Sometimes if you know a little history of a place you can spot subtle landmarks that others would miss. As I was driving into Needles, Calif., I was thinking about the town, which is most famous for being the blowtorch of America on a bunch of summer days: the temp can reach 110 with no problem, even 120. And it does so day after day.
I was also thinking about Charles Schultz, the Peanuts' cartoonist who lived for a time in Needles as a child. I recently read Schultz's biography (he was a very complex fellow). Besides Charlie Brown his most famous cartoon character was the beagle Snoopy. But every once in awhile Snoopy would step out of the spotlight and his brother Spike would step in. Spike looks like Snoopy, but he has a mustache. And he lives in Needles. In the cartoons, Spike would usually be found in the company of a Saguaro cactus.And so as I pulled into Needles from the south on U.S. 95, I immediately "got" the name of the street that's in the photo. It's a very minor road, but I bet it was named after Spike the beagle.
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