Advice for building a LTVA schedule to AVOID the Summer Heat?

[urbankid12]

Moving out of my studio apartment end of Oct and hitting the road out of Minnesota! 

I'm excited but to be honest also overwhelmed when it comes to planning out a base route.  I loved the New Mexico Parks Pass and I feel that is going to be perfect for me (living out of my mini-van so having a shower and bathroom at the campsite would be a luxury I'd be willing to build upon starting off)  However the other LTVA I'm a bit  overwhelmed as I have no clue as to which one would best meet my needs.  I typically like cooler climates and I will be having my dog with me.  Working online (via my AT&T & Verizon hotspot phones I already have) but planning my shopping trips around after dark schedules (heading into town in the evenings, night shopping & stay overnight in town then heading back out during mornings to get a spot for another 6 or 13 days.  Likely a Tuesday or Wed.

Temps in the 60's and 70's are ideal for me, but I gotta make sure it's ideal for my small dog to  so I can handle everything on my own.  (I was thinking eventually I might look into the car-side pick up options & looking for a nice daycare service for my dog to expand my shopping opportunities to be more safe with having a dog so as to not leave her alone in a warm car)

Has anyone got any advice as to general metro areas that are the coldest during the summer?  I think winter I might be OK with looking for LTVA's around the desert area.  However during the summer i'm a bit spinning my wheels in my thought process.  I know people say elevation is key, but what are those 5 or so places that are high up in elevation where you can stay there for long periods to outlast the summer heat???

My minivan is basically a stock van so heat would be ideal to get away from.  I was thinking eventually just road tripping to Alaska during the summers however unit I can prove I to myself I can actually keep the money coming in with my online job then I don't want to travel such large distances.  Any advice?  I'm sure others here have answered these questions themselves and know the answers or have a better understanding that I just am so inexperience with given I haven't been out of my state but only a few times.

 

[winterwanderer]

Sounds like a blast! I live out of an SUV and prefer moderate temperatures as well. Weatherspark.com is my favorite climate exploration website. Not only can you find out averages for most any place in the world, you can look up historical weather for any airport with a weather station.

However, there are several factors to consider beyond average high temp in July.

1) Diurnal temperature variations. Arid climates tend to have far greater diurnal temperature variations than humid or marine climates. Here in the Colorado Rockies, 40 degree differences between day and night are common on dry days. In fact, the daily fluctuation can be as high as 55 degrees in times of drought. Whereas in a place like Eureka on the NorCal coast, exposed to damp sea air, the daily change can be under 10 degrees. Are you fine with 35 degree mornings in the middle of summer? The high country is for you. (Cold summer mornings are always sunny and calm, so 35 doesn't feel as bad as it sounds.)

2) Sunshine and shade. While summer is sunny almost everywhere in the lower 48, shade makes all the difference in perceived temperature. Picking a shady campsite is essential to have a comfortable afternoon. Trees are unevenly distributed in the mountains, with canyon floors and north-facing hillsides typically being the most wooded. Rain-shadow slopes and wide valleys tend to be rather treeless.

3) Climate variability. Some regions have far more variable temperatures than others. For example, Brookings on the Oregon coast has seen triple digits every month from June to October, caused by blasts of hot air from the east. Yet it also commonly sees foggy, drizzly summer days with highs below 60 degrees. Compare that to Leadville in the Colorado mountains, which has a maximum average high of 72 degrees in July. Yet Leadville has never seen a high temperature over 86 degrees. Chilly afternoon rainstorms are common in the summer, but all-day rain only occurs during exceptionally powerful monsoon events.

Heat waves do happen at altitude. Here in Buena Vista, we've seen weeks of sunny days in the mid to upper 80s, with evenings that sometimes stay stiflingly warm. And we are at 8,000 feet! You have to go over 10,000 ft in the southern Rockies (or 7,000 ft in the northern Rockies) for temps that never breach 80 degrees.

 

[NctryBen]

Fellow Minnesotan here... I have a place up on the range area. In my travels Minnesota isn’t the worst place to be... with lakes to cool off in. But the other options are like the mountains. I have buddies that go camping high in the mountains to get away from the worst of it. As far as Alaska, except to take a ferry or whatever unless Canada opens again by next year... time will tell!

 

[highdesertranger]

FYI the LTVA's are seasonal. the ones in southern California and Arizona are not open for long term use in the summer. However the 14 day rule applies. there are 2 LTVA's in the eastern Sierra that are used in the summer months. somewhere on the forum way back when I posted the official rules for the winter LTVA's. do a search if you can't find it let me know. highdesertranger

 

[wayne49]

A WeatherUnderground Personal Weather Station located NW of Chisholm, MN, KMNCHISH4, recorded the following data last year in August.

https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KMNCHISH4/graph/2019-08-11/2019-08-11/daily



KMNCHISH4 2019-08-11
Temperature High 60.6 Low 55.0 Average 58.3 Difference 5.6
Humidity High 98% Low 92% Average 95%
Rainfall 0.0 inches.

Solar radiation Watts/M^2 managed to hit a peak of 876.7 at 12:14 PM.

Less than six degrees difference between the day's high and the low temps.
92%-98% humidity for 24 hours with zero rainfall.
Cool and wet.

 

[LERCA]

We can having boiling days along the coast and freezing windy nights. Plus there are micro-climates. I’m in one. Not everything you read is true. I’ve spent 58 years on the coast.
I remember going to visit a friend in Sedro-Woolley WA and they were having a heat wave, talk of the town-80 degrees so I brought a light sweater to the movies and she wouldn’t let me in the truck said I looked crazy. I was thinking it would get much colder at night.

 

[crofter]

...Has anyone got any advice as to general metro areas that are the coldest during the summer?  I think winter I might be OK with looking for LTVA's around the desert area.  However during the summer i'm a bit spinning my wheels in my thought process.  I know people say elevation is key, but what are those 5 or so places that are high up in elevation where you can stay there for long periods to outlast the summer heat???...

If you need to be in an urban area, you will have heating from all the pavement, so find a coastal city that gets fog in the summer, like San Francisco or coastal cities north of there. Inland cities may not get any coastal fog so will be hotter.

My goto summer plan is to get a camp host gig in the national forest, with full pay and campsite included.

If you don't want to work for it, save up three hundred dollars per month of stay, and take a summer vacation in the national forest. Several spots in each campground are first come first served so you do not need reservations, just check in mid week for best results. Max stay is 14 days and half price discount with the senior access pass. There may be wifi available at the camp store, but some areas are without cell and wifi service.  -crofter

Description: link to USFS passes site
https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/passes-permits/recreation-fees-passes

About coastal fog
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/wgsc/s...ce_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects

 

[crofter]

More on fog, from National Weather Service also cites lakes, so you may find niches of fog near the Great Lakes for example.  -crofter

https://www.weather.gov/safety/fog-water

You can look for the fog alerts here

https://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=usa&wwa=Dense Fog Advisory

 

[jacqueg]

Someone's mapped a route covering the US, following 70-degree weather, and another route following 80-degree weather.

http://us-climate.blogspot.com/2015/10/70f-road-trip.html

I followed Flagstaff temps this summer, and if I wanted to stay in AZ all year round, Flagstaff would be pretty high on my list of options.

Some people are more heat-tolerant than others, and there are people who live in the lower elevation SW desert year-round in RVs/vans/cars. But it's not what most nomads do.

 

[maki2]

Don't worry about it. No need to give additional advice to the OP

The person who started this thread has a already completed their journey south and is now living in  the LTVA areas in Arizona.

 

[NctryBen]

But thanks for the rest of us Minnesotans trying to get outta here...