Wrapping up Bakersfield

So even though there is no water that we can find in the Kern River basin, there is oil. It turns out that while gold and silver drew hordes of folks to various parts of California in the 1800’s, it was black gold that drew the hordes here. It turns out that the oil field under and near Bakersfield is the 3^rd largest in California and the 5^th largest in the United States. Continuously pumping for over 100 years the field produced over 2 billion barrels. Even today the field accounts for about 10% of the entire oil production of the US on an annual basis. There is an excellent film and interesting display on the industry and history in the Kern County Museum that we think is worth the time and price of admission.

Of course everywhere we drive we are constantly reminded of the severe draught conditions in southern California. The sand filled Kern River basin is only one example. Field after field of dead orchards line the road. Water allocation to farmers is so small in this area that it appears the farmers either abandon all or a part of the orchards they spent years developing as they can’t get enough water to even keep them alive. The impact on future food prices will surely be seen.

There is much controversy in the area regarding water. Not only is there a battle between the water needs of farming vs. residential usage, the oil industry here is a huge user of water. Apparently to get out the remaining reserves they have to inject steam into the ground. Some estimate that the industry in California consumes over 2 million gallons of fresh water a day, and many estimate the number is far higher. While the oil industry works to clean the water they use and provide it for irrigated crops, it appears the controversy is not soon to be resolved..

We learned that while he was born in Texas, country favorite Buck Owens spent much of his storied career in Bakersfield. With no fewer than 21 #1 hits on the Billboard country music charts, Owens was responsible for what became known as the Bakersfield sound. We visited Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, a massive steakhouse featuring live music almost nightly. The Palace imbeds a museum that displays artifacts from Owens’ career, including his Cadillac convertible with horns, many of his exotic costumes, and other interesting stuff. We enjoyed strolling the museum, but didn’t manage to check out the menu.

 

Before we left we got one more bonus. We learned that the evening before our departure a documentary was being premiered at the Fox Theater that I so wished to see. So we booked our tickets and got just a bit excited.

We not only got to see inside the Fox but were treated to a prescreening concert by the small band that did the music soundtrack for the film. We also  learned something we didn’t know. Bakersfield is a hotbed for human trafficking. Disproportionately affecting women, people are both imported and also recruited from locals, and are then forced into selling their bodies for sex. While Bakersfield might not have the largest numbers – San Diego, LA and San Francisco are in the top 10 trafficking cities in the US – apparently it is an importing and recruiting mecca.

According to the documentary filmed here, The Trafficked Life, Union Avenue in Bakersfield is the vortex for the sex trade. After seeing the documentary we decided we needed to cruise Union Avenue for ourselves. We looked for the huge billboard we saw in the film that read “What happens on Union Avenue doesn’t stay on Union Avenue”, but they must have just put it up to film the documentary. While it didn’t appear to be as seedy as the documentary would have suggested, it didn’t rise to the level of getting on our list of places we need to return to soon.

Talk to you soon!