We left Lake Havasu at 6:00 a.m. to beat the heat and, compared to yesterday, we were successful. We did see the thermometer get to about 97 today but most of the day it was in the 80’s and, compared to the max of 115 yesterday, it was relatively cool. The climb going West from Needles, CA on US-40 is pretty tough on any day, let alone a day like yesterday, so we decided to get it over with early and then relax the rest of the way.
We decided to spend tonight in Tehachapi, CA because it is at a pretty high altitude (about 4200 feet) and would be cooler at night. Last night, the temperature never got below 90 degrees which is what it was at 5:00 a.m. so we had to run the A/C all night and it is not like your home A/C, it is pretty noisy and hard to regulate. So not the best night’s sleep last night.
This plaque explains the history of the loop – click on it to enlarge it.
Having left so early we got to our camp site at about noon. The number one tourist attraction in Tehachapi is the Tehachapi Loop – the one and only railroad loop in the whole country – where railroad trains cross over themselves climbing a particularly steep section of the Tehachapi Pass – the reason most people have heard the word before. The pass is between Bakersfield and Mojave. The climb going West is a piece of cake because Mojave is already at 2800 feet so the climb is 1400 feet. Going East from Bakersfield at 400 feet, it is a 3800 foot climb – very tough. That is why the railroad built the loop – to flatten out that section of the hill.
More history
Some train buffs from Italy (living in San Diego) who made the stop like we did.
This is our view of the small loop section with a train passing over itself. Click on the picture to enlarge it.
GMC content: Not even a hint of hot fuel issues today. I guess the winter gas is all gone and now we are on California gas which, according to my own research, is the best in the country at reducing or eliminating hot fuel issues. Ask me why I say that. It was a hot day but we are very thankful for our fresh air vents and Kelvin Dietz who “invented” them. If the humidity is not bad, lots of moving air, even at 90+ degrees, is surprisingly comfortable and those vents really move the air. One more note would be the item of one or two roof air conditioning units. Our coach has two and we will stay with two. Traveling in the summer – the time most of us travel – can put you in some hot places and two units are needed to cool this buggy down when it is close to 100 degrees outside. Running two units requires 50 amp service but it is so close to 30 that I can cheat and get away with it. I have a 50 amp input to the coach which I adapt down to a 30 amp cord (because it is manageable compared to a 50 amp cord) and then I use another adapter to plug into the 50 amp outlet at the post. Works great and nothing gets hot.
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