CALIFORNIA DOES RAIN, SO THERE!!

Wednesday 20 December.  Off we go. South we pedal in search for warmth and sunshine……

Flossie is on her usual high alert. 

The day rose clear and with great promise for that great California Day. While Rick broke camp

I did a small walk-about to photograph the newest addition to the Santa Nella campground,

two large solar panels. Quite impressive!

The drive down the valley to Bakersfield is really nothing spectacular. Obviously it is flat,

with hills on either side but there is little to see in the way of organic material or colour or structure. 

The fields are golden dry, the grass shrivelled by the drought. We plod on, motivated by the thought

of rising temperatures, the strong California sun and soft breezes. Who cares about boring scenery

when the promise of golden sunshine and warmth on one's back hastens us forward?

We passed a number of localized blackened areas which denoted small grass fires, quickly contained.

It was a sobering testament to the current drought, but we also saw fields of fruit trees and vines (see

below).

Then the unthinkable happened. The bar of blue sky disappeared as we drove into

a large grey mass of H2O.  By the time we reached Harris Ranch (below) for gas,

the blue had been replaced by grey drizzle. For someone from the Pacific NW this 

was the ultimate in disappointment. We were here to escape from such trials!!

Behind us, the blue sky was busy receding from sight. The radio said by tomorrow

the sun would shine again. Sure sure, I thought….. "siempre manana".

Just take a look at this I say with disgust :(  Is this Bakersfield or is this Seattle???

Regardless of unseemly amounts of rain, we arrived in good time at the Orange Grove RV

Park outside Bakersfield and were well pleased to see that the high reviews it has received

from fellow campers were borne out. The campground was clean and tidy and the layout was 

spacious with orange trees at each site. We were encouraged to pick as many oranges as we

wanted and if we found a large one to give it in to the office for weighing. The heaviest orange 

would win a free night at the campground. We tried the oranges and they were like nothing we

northerners had tasted before. Although relatively small, they were seedless, very sweet but with a

definite nip. Delicious!!

A trip to Walmart enhanced our pantry with stock supplies, and afterwards we were tired so we decided to

call the day quits at 3PM. Put the kettle on, played with the dog (chase the frisbee which is quite a hoot

inside a small camper) and decided on a basic dinner of mashed spuds and baked chicken. 

As I type, the sun bursts through the clouds and slides across the table. Life is good.

Tomorrow we have no exact fixed plans, other than to head across to Barstow 

and then into Joshua Tree National Park. If they have room, we will stay there

and explore for a day or two. if not, then we will move on towards Lake Cahuilla 

south of Palm Springs. Of course we could reinvent these plans into something entirely

the opposite so you (and I) won't know until tomorrow after we have done it (or not).

Hope you all are having a wonderful peaceful prelude to Christmas.

Barbara Rick and Flossie the amazing traveller