Arizona National Park Bakes Cookies & Cooks Burgers As Extreme Heat Warning

“Do not leave children or pets in a parked vehicle. When temperatures are around 100°F, it doesn’t take too long for the dashboard to get around 180+°F (with a dark dashboard, and locked windows). Leaving a window cracked or open is not enough to stop the quick rise in temperatures.”

Park rangers near Tucson recently showed just how hot temperatures can get during Arizona’s summer in creative ways. NEWS12 reports the Saguaro National Park Instagram account shared a picture on Saturday showing some freshly baked cookies in front of a desert landscape. The twist is that the sweet treats weren’t baked in an oven. The rangers freshly baked the cookies in a vehicle where temps can jump 20 degrees in only 10 minutes in the summer heat.

“Cookies are fun and all, but heat is no joke” –Saguaro National Park

The park also showed just how hot asphalt can get during southwest summers by doing a unique cookout using a homemade meat substitute patty they let it sit on what they called the “good ‘ol solar grill” also known as the asphalt to see whether it would cook through or not. The experiment turned out to be a bit too successful.

“It’s definitely hot enough to cook it, but actually it might be too hot. It got way too dry and just crumbled apart on me.”

Be careful out there folks, take care of your pets and take care of yourself.