July 21, 2012 - Needles, CA - Motel

We left the motel in Visalia later than we wanted to.  We finally hit the road about 9:00 AM.  Our goal was to get out of Dodge as quick as we can.  We looked at the map and plotted a course for Barstow.   By the time we would reach Barstow, we would have mad a decision whether to go to Las Vegas or Flagstaff.  We opted for Flagstaff. 

The heat has caught up with us.  Not much after we hooked up with the freeway, maybe 60 miles from Visalia, it was in the high 90’s. 

We pulled into Needles and it was 108 degrees.  We were stopping about every 70 miles or so to get water and cool off on the way.  Despite the fact we had a late departure, frequent stops, and limited to 55 MPH, we made excellent time.  The camper seems to be wandering more than it should and that is limiting our speed.  We repacked it after we arrived at the motel, and then went out to eat.  It seemed better.

Our Motel In Needles, CA

We had already discussed staying at a motel even before the heat maxed out.  We love to camp, but there is no way we are going to camp out in this weather.  Besides that, there is a storm heading this way.  The girl at the motel said the last time the clouds looked like that, there was 2 feet of water in the streets.  Another man told us that there is wind alert.  Flagstaff had 50 MPH gusts several hours earlier.  Right now, as I look out at the sky, it looks very serious.  Maybe it will hit at night, and clear in the morning.  Even with that, the heat is all around and ahead of us. 

I think we will head towards Flagstaff in the morning and maybe camp there.  It will be cooler as it is a higher elevation and out of the desert.