Yeah! Pacific!

We finally made the ocean. The sounds of the waves crashing, the seagulls, the fog horns at the channel entrance and the smell of the sea oats all make our hearts soar.

We got lucky, as we seem to do a lot. I happened to look up the Point Sur Lighthouse online as it was on my “hope to do” list. You can only visit the lighthouse by a docent led tour, and in the winter, they only do the tours at 10 AM on two days of the week. Fortunately I was looking online at 6 AM as it was nearly a 2 hour drive to get there. We were somewhat unsure in that the website said to meet the docent at the side of CA 1 at 10 AM, but when we got there, several other cars were gathered at the side of the road. To get to the lighthouse you have to cross private property under an original Spanish land grant, so the docent needed to escort us. As it turned out, this may have ended up being the hidden gem of this trip.

The lighthouse itself is on the top of a 280 foot dome of Franciscan Greenstone, the only location along the US Pacific Coast such geology exists. Scientists believe that the formation is actually the result of an ancient volcanic eruption in South America which migrated up when continental plates moved along the San Andreas Fault. However, it got here, it is an impressive formation. Construction of the station began in 1886 and operations commenced in 1889.

Originally the only way to get up to the station and its living quarters was by a flat railcar tramway hauled up and down by a steam-driven donkey engine. It wasn’t until the 1930’s when visionaries in Monterey saw to it that CA 1 was first completed down to Big Sur. That then drove the construction of a roadway encircling the formation up to the light station.

When carved out of the crown of this dome in the 1880’s to place all the station buildings it required them to blast the cap off. There was no electricity – the massive light ran on whale oil, then kerosene. There was no running water – only what they could haul up on the tramway. This was originally the only bathroom for the entire facility!

We learned that what we think about when the word aircraft carrier isn’t what we thought. We learned that on February 12, 1935 the USS Macon, an aircraft carrier, crashed off Point Sur and sank in 1,450 feet of ocean. However, the USS Macon had not sailed there and hit rocks, it flew there and crashed due to its tail having broken off causing a loss of control.

Before floating aircraft carriers took off dirigibles were used. The Macon was 785 feet long, more than the length of 3 747’s! The Macon carried 4 Sparrowhawk F-9C-2 airplanes and could lower them on hooks from the hanger deck. Once lowered the pilot would climb down the hanger gear and start up the engine. Because the stall speed of the Sparrowhawk was the same as the cruising speed of the Macon, the pilot could actually lift the “coat hanger” gear off the airship and engage in combat. Once done, the pilot could then fly under the Macon and guide its “coat hanger” back onto the rack.

An interesting coincidence came to our attention. After the Macon crashed and sank the remains of the ship could not be found despite considerable searching. Many decades later the granddaughter of the Macon’s captain spotted an artifact from the bridge of the Macon in an obscure bar in Moss Landing (interestingly, that bar lies across the street from the RV park we are staying at.) It turns out that a local fisherman had taken the piece from his nets. After convincing him they would not disclose his secret fishing spot, he led them to a spot about 5 miles south of Point Sur. Apparently the currents on the day of the crash carried the remains farther than anyone could imagine.

We also learned the method to lighthouse placement in the 1800’s. Apparently the combination of height and the powerful Fresnel lenses coupled with the curvature of the earth, ships at sea were capable of seeing the beam at least 23 miles out. A ship with a taller wheelhouse could see the beam as far as 26 miles. We learned that lighthouses were generally set 60 miles apart along the coastline. That way any ship would be out of sight of one beam heading for the next for only a few miles.

Hiking up to the top of the formation we were serenaded by a cacophony of yelps. California Sea Lions love the protection afforded by Point Sur as well as the considerable food supply in the surrounding ocean here. Surrounding the peninsula is the Point Sur State Marine Conservation Area assuring them an abundant supply.

From the top we could clearly see the former Point Sur Naval Facility. During the cold war era, 25 miles of cable snaked out into the Pacific and then fanned out into a fan of highly sensitive sound sensing nodes. Technicians housed in the concrete bunker nearest the water would listen intently for the sounds of Russian submarine activity off US shores. It is said that the technicians got so good at picking out the sounds that they not only tell you that a Russian submarine was roaming the area, they could even tell which specific submarine it was. The base is not open to tour, but the view from the light station was awesome.

