Saturday Night Date

Need I say more?

We have arrived safely in Bakersfield, CA and as predicted it is hot here.  Perfect excuse to go out to dinner.  For the next 10 days this is our front yard:

Can't wait to sit outside and have coffee in the morning.  I already have the chairs out and setup.  We are at the end of a row and it is like having our own private yard.  Just down the road they are pumping oil (Bakersfield is known for its oil production.)  

The Kern River pictured above located at the edge of this park is a victim of the drought and like so many other rivers we have seen in the Central Valley-it is completely dry.  Tomorrow is a long drive day with three or four parks to see depending on how we hold up.  This will be a busy ten days with something like sixteen parks to visit and little time to play (hence the "date night" tonight!)  

Who knows what the plant below is?  I have seen it frequently during the last week or so and its blooms are gorgeous.   It grows quite tall and is not an Oleander bush.  Its flowers make me think of Azalea blooms?  This photo was taken in front of the park's office when we arrived today.

Snoopy and the Bugs

Snoopy's Corner:

We are getting ready to leave Tulare this morning.  We are headed down to Bakersfield, CA.  It is going to be really HOT the next few days the weather man says on TV.  But I always like to see new places.

You know we saw some pretty amazing things around town here.  They have black ants climbing up the outside of a movie theater here that are HUGE!  And then Mom saw a red ant too sitting on a wall when she was coming back from the grocery store as big as the others.  I checked out my litter box just to be sure there were none in our coach.  Well, I did find a little beetle the size of a normal ant that caught my attention after seeing pictures of those ants.  Whew!  I was glad Mom saw me looking and she took care of that bug right away.  Usually I am on the job pretty good, 'cause I always chase the flies if they get in.

Anyway, there are some cats that live outside here.  I sort of feel sorry for them.  They are always walking around the park looking for food.  And one has lost his right eye.  I guess I am a very lucky cat.  I really like where I get to live.

Well, I am going to climb into my bed and get ready for the trip.  Mom just washed my blanket and it smells great and it is so soft.  Nap time...see you when we get to the next stop!

Kaweah River

Today’s work took us up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to a small town called Three Rivers located about three miles from the entrance to Sequoia National Park.  It was a beautiful drive and we now know that what looked like dirty snow from a distance is in reality bare rock summits in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 

The road going east from Tulare on Highway 168 winds gently up through golden hills that are peppered with dark granite boulders in multiple sizes and shapes.  The highway passes a reservoir called Lake Kaweah, which serves as a recreational area near a small town called Lemon Cove.  The word Kaweah translates as “raven” in the local Native American tribe’s language and indeed the park owners told us ravens are prevalent in the area.  The dam prevents floods downstream and thus the lake is kept at a very low level year round to accommodate rainy periods rather than being low from lack of rain as we initially presumed.  Boats, campers and swimmers were all enjoying the water as we passed provided by the Kaweah River.

 We elected not to travel into Sequoia National Park when we finished our job at 3:30 pm because it is a 45-minute drive to the trees from the park’s entrance.  It would have been too late to really enjoy the park.  Maybe we will drive up there on the next trip.  With the heat, we were also tired out after walking through three parks.  One of the parks we saw had a beautiful swimming hole on the Kaweah River I could have easily enjoyed wading into waist deep.  The water was delightful on my toes and I saw a huge tadpole in the water at the edge of my shoes.  A lawn chair, good book and dangling your feet in the water would be a fine way to pass an afternoon here.

We had lunch in the little town of Three Rivers.  We went to a place called Sierra Subs and Salads and it was absolutely delicious.  I had a salad wrap containing romaine and baby greens, garbanzo beans, mini-corn, cucumber, avocado, tomato, black olives and artichoke hearts all chopped and tossed with some balsamic vinaigrette dressing and wrapped in a flour tortilla.  Awesome!  I want to remember the combination so I can make it myself.  We sat out by the river listening to it run over river rocks for a beautiful and healthy lunch experience.

