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125 degrees is not hot enough to fry an egg

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Photo: Steve Marcus

Death Valley | June 29, 2013 | 1:31 p.m.

My daughter wanted to go hiking in the mountains on Saturday, but I convinced her it would be fun to go to Death Valley, instead. The hottest temperature ever measured anywhere in the world—134 degrees—was established in Death Valley on July 10, 1913. I didn’t think it would get that hot, but if we hit 129 degrees, it would be a record for June.

I went first to Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level and probably the hottest place in the park, where I photographed Swedish tourist Bengt Jonsson trying—and failing—to fry an egg on a rock. Then I took a photo of runner Fred Von Canon, who said he couldn’t resist the challenge of two miles on the salt flats. The official temperature for the day was about 125 degrees, and my cameras got so hot they were uncomfortable to hold. My daughter spent most of the time in the car, waiting with the air conditioner on.

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Steve Marcus

Steve Marcus got his first camera when he was 10-years-old. He worked for the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff, Arizona ...

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