Question about heat & time of year for hwy 50 trip

Hi, Everyone!

I'm a brand new forum member, hoping to gather information about a road trip I plan to take for research for a story I'm writing. I want to rent a convertible for the drive, so weather is a concern.

I'd like to fly to Phoenix, drive through to LA, up through CA to Highway 50, then follow 50 straight through to Colorado and fly back to New York. My original plan was to go in June, but I've been told that the temperatures will be pretty hot.

My options if the temps in southern CA are too warm:

Skip southern CA and fly to norther CA, then do only the Hwy 50 portion of the drive. I don't mind doing this. The only reason I was doing southern CA is because my mom flies to Phoenix for her job and can get me a companion fare price - the savings is less than I would save by eliminating the whole southern CA leg of the journey. Hwy 50 is the REAL reason for the trip.

Or -

Wait until October to take the trip

I guess what I'm wondering is if Highway 50 itself is uncomfortably hot to drive in a convertible during the month of June.

I will heartily welcome any advice offered! Thanks so much!

Highway 50 is far enough north where it won't get that hot, and June is before the height of the summer. If it *should* get uncomfortably hot, just stop and put the top up, and turn on the air conditioner.

The hottest part of the trip will be from Phoenix to LA through the desert. LA itself and up the coast will be very moderate.

Welcome to the Roadtrip America forums!

I caravanned through parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, in mid-late June, a few years ago with a friend who had a convertible. Most of the time, she tied a big hat on tied on tight to shield her from some of the sun to prevent sunburn, drove with the top down, and enjoyed the breeze. If the sun got too hot, and the breeze itself was too hot to cool her off, she would turn on the A/C. Even with the top down, this would often still cool her off enough. Probably didn't help her fuel consumption though. Once in awhile, it wouldn't be enough to keep her cool and she would put the top up. But, for the most part, she had the top down.

To me, it would be worth it, even if you had to have the top up during the hottest part of the day.

I guess I'd take the approach that is you can't use a convertable in California in June, when and where could you use one?!

Really, I'd agree with everything that has been said otherwise. The Phoenix to LA leg is really the only part where you'd likely to see Triple-Digits, and even there, you'd likely be before the Monsoon season, so it should still be very dry.

Thank you, everyone! I think I'm going to shorten the trip, fly into Sacramento Airport, drive hwy 50 out and back, then fly home. I think it'll be fabulously fun, plus, I've never seen that part of the country.

Why not go back from Colorado to SAC via a different route and see some different things?

I haven't run Hwy 50 in a convertible but I have made several trips across it in a truck. "The Lonliest Road in America" is a fitting name. No traffic. not many towns, and nice scenery. Beware of the 'free range' cattle, they can be a traffic hazard. A good place to eat, if it's still there, is the Nowhere Cafe. It was on the north side of 50 just before the Utah state line. Between Fallon and Ely is about 250 miles and only a few small towns in between. Ther are several passes to cross in the 6,000 - 7,000 ft range. Once you cross into Utah ther is nothing untill you get to Delta, about 90 miles. Go for it, youll have a blast.

If there are free range cattle, I would not recommend driving after dark. Those black cows can be invisible standing in the middle of the road at night.

I figured I would drive from about 7 am to 7 pm, find a motel/hotel and spend the rest of the evening writing, then drive on to Colorado, driving the same number of hours.

Out of curiosity (and this might be a really silly question, but I'm an overly-cautious New Yorker) - is this a safe drive? I'll be taking the trip by myself.

It should be very safe in that respect.