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BIG COTTONWOOD CANYON — It's a good thing Utah is full of mountains. Otherwise, Jo Checketts isn't sure where she would have gone Sunday afternoon.
"I was so hot," she said with a laugh. "I was afraid I was just going to melt and go into pool like the bad witch."
There may be no place like home for her as temperatures hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit and her air conditioner lost its brains, heart and courage.
The National Weather Service says temperatures in Salt Lake City reached 106 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday. This high heat breaks the previous daily record, which was 103 degrees Fahrenheit. The all-time record for Salt Lake City is 107 degrees Fahrenheit.
Salt Lake City has reached a high of 106° so far today! That's only 1° from the all-time hottest ever since records began in 1874! #utwx 🔥 pic.twitter.com/o9rO1DHEfI
— Matthew Johnson (@KSL_Matt) July 16, 2023
"My air conditioner went out two days ago, and it is hotter than you can even believe inside the house," Checketts said.
It's why she, her granddaughter and three grandchildren decided to have a picnic lunch in the mountains. Hundreds, if not thousands, of others were also in the mountains looking to get out of the valley heat.
"It feels fantastic," said Ben Vines, who lives in Riverton. "I mean, you are talking 20 degrees cooler without all the pavement and everything in the shade. It feels awesome up here."
Silver Lake, up Big Cottonwood Canyon, was busier than usual. Some people even got in the water, others had a birthday party in the shade, and some even painted mountain views on canvas. They were all doing something outside, without baking in the summer sun.
"We are walking around the trails. Feels great," Vines said.
Of course, what goes up eventually has to come back down. Not just all the people heading home from the mountains, but also temperatures.
It was a little more than a month ago when many of us were tired of snow and cold and were looking forward to summer.
"We are never happy. That cool spring, I thought, I will never ever complain again. But I am," Checketts said.
She knows her air conditioner will eventually get fixed. But, for now, no matter what the temperatures are, spending time with the family creating and creating memories is still pretty cool.
"Well, that's what life is all about," she said. "It's nice."
