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The temperatures are soaring, Guadalajara is baking and todo el mundo is going off to crowded beaches and balnearios (water parks), but there are alternatives.

Nearly 50 years ago, Dr. John Wright came to Mexico to study pyroclastic flows: great “rivers” of incandescent volcanic ash that flowed across the landscape some 95,000 years ago when a huge, explosive volcanic eruption occurred not far from what is now Guadalajara.

The state of San Luis Potosí is famed for its breathtaking landscapes, especially its fantastic waterfalls, rivers and cliffs — not to mention some surrealistic sculpture gardens.

Getting a head’s start on Guadalajara’s 27th Festival Cultural de Mayo on May 2 was the opening of “Acuarelas Ancestrales” (Ancestral Watercolors), an exhibition of  paintings by local muralist Jorge Monroy, to be displayed at the Casa Feria in the city’s historic center throughout this month.

While studying mineral deposits and rock formations in Sonora, Jalisco geologist Chris Lloyd found himself on a lonely road near the headwaters of the Yaqui River. The road eventually dead-ended, apparently in the middle of nowhere, but Lloyd and his companions came upon a campground.

Archaeologist Rodrigo Esparza has been studying obsidian for 20 years. In a recent online conference sponsored by the University of Guadalajara, he summed up his observations about this volcanic glass which played a vital role in the history of Mexico.