Talk to you soon!

Gems in King City

King City is on California Highway 101, and was our central point to visit both the East and West sections of Pinnacles National Park. But we also found out that the nearby Santa Lucia Highlands and the Salinas River Road are home to a large but less well known wine region. On weekends there are no fewer than dozen wineries with tasting rooms. The River Road Wine Trail specializes in limited release vintages, so we decided to see if we could find any open during the week.

We pulled into Odonata Wines, and as we parked I could see that the tasting room was only open on weekends. As I backed out of the parking spot, a gentleman walked toward the car. I rolled down my window and he asked if we were there to taste wine. I said yes but saw they weren’t open during the week. He said “Well come on in and we will find you some.” Denis Hoey, the owner of the winery, cracked open the tasting table and grabbed some wine glasses. Denis was a fountain of information, telling us all about the area, how he became owner, tasted each wine before he poured it to make sure it was fresh, and actually set aside two bottles of red indicating that he could tell that they had changed their taste. He actually let us taste one he had set aside, and we thought it tasted just fine. He then opened a new bottle of the same wine and sure enough, it did taste a bit different, more flavorful.

Not only was Denis kind enough to open his place just so we could taste, he also steered us to some of the best Mexican food we have ever had. The lunch crowd seemed to be mostly construction and agricultural workers. In fact the only English being spoken in the restaurant that we could hear was coming out of our own mouths. After lunch we hit two more wineries that were open during the week. The River Road is fun to visit.

We also found two Spanish missions that we had never been to before. Soledad Mission or Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, was founded on October 9, 1791 by Father Presidente Fermin de Lausen. Nicknamed the “Lonely Mission”, it was the 13^th of the 21 Spanish missions that were ultimately established in what is now California. Apparently the River Road Wine Trail had its beginnings in the 1700’s as each of the missions we have ever visited had vineyards on their grounds, and most have a grape press or two in their artifact collection. Soledad was the smallest of the Spanish missions established north of San Diego.

The other mission we visited was Mission San Antonio de Padua, named for Saint Anthony of Portugal and Saint Padova of Italy. Founded by Padre Junipero Serra in 1771 it was only the 3^rd of the 21 missions established in California by the Spanish. Under his presidency, Serra was responsible for establishing 9 of the 21 missions in what is now the US.

Because it is remote much more remains to give clues on the life that was led at the mission. The water trace that brought water from the river to the grist mill, as well as the mill itself, can still be seen. Wells, the early native cemetery and other structures to tame the land can be seen. In addition to the normal vineyard a large grain field is still evident. While what is here is essentially ruins due to its extreme age, you can clearly see what everything was used for, and the informational signage is excellent.

This mission takes on a bit more meaning than many we have been to. On March 6, 1776, Lt. Col. Juan Bautista De Anza visited Mission San Antonio de Padua. De Anza was in the midst of his famous overland expedition from Sonora Mexico to San Francisco. While at the mission, De Anza and his diarist documented that “the Indians of this mission are totally distinct from those I have hitherto seen.”

Talk to you soon!

Pinnacle National Park

A lot of folk believe that Pinnacles is one of the most recent National Parks added to the system. Contrary to general opinion, Pinnacles was created by Teddy Roosevelt as a National Monument in 1908.It was later approved by Congress as a National Park in 1916. What confused most folk other than locals is that the Park had its entrance on the east side on a more remote California highway, 25, in a part of the state not heavily traveled. In 2013, some facilities were opened on the west side not far off California Hwy 101, which expanded the tourism in the Park considerably.

We headed for the east entrance as soon as we arrived in King City. One of the interesting aspects of this Park is that the east entrance and the west entrance have no connecting road. The Park consists primarily of a rugged rocky peak, hence the Pinnacles, and there is really no way to connect the one side to the other without a lengthy route, which already exists in California highways. By public roads, it is about an hour and a half from one visitor center to the other!

Pinnacles from the west is stunning from a visual perspective. We tackled the Balconies trail which takes you in amongst the mammoth formations. We enjoyed our first introduction to the Park and took full advantage of the views.

