morleyroarly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
morleyroarly) wrote2006-05-24 06:37 pm
morleyroarly) wrote2006-05-24 06:37 pm
The long, hot drive east
From Topanga Canyon, California to Scottsdale, Arizona took me just about eight hours. The time was no big deal, but the heat was another matter entirely.
BonBon, as fantastic as she is, has no air conditioning. She has standard roll-down windows and wing windows on both doors, and a sliding window in the back of the cab. She also has vent air (basically straight intake from the outside) and vent heat.
When you're driving at 80 mph through the low desert of California and Arizona, rolling the windows down doesn't really help. It just blows the hot air more forcefully into your lungs, your eyes, your very being. It at least helps to dry off the constantly-forming sweat, but it also contributes significantly to hearing loss.
In Blythe, California, just a few clicks shy of the CA/AZ border, I stopped at an AM/PM. Lured in by $3.08 gas (contrasted by $3.55 gas across the street at the Shell station - um, HUH?) I purchased a gallon of cold water to refill my camelbak. The nice lady at the cash register smiled and rang me up, and when I told her "Yeah, it sure is hot, and I don't have AC!" she looked at me like I was crazy. "You live HERE?" "No, I'm from San Francisco, driving to Phoenix." She nodded, and urged me to speed through the desert as fast as possible. She told me to grab a big cup of ice for free.
After munching down my PB&J sandwich in the shade of BonBon in the Arco parking lot, I set off to finish my trip. I arrived in Phoenix just in time to sit down to a home-cooked meal at my great uncle's house. And now, comfortably ensconced in the air-conditioned bliss of my Grandmother's house, I'm finally starting to feel whole again.
Did I mention I'm headed to Death Valley on Monday? Bring it ON!
BonBon, as fantastic as she is, has no air conditioning. She has standard roll-down windows and wing windows on both doors, and a sliding window in the back of the cab. She also has vent air (basically straight intake from the outside) and vent heat.
When you're driving at 80 mph through the low desert of California and Arizona, rolling the windows down doesn't really help. It just blows the hot air more forcefully into your lungs, your eyes, your very being. It at least helps to dry off the constantly-forming sweat, but it also contributes significantly to hearing loss.
In Blythe, California, just a few clicks shy of the CA/AZ border, I stopped at an AM/PM. Lured in by $3.08 gas (contrasted by $3.55 gas across the street at the Shell station - um, HUH?) I purchased a gallon of cold water to refill my camelbak. The nice lady at the cash register smiled and rang me up, and when I told her "Yeah, it sure is hot, and I don't have AC!" she looked at me like I was crazy. "You live HERE?" "No, I'm from San Francisco, driving to Phoenix." She nodded, and urged me to speed through the desert as fast as possible. She told me to grab a big cup of ice for free.
After munching down my PB&J sandwich in the shade of BonBon in the Arco parking lot, I set off to finish my trip. I arrived in Phoenix just in time to sit down to a home-cooked meal at my great uncle's house. And now, comfortably ensconced in the air-conditioned bliss of my Grandmother's house, I'm finally starting to feel whole again.
Did I mention I'm headed to Death Valley on Monday? Bring it ON!