Hundreds of Europeans touring the American West and adventurers from around the U.S. were still drawn to Death Valley National Park on Monday, even though the desolate region known as one of the Earth’s hottest places is being punished by a dangerous heat wave blamed for a motorcyclist’s death over the weekend. Associated Press journalist Ty ONeil explained that even though he grew up in the desert, "this is a different level of heat." French, Spanish, English and Swiss tourists left their air-conditioned rental cars and motorhomes to take photographs of the barren landscape so different than the snow-capped mountains and rolling green hills they know back home. “Just because the sun sets doesn't mean it really cools down. I was out till about 12:30 a.m. last night and it never dropped below 100 F (38 C)," ONeil added. American adventurers liked the novelty of it, even as officials at the park in California warned visitors to stay safe. “First of all my voice got really raspy right away when I walked outside, and you can feel it in your eyes and usually a breeze is cool, said Drew Belt, a resident of Tupelo, Mississippi, who wanted to stop in Death Valley as the place boasting the lowest elevation in the U.S. on his way to climb California’s Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states. "This is not a cool breeze whatsoever.” The early U.S. heat wave came as the global temperature in June was record warm for the 13th straight month and marked the 12th straight month that the world was 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than pre-industrial times, the European climate service Copernicus said.