If you think it's hot in Bakersfield, just try telling that to the people living everyday in the hottest place in the country, Death Valley.
Less than four hours from Bakersfield is a place where natural desert beauty collides with searing dangerous heat.
The average temperature for the month of July in Death Valley is 115 degrees. In august it's about 113 degrees. The all-time record temperature, recorded back in 1913, was at 134.
Just a few hundred people actually live and work here year round. Park maintenance employee Mike Shoshone was born and raised here, and prefers the high country when the heat is really on.
And when it comes to luxury, Death Valley offers that too. Just a few years ago, the Furnace Creek Inn, a hideaway spot for Hollywood's elite, began staying open year round.
Believe it or not, visitors during the summer are mostly from Europe, attracted to the idea of surviving extreme heat.
And how do the inn's surroundings stay so lush? They're fed by one of three major natural springs that provide fresh water for hundreds of thirsty desert residents.
Of course, what's a trip from Bakersfield to Death Valley worth without trying to fry an egg on the sidewalk? According to our very expensive thermometer, the reading is over 120 degrees.
Four minutes later, nothing but shock as an egg is actually cooked right on the cement.
By the way, the high temperature was 122 degrees the day this report was filed. The average rainfall is just under two-inches a year.
