Hitting the Barrier

No, I haven't crashed the smart car but I have blown up somewhat myself. Whether it is heat exhaustion or eating something dodgy (or visiting Gallup, NM) I don't know - but we are holed up in Prescott, AZ, approx 465 miles from Los Angeles, California and the cooling Pacific breeze. Like countless travellers before us we are at the point of wondering whether we will ever get there.
So yesterday we decided that we would not be going to the Grand Canyon or to Scottsdale where the temperatures have been hitting 116 degrees. The front page of The Arizona Republic this morning says "Record Heat Kills 3 Men." Apparently the temperature is 9 degrees above "normal."
Instead we decided to cut south-west for three hours via the resort town of Sedona, Cottonwood and through the pass at Jerome, where the smart climbed to 7,023 feet, with spectacular views in all directions. Deprived of the Grand Canyon this was considerable consolation - depite feeling thoroughly second-hand I couldn't help but enjoy the trip.
We are now spending two nights at the Holiday Inn Express in Prescott, AZ before attempting the last leg of Stage One of the tour. We plan to cross the Mojave desert tomorrow night. Sorry no pics as yet but processor padlocked here.