Might just be heat soak. Unlock the cluster and measure the actual coolant temp. Search here for instructions.

Is the coolant level correct?

Thanks Ed. Coolant level is fine and the temp gauge is always normal when driving. Stop and go traffic, or even just idling, in the high temps doesn't make the gauge show hotter than normal. It's only if I shut the motor off for a couple of minutes and then restart. Thanks for the heads up about the instrument cluster, I did a search and found out how to unlock it (I didn't think I could unlock mine since it only has 1 button, but I found the instructions).

The coolant gets always warmer after the engine has stopped due to the fact that the water circulation stops and the engine (which is still warmer than the coolant) heats up it's neighborhood.
I have checked mine on the instrument cluster. Before I stopped it was 97 deg C, 2-3 minutes after I stopped, it went up to 103 deg C.
Just make sure your numbers are o.k. Or search for reasons if it is too hot. I don't remember experiencing this in Phoenix.

Thanks acoste. Having #'s to compare mine to will help.

I will be in Death Valley in mid September :thumbup:
Hopefully I won't forget to check this out.