Beating the Heat...

 

N: 34.3415 W: 114.2129

Lake Havasu City, AZ 

The Hampton Inn (Room 142)

          “The greatest plans of mice, men, and women with small birds…”

        I did not follow my own advice to travel at night to get to my next destination all due to an incident at Fern Bluff Campground that occurred around 10 PM that involved a rude camper next to me who shined his bright lanterns towards my van for over an hour while they set up their tents. 

          Of course, I yelled…but nicely, “Would you please not shine your lights into my van?” but I had to say it three times, very loudly as it echoed throughout the previously quiet and dark campground. 
         They yelled back and I slammed my van door, sat in my brightly lit van and was pissed.  This lasted for about an hour.
          I did fall back to sleep and awoke shortly before a raccoon decided to crawl down out of the tree I was parked under and romp around on the top of my van causing me to hope it was a raccoon and when I pounded on the roof with my hand it finally did jump off and go away.

          I decided then and there to leave and start my next hot leg of my journey so donning my headlamp I set out into the dark of the early morning and packed up all of my things into my van and within half an hour I was pulling out of the campground just as the sky was turning light.

          I drove down the back side of the mountains on highway 243 twenty-three miles down to Banning, CA dropping six thousand feet in elevation to do so.  I drove onto Interstate 10 and headed into the rising sun and temperatures of the new day.

       I took a picture or two of the sights along the way of the highway because the desert was greand luscious looking after last week’s monsoon rains that had hit throughout the area. 

          I stopped and fueled up for the long ten mile climb up another mountain range (far too many of them this journey…up and down.  I have been up to 8000 feet and below sea level at 100 feet) and then drove for the next three and half hours until I finally arrived in Lake Havasu City at about 11:30 in the morning, the day already a 101 degrees when I finally pulled under the shaded drive of the Hampton Inn.

          I paid far too much for a night in a hotel but it has turned out to be well worth the moneys I spent as the room was everything and more than I had anticipated, with a large television, refrigerator, microwave and of course the never used by me hairdryer and iron.  There is also internet, a really wonderful pool, complimentary two drinks in the bar during happy hour, all of which I partook of, and in a short while, breakfast before I leave here and try to outrun the heat again.

          I will be heading north on the 395 before going east on Interstate 40 to Kingman, AZ and further east towards Williams, AZ which will be my next stop as the temps there are running in the high 70’s during the day,  (remember, it currently is 80 degrees and it is only 5AM as I am typing this) which will be very tolerable considering.

          Well, off again to pack and ready for another hot morning of ‘Traveling Thru The Tonda Zone!”

~Peace~