How hot was it in Death Valley over the weekend?
It was so hot that a European tourist melted the skin off his feet when he lost his flip-flops in the sand dunes, park officials said.
To make matters worse, the temperatures made the air too thin for a helicopter to fly in and help him.
The experience of the tourist, whose name was not released, is a painful reminder that extreme dangers can emerge in unexpected ways at one of the hottest places on earth in the summertime.
According to a National Park Service news release, the 42-year-old Belgian tourist was taking a short walk Saturday in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in 123-degree heat when he either broke or lost his flip-flops, putting his feet into direct contact with the desert ground….
