Tag: CA

Up early to shower. The KOA Bakersfield succeeds. The showers are wonderful and have earned a 9/10 from the both of us. High praise, I know.

We watched a few rigs preparing to leave as we ourselves would be doing as soon as the yoghurt, banana and coffee had been consumed. We packed up, dumped our tanks (all good) and were on our way.

It was shortly before 9:30am and we were headed North. We took Hwy 65 to Porterville, CA where we stopped for a few provisions. Continuing northward we passed Exeter, CA where we turned East towards Sequoia National Park.

We have reserved one night in the only open campground located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. We arrive shortly after noon to a line-up of vehicles entering the park. This is the third park at which we can use the ‘America the beautiful’ pass allowing us entry free of charge and today saving us $35USD. At this point the card has paid for itself and any future National Parks, forests or other supported locations we visit will be truly free of charge.

The campground is smaller with only about 40 sites and is primarily targeted at tent campers and smaller vehicles. The road to access the campground is restricted to vehicles 24’ or less.

It’s nice to be amongst the trees after several days in the desert. We went for a hike up the river canyon adjacent to the campground and captured some beautiful shots of the river and hillsides.

Bears frequent the area and everyone is required to store any foodstuffs normally left out in their vehicles overnight in the provided bearproof boxes on their campsite. So, bananas, oranges, etc are currently tucked away outside of the van so as not to attract night time visitors.

Settling in for an off-the-grid (internet free) evening. Tomorrow we head further into Sequoia National Park to see the towering trees and other sights the park has to offer.

We awoke to another quiet morning. We don’t have a long drive today and so took our time getting ready for the day and packing up. We were on the road shortly after 11:00am. We are sad to say goodbye to Sawtooth Canyon as it has been a very tranquil place to spend a couple of days.

We started with a short drove North to Barstow before heading west on I-15 and then NW towards Bakersfield, CA on Hwy 58. The campsite for the past couple of nights was the most southerly point on this journey as we now head North through California.

Heading towards Bakersfield, we pass Boron, CA the home of the largest Borax mine in the world. The open pit mine is owned and operated by Rio Tinto. Hwy 58 also takes us past Edward’s AFB where the Space Shuttle conducted many of its landings and Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1. We couldn’t see much but still cool to think about the aerospace history that took place here.

A little further along the highway we pass Mojave, CA the home of Virgin Galactic. They fly their aircraft from the Mojave airport which then launches the Unity rocket powered craft from the air towards space. If you are wealthy you can book a seat and earn your astronaut wings.

We stop for fuel in Tehachapi, CA and then drive to Keene, CA where we detour to see the Tehachapi Loop overlook. We see a long BNSF train hauling freight eastward up ‘the hill’ and around the loop. The loop has a 1200ft diameter and rises 77ft. The trains that arrive here are traveling from Bakersfield (400ft elev) and arrive at the loop which is 4028ft elev in a distance of just over 60 miles. The locomotives were working hard as they rounded the loop still with several miles to go to the top.

The landscape west of the mountains is vastly different. Gone is the flat sandy desert to be replaced with rolling hillsides. Covered in grasses and trees.

We descend towards Bakersfield, CA and find ourselves in a lush citrus growing valley.

We arrive in Bakersfield mid-afternoon to stay at the KOA Journey in town. The place is immaculate, grassy and park like. They have a pool & hot tub as well as an onsite restaurant that we have chosen to enjoy this evening.

It is warm and I’m thinking of firing up the rooftop A/C unit. Will wait until the evening settles in before making that decision.

The sky is clear and the moon is up. It’s going to be a beautiful evening. Check back tomorrow to see where we go from here.

Stay happy. Be positive!

P.S. Note that limited internet access may result in the next couple of posts not being posted on the day that they represent. Check back often and we shall post as soon as we can.

Decision made, we’re staying put in Sawtooth Canyon campground for another day. It’s just to peaceful and beautiful here that we just want to stop for a day & catch our breath.

To that end we sleep in until after 8:00am and had a very leisurely morning. Barb took care of researching and booking our next few nights (we now have reservations until Monday).

After lunch we went for a walk about the campground and a short hike into the surrounding hills.

Back at camp we settled in to read and enjoy a few snacks before making ‘breakfast for dinner’. The evening was spent relaxing in the van and watching a few videos.

Tomorrow we’re heading to a serviced campground in preparation for the following two days which will be more remote.

Catch you tomorrow!