But you really don’t experience Pinnacles unless you visit the east entrance. We headed there with lunch in tow expecting to maybe do a longer hike and were amply rewarded for our effort. The ranger suggested we needed some stuff before we left, and we used all of it – she recommended lunch, water, camera, binoculars and flashlights. It didn’t all make sense to us as we headed out, but did before we ended. All in all we hiked the Bear Gulch Cave Trail, the Moses Spring Trail, the Reservoir Trail, the Rim Trail, the High Peaks Trail, and the Condor Gulch Trail. All in all it would be about 6 ½ miles of heaven.

We started hiking along a babbling brook that made our hearts hum with contentment. Soon we found ourselves at Bear Gulch Caves. This is where we used the flashlights, as the trail wound through the caves for quite a ways. The caves were created by the water flows, so you were never out of earshot of cascading water. While some of the areas were a tight squeeze (tighter for me than for the Woman), the traverse through the caves was highly interesting.

Once we got through the caves we ascended to the reservoir. Apparently in the Depression days the CCC decided that harvesting some of the natural water flow in the area would serve some good. So they built a retaining wall with boulders that resulted in a lake that was really quite picturesque. I am not sure what the water is used for, other than selfies.

Next we headed for the High Peaks area. This section of the trail heads right through the heart of what the Park was originally established for. The High Peaks is a collection of rock monoliths that jut into the skyline and are impressive both to view and to hike through. The trail seems to always be on the edge of any ridge it is traversing, so you have almost uninterrupted views of the valley below you. Most of the time you are saying to yourself “This is the most amazing view I have ever seen!”

Before we hit the High Peaks we spotted a huge soring bird. We pulled out the binoculars and confirmed that the bright white on the leading edge of the wings meant it was actually a California condor. Mark one off the bucket list – I hadn’t actually added that to our bucket list but I am simultaneously adding it and checking it off at the same time. We were told at the visitor center that it was unlikely we would see a condor, even though they nest here, as fewer than 20% of visitors ever see them. We were quite pleased.

As we got to the High Peaks, we were stunned and a bit concerned. As in many of the western national and state parks we have visited, the CCC during the Depression had a major impact. In Pinnacles, the CCC carved a hiking trail right through the center of the monoliths. From what we could see, they used hand held rock drills to notch stepping paths to get through the more difficult areas.

The good news – while the Woman would not normally be willing to venture through such a trail, the entire loop was about 6 ½ miles. When we hit the interesting spots we were about 4 miles in, so to turn around would be 4 more miles, whereas pressing ahead meant 2 ½ miles. So, the forward answer was pretty intuitive.

After getting through the big stones we continued to watch the great views as we descended. The continuous views were rewarding us at every step. After doing this hike I believe this is the best hike I have ever done. With all the variation in views, the variations in terrain, and with the caves, it would be numero uno on my list.

And to make the day totally amazing, as we were heading out of the park grounds, we checked another item off the bucket list. We have been in big cat country a lot on our travels in the western states. However despite our hiking in many very remote areas, we have never seen a cougar or a mountain lion. As I was chatting the Woman up on our way out she screamed “Stop the car!” I pulled over, lowered her window and was face to face with a cougar maybe 50 feet away in a meadow. I was so stunned and shocked and full of awe that I just stared. It wasn’t until the cougar began to saunter away that I came to my senses and grabbed the camera for proof.

What a visit! What a day! Talk to you soon!

Mercey Hot Springs

More and more I am using Google Maps to poke around for interesting destinations. I zoom in enough that points of interest show up along the route I plan to take, and it is often surprising what Google knows is there. That is how I discovered Mercey Hot Springs.

The springs are located in the northwest corner of Fresno County, just 13 miles west of the I-5 on Little Panoche Road. Little Panoche Road was originally the stagecoach route used by many early California settlers. I had no doubt of that as I drove it, thanking my lucky stars we only met one other vehicle on the entire 13 mile drive. The road was so narrow that I had to slow down and dip Colectiva’s right tires onto the dirt shoulder to be able to pass another vehicle of our size.

