It was hottern Hades and half way between L.A. and Vegas.
On one jaunt to L.A. we hit the biggest traffic jam I had ever seen. It STARTED 75 miles east of L.A. ALL the way to the City of the Angels. We turned off the freeway sometime before L.A., had some lunch and returned home to Barstow. I wouldn't be surprised if that traffic jam is STILL there.
Barstow isn’t much to look at, but it is in a potentially strategic spot.
And as I recall from a visit to Barstow a number of years ago, the World's largest McDonald's restaurant.