Farming to Market

We drove across the valley and back today to see a park located west of us just beyond Interstate 5.  It was about a 120 mile round trip to see just one park but Tulare is the closest stopover to this particular park.  In the process we saw extensive farmlands covering the perfectly flat landscape of the California Central Valley situated between two mountain ranges here, the larger being the Sierra Nevada range to our east.

We were surprised to see potatoes growing in some of the fields, discerning what the plants are after seeing other fields with harvested bags of potatoes left in rows across adjacent fields.  Unfortunately we did not grab a photo of the bagged potatoes.  We would have enjoyed seeing how that bagging process works.  We suspect that the rows of potato bags are created by machine and subsequently gathered by machine.  On the Web it looks like the potatoes are dug up and left in rows on the ground but I could not find a photo of how the bagging process works.  Of course the mysteries of farming fuel our  continuing fascination with farming here in Central California. 

We also saw pistachio trees (my first encounter with them) bearing their nuts along with almond trees and pecan trees, which are also starting to have visible nuts.  Grape vines continue here and tiny clusters of grapes are now starting to appear.  We passed a Sun Maid Raisin factory and wondered if the produce of these grape vines is destined to become raisins?  I would have liked to check on whether or not there was a tour available, but we saw it from the RV traveling down from Fresno to Tulare.

Corn, apricots and tomatoes are other crops close to harvest now along the roads in addition to rows of hay bales already gathered across the fields we pass.  This area has huge dairy cattle yards.  Horses, goats and beef cattle are also mixed in here and there in separate fields.  It is amazing to see such vast agriculture for miles in all directions.  The only thing holding back this area is the lack of water.  If winter rains don’t come this year, it may well be disastrous for the farmers along with those depending on jobs or businesses here that the farming industry supports.

I had the interesting and pleasurable experience of grocery shopping in the Hispanic grocery store near the RV Park where we are staying today.  It was fascinating to see so many different cooking options and I found myself wishing I knew more about the ethnic cooking traditions of the Hispanic culture.  I purchased some Mole sauce to experiment with on chicken.  The vegetable displays and the extensive butcher section of the meat department were impressive.  The store merchandise and produce were so nicely displayed and the people were so friendly (shoppers and staff alike) that I quickly forgot my anxiety over being in a store where I could not understand the predominant language.  It fostered the idea of living in a foreign land, where learning a new language and becoming familiar with their culture would be fascinating.  Fear of the unknown would be replaced with the joy of expanding one’s knowledge of the world.  And that is a good thing.  Maybe I will add that to my bucket list when we truly are retired?     

Snoopy's Closet

It has been a while since I checked in with all of you.  Actually, I am doing just fine.  We have been in a warmer part of California but the air conditioner is keeping me cool while Mom and Dad are out working every day for an awfully long time.

Today's RV park has a black and white kitty who lives next door in a "Fifth Wheel" RV.  I saw her this morning.  She gets her food outside next to the stairs.  Her Dad works in L.A. during the week as a lineman and only gets to come home here on the weekends.

We can hear the train here.  It comes through lots of times during the day and night blowing its horn every time.  Mom says she is glad she is deaf in one ear so she can't hear it so much.  Me?  Well, I don't really care because I am up wandering around during the night anyway making sure I don't miss anything interesting.

One of my favorite things to do is get into closets.  Tonight I got into Mom's closet with her purse and hats.  It is a cool place above the bed.  Well you know we cats are curious critters.  At any rate, I like the view when I am higher up.  We only have about a month to go and we'll be done working.  Then we are going to visit our relatives in Washington.  I've never been there so I am really going to have fun.  Well, Mom's coming and she'll make me get out of here...

That's all for now folks!  I'll write again soon.

Love,
Snoopy

7 Years - Then and Now

Then and now...

Today Jim and I celebrated our seventh anniversary. We mutually agreed tonight it has been seven years of happiness being with whom it turns out to be is our best friend.  We are indeed lucky for each and every day given to us.

When we met-pictured to the left...
and as we are now-pictured below.

Life is good and for that we are grateful.

From Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington to Central California-who knew what a wonderful journey this would become?

