On the road to Palm Desert…

This morning started bright and early at the Gateway Community College in Phoenix, but we didn’t get as early a start as some of the event attendees. As we got to the location and began to set up the vehicles in race like positioning, we were greeted by a host of eager onlookers.

At 8:00 a.m., when the event actually was set to begin, I started to understand why people were there so early -- the temperature gauges in the vehicles were already reading 94 degrees.

We had about 250 people at the event. I’d guess almost 150 were either students or their instructors, as they generally came in waves as classes were letting out or before they were about to begin. Many of the instructors had questions about the technology and how they could incorporate the science behind this future fuel and these vehicles into their classrooms.

As we packed up for the end of the event, the temperature gauges were reading 103. A little word of advice from Phoenix. Don’t believe this dry heat myth: a dry heat is still VERY hot.

Fortunately the temperature wasn’t a real issue once we got in the cars and got the A.C. pumping. The hydrogen vehicles have excellent air conditioning systems. Electrically optimized air compressors are extremely efficient and cooled us all down very quickly -- something all of us in the car appreciated!

We are now driving 260 miles to Palm Desert. The drive was too far for the vehicles, without the fueling stations I’ve talked so much about. And, so we are once again in the rental cars.

We are just driving through Palm Springs now. Tomorrow morning we’ll be in 1000 Palms to visit SunLine Transit Agency. SunLine works with the Department of Energy on ways to advance hydrogen fuel commercialization and they have a permanent station on site as well as several hydrogen powered vehicles, including buses.

From there we will drive the vehicles 120 miles to the City of Angels for our closing event. It’s hard to believe this trip is almost behind us. I’ve got a lot of great memories and I’m looking forward to reflecting on the trip and sharing my thoughts once I head back home to Sacramento.