The land was originally owned by John N. Merci. Merci, who later legally changed his name to Mercy to be more “Americanized”, was a sheep rancher. Native Americans familiar with the area knew of the hot springs and showed them to Mercy.

Mercy sold the land in 1912 to Fredrick Bourn, a San Francisco real estate developer. By the 1930’s it was a hopping place with a hotel, restaurant and bar, cabins, a bath house and a swimming pool. In a move to commercially expand his business, Bourn changed the name to Mercey Hot Springs because he was not able to copyright the name “Mercy” Once he obtained the copyright he began bottling and selling the spring water, claiming all kinds of curative properties.

It’s a cute little place. Apparently most of the buildings date back to the time the property was owned by Bourn. There are open soaking tubs in the pool area with a nice sauna adjacent. Water is piped into the tubs directly from the spring source, so it is not filtered or altered in any way. The Woman believed that was true as she caught the distinct waft of sulfur.

Up on the hill, surrounded by a spite fence, is the clothing optional soaking tub area. The resort also has private soaking tubs and an onsite masseur. Bonus! The Woman had her 90 minute massage scheduled even before we parked Colectiva.

This corner of Fresno County is gorgeous. Mostly remote and scarcely inhabited, the rolling green hills – more than hills but not quite mountains – carry livestock and other residents. While having a soak yesterday we heard a symphony of coyotes howling up a storm. While we haven’t seen any four legged residents other than cattle and really fast hares, the raptor population is thick.

I also learned something today. You know how you wonder if the light in the refrigerator actually goes off when you shut the door? Well, there are other things that just work in the background and you never really know for sure if they are working. The energy management system (EMS) in Colectiva is one of those. We read all the time in RV related papers and magazines about RV parks that have bad electrical hookups. We just have never experienced that in our 10 years of RVing.

When we hooked up at Mercey Hot Springs small RV park, our power worked fine for about a half hour, then went off. I turned the power off at the pedestal but to no avail. We then assumed it was a power outage at the park, but the manager checked and the power was on. Plugging something else in at the pedestal confirmed that. So I went to the electrical panel to check the breakers and could see the message on the EMS saying that power had been shut off because the incoming voltage was too high – it got readings of between 133 and 135 volts. I asked the onsite manager if we could try another pedestal, but we got the same result – the EMS would not accept their power.

Apparently the manager called Larry, the owner, who came over to see if he could help resolve the matter. As we talked he explained that they were not on the power grid – there were no power lines running to this remote area. He used a combination of solar panels with batteries, combined with a huge inverter to create their AC power, not unlike what we do when we dry camp, or what the Earthscape homes in New Mexico do. In the summer that usually does the trick, but in the winter, with the shorter days, he has a backup generator that supplies the power when the solar battery charging is insufficient to last the night.

Anyway, it turns out that because they have a large grid on which they distribute the power, he actually does run higher voltage because of the tendency of AC voltage to degrade. He said he could actually adjust the voltage precisely with his computer, so he went back to his home and reduced the voltage by 5 volts. He came back with a voltmeter and tested the pedestal, which tested at 124 volts. We plugged in and voila! Power! We thanked Larry, and he thanked us as well. Apparently the system he was running was fairly new and he had not encountered an EMS before. We both enjoyed a learning experience.

Because Mercey is totally off the grid we had to try to go to the bathroom to find the NFL playoff games. We ended up in Los Banos – no, not a nickname for Bakersfield. Los Banos is a 1800’s era town in Merced County, likely named for being reasonably close to the hot springs baths. While the game was disappointing (really, Walsh misses a 27 yard playoff game winning fieldgoal?) we did find a little bit of a gem. In 1955 Frank Lloyd Wright designed one of his Usonian homes for Randall “Buck” and Harriet Fawcett. Buck was a college football star who had been drafted by the Bears in 1944, but instead he returned to his family farm in Los Banos to care for his ill father. While the home is a privately owned residence and not open for touring, we did search it out and clearly recognized the features of a Lloyd Wright design we have seen so many times now.

 Talk to you soon!

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!

Central Valley

We have moved on to Bakersfield. We expected a fair bit of things to entice visitors, but it appears we may have been optimistic. We allotted more time than it looