from the high mountains, heavier than the warmer air in the Valley, is dropping down those canyons to displace that air on the Valley floor. When two of those airstreams, following the canyons of the Rio Grande and its South Fork, converge, it makes for a noticeably chilly breeze.

Not that I’m complaining. It will make an early morning cup of hot coffee even more to be savored. And even when it gets warm, there’s always a stream to be followed high into the mountains where it’s guaranteed to be cooler.

Better living through topography.