Patiently Waiting...

I am just eleven days away from leaving to spend nine weeks in Quito, Ecuador.  As I am enjoying my time at home with my family, it is weird to think that as I am sitting here in 70-degree weather I will be traveling to the equator for a much cooler summer. The temperature during the summer doesn't get cooler than 50-degrees, but not warmer than 65-degrees.  How is this possible when it's located only 15 miles from the equator?  Quito is 9,350 feet above sea level.  The Quito area is the only place on the equator that gets snow.  Another piece of information I didn't know if that Ecuador is located to the east of Michigan.  This sounds obvious, but many people in the Midwest picture Ecuador as being farther west.