Yosemite National Park

You’ve seen the pictures for years in books or hanging on the walls of a gallery here or there that focus on the miraculous photography by Ansel Adams of Yosemite.  Anyone in love with nature knows the name of John Muir who established the Sierra Club.  He came to know Yosemite while working there for two years beginning in 1869 while hired to rebuild a sawmill.  Seeing Yosemite National Park, I happily confess it met and exceeded my greatest expectations following in their footsteps.

 We were able to spend one day in the park and it is a day to always remember.  We entered at the south gate in an area called Wawona.  There is a stand of Giant Sequoias located there in Mariposa Grove, one of three stands in the park. 

We traveled north along Wawona Road completed in 1875 to “Tunnel View” en route to Yosemite Valley.  Here on June 10, 1933, a tunnel was dedicated that replaced the original stagecoach route situated slightly up the slope from the current road (and now only accessible by a hiking trail.)  The lower, present road opens to an equally dramatic view of the valley when exiting the tunnel as the view stagecoach travelers originally saw from what is known as “Inspiration Point” on the former road above.  The original Wawona Road required an eight-hour journey by horse drawn stagecoach to make the same trip that we made in roughly one hour by car!  Then as now, it is one of the most popular routes into Yosemite Valley.

 The views of El Capitan, a giant granite monolith rising 3,593 feet from the valley floor, dwarf the viewer standing beneath equally majestic redwood trees that seem to touch the sky.  The forces of nature are apparent in the equally impressive Half Dome monument shaped by uplifting plates of the earth, glaciers, river erosion and rock fall.  Even though the low levels of rainfall have diminished the amount of water falling over Yosemite Falls, it is fascinating to see them and the hike up to the Lower Yosemite Falls was well worth the effort.  (Plus we accomplished getting our first 10,000 steps on our Fit Bits!)

While we were there we saw rock climbers scaling the vertical granite wall near Yosemite Falls and passed two others on the trail to the falls that had done it and returned to the valley in just over three hours.  One can only imagine the views but I could never get past my fear of the heights to even attempt it.  That is better reserved for the younger of us.

We did not see any wild life other than birds.  Most likely that is because we were in the well traveled areas of the park.  I would like to go back there someday and see the park in the spring when the wildflowers are blooming and the falls are full of water from melting snow.  In the meantime, to quote John Muir:  “As long as I live, I’ll hear the waterfalls and birds and winds sing.  I’ll interpret the rocks; learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche.  I’ll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can.”

The Bad and The Ugly

Abandoned, boarded up and empty was “a first” in our experience of looking at campgrounds today.  In fact, initially we could not even find our destination.  Pulling through another park in the same area which fronted a river and harbored only two camping vehicles we found an individual who suspiciously assisted us.  He informed us his “park” was not the one we were seeking once he ascertained that we were benign visitors at his location.  The park we were supposed to be in was “down the road and over the bridge” he informed us.  I could only think while he spoke, “How sad this potentially pretty location along the side of a rarely seen flowing river in this part of California is instead overtaken by the dredges of humanity.”  But even worse was yet to come… 

Over the bridge and through the trees and we arrived at site number two.  Devoid of any campers, we found an office where the managers were packing up and moving out.  Adjacent to the “park” was an empty mobile home community with every unit boarded up; trash was piled along the streets and here and there we saw an open front door to who knows what inside.  Presumably there is a story behind this sad state of affairs, but we were told the campground had been sold and no one knew what this former campground and mobile home park were going to become.  Happily, we won’t have to visit there again unless things turn around.

Heading back toward Fresno after going down the road a short distance, we stopped at an inviting vegetable/fruit stand and the clerk told us both parks were known for “drugs” so that explains the deterioration.  It was sort of like visiting a Hollywood set for the TV series “Breaking Bad” except this was a reality show for us.  And yet you can imagine that once this might have been a nice place where people enjoyed their lives...

Well, so it goes.  Each day is different.  I guess my point in sharing this with you is to comment that it is sad that this happens in the U.S.A.  I naively wish that everyone cared enough about themselves that somehow this sort of human romance with drugs in our society would just disappear.  Unfortunately, I fear I won’t live long enough to see that happen.  I can only hope that as a group we could eventually see a mutual desire to eradicate this sort of blight from our communities.

