Once in a while, it is important to note that not all places
in California have wonderful
weather. I had to laugh at a report published on Wed Aug 15, 2012 in the Daily KOS by Fishoutofwater. I
have copied the opening paragraph because the author captured the scene so
well.
“If there is a road to Hell it is I-40 into Needles, California.
The combination of intense desert heat and Colorado River
valley humidity streaming from the steaming Gulf of California
makes it, arguably, the most miserably hot town in America
in July and August. In this summer of record heat misery, Needles destroyed the
all time world record for hot rain when 115 degrees Fahrenheit rain briefly
pelted the town on Monday before it quickly turned to steam and evaporated.
Lightning from the storm set vegetation surviving along the riverside afire on
both sides of the Colorado, completing
the scene of Hell on earth.”
No one has ever denied that it can be hot in Needles but the
city fascinates me. As a child, we traveled through Needles once a year on our
way to Texas. I may have pointed
out on another post that my family went to Texas
in the summer and Montana in the
winter. Sort of bass-ackwards in terms of weather.
Needles was always the first stop on our trip. Needles really isn’t that far for us in terms of time but my parents would wake us up early (meaning still dark) so we could drive through the desert before it became unbearable. We are talking 1950’s and no air-conditioning.
As a child with a vivid imagination; Needles was a magical
place. I had read Steinbeck and imagined those fleeing the dust bowl. They would
cross the desert and the river to find Needles welcoming them to California.
It must have been a sanctuary since it was the first California
city they encountered. I know that coming back from Texas,
Needles meant that we were home. Times have
changed and there are more cities on the Arizona
side but when I was little, there was only Needles.
Needles still holds its place as a Route 66 stop. While we
still sometimes just drive through, there are times that we stop and revisit
those attractions. In fact, we will be stopping there in July on our road trip
to Missouri. It’s worth the time
to visit this piece of American history. Just check the weather before you go.
Your family sounds like mine. We used to take road trips back to Tennessee and Ohio to visit my grandparents and the rest of the family. Living up in northern california, we would take the "southern route" going and the northern route coming home. and YES Needles was one hot and dry place. I remember when it was route 66 - there was a stretch of it that was bloody and always had some kind of head-on-accident. I havent been down to Needles and over the way in 15 years or more.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the memories. Oh and my folks used to do that too. PIck us up out of bed with our jammies on, and take off. I miss those days.
You must have been the other car on the road that we passed. There wasn't that much traffic on the road at that time, and yes, I miss it too.
DeleteMy mom drove cross country with her sister back when I was a baby, and she always talks about stopping in Needles. Of course, their car broke down, so that adds to the flavor of that rinky dink town in the middle of the desert. And Snoopy's brother Spike is from Needles! Why do I know these things...
ReplyDeleteI saw the name of your post and immediately got hot and started to sweat :)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post and the above comments, I'm just wondering if the founding fathers of this rinky dink, blink and miss, hotter N hades place really meant for it to end in double 's'. Just sayin'
ReplyDeleteMy Letter 'N'...Needle Nests
Sue CollectInTexasGal
AtoZ LoneStar Quilting Bee
Damn good thing I didn't take a drink before reading your comment Sue. What a hoot and something that never occurred to me. Regardless of the comments and my take on the town, I do like Needles.
DeleteI never heard of Needles before now. How neat :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a descriptive road to Hell. You make the town sound so vivid.
ReplyDelete