On the TV program 60 Minutes last Sunday, a segment talked about an attempt to overcome homelessness by helping street people one by one to get into a safe and decent place to live.  It is called the “100,000 Homes Campaign” and was established to get people off the streets and into a place they could reliably call their home.  Maybe something similar can be done to clean up properties like the ones we encountered today by slowly rebuilding one property at a time, until the problem disappears. We've seen two other areas recently where the citizens took a stand, cleaned things up and reclaimed their neighborhood.

As Martin Luther King said, “I have a dream.”  Well, so do I...

Water and Fresno

Fresno is experiencing a severe water drought along with most of Central California.  In fact our next stop takes us to an area that is suffering from fires as I write influenced by the lack of water.  We are enjoying our stay so far in the north part of Fresno.  Blackstone RV Park is in the city, but we feel like we are in the country with all of the trees, grass and birds.  Even being close to the street, we hear traffic only occasionally.  This is a popular stopping point for people that want to visit Yosemite or Sequoia National Parks.  I'd like to see both, but if we are lucky we will get a day off to drive up to Yosemite (a drive of about an hour and a half from here.)

We have all the windows open and I am sitting outside at our picnic table writing to you.  It feels delightful to be enjoying the outdoors at noon in the shade in a sleeveless shirt and feel comfortable in Central California where we were expecting temperatures over 100 degrees at midday.  This park is popular for the big rigs as they call the larger RVs and we have several around us to admire.  Spaces here are the largest we have seen measuring probably 35 by 70 feet on average with a patio and a paved space for the car.  (We are the third RV down on the left.)

Speaking of water, I have come up with a system to remember to drink 60 ounces of water a day.  (Jim and Snoopy think I am crazy!)  However, I always forget how many bottles of water I have consumed.  So we took four 17 ounce plastic water bottles and I filled them with filtered water from the tap, numbered them one through four with a permanent marker and placed them in the refrigerator in numeric order.  As I empty one into my Thermos bottle that holds exactly 17 ounces of water, I refill the bottle and put it at the end.  Violá!  I can track the bottles I've consumed and I always have a cold bottle of water at the front of the line.  Ok, maybe I am being a little over the top,  but it works for me!  It is sort of like counting your steps every day I suppose.

Chowchilla and The Lakes

Chowchilla and The Lakes sounds like the name of a children's adventure book or possibly a dog story. Instead it is the story of a cat named Azure and a remarkable RV park east of Chowchilla we had the pleasure of visiting.  Situated on the east side of Highway 99, the park is adjacent to a golf course where those staying at the park may play 18 holes of complimentary golf per day covering an eight mile long course amid verdant fairways and lush putting greens.  The park itself surrounds a small lake with a fountain and waterfall at the edge of the pool and clubhouse.  This is also the home of Azure.

It seems Azure was a kitten and was found by the staff to have suffered an unfortunate encounter with a car.  After hiding for two days with Marilyn and Kris fearing she was dead, Azure emerged from the shrubs with one badly injured front paw.  A consultation with a vet revealed the paw was broken.  The option of removing her foot versus letting it heal was discussed and all agreed that the latter was the option they would try.  Azure has done remarkably well and is now the star greeter at the RV park (when she is not sleeping that is!)  Part Siamese, she is named after her beautiful blue eyes.  She sleeps behind the counter during the day in a brown carpet covered cat tree and wanders the office to a second cat tree during the evenings when the office is closed and the staff leaves her for the night.  The paw is curved inward and back and she no longer uses it opting instead to use her wrist to bear her weight, but that does not slow her down in her new, wonderful life as the princess of The Lakes.  The story makes me smile...

The park itself was full of blooming Oleander trees and it was such a pleasure staying there in a country-like setting enhanced with flowers, birds and the sound of running water.  The sites are owned individually and the park is a homeowners association.  Some have put in beautiful, brick outdoor BBQ units and every space has a patio surrounded by grass to enjoy.  This definitely goes on our repeat list.  It is beautiful to sit by the pool and write.  This is one of the perks of our summer trip when we find places such as this.  Below is a photo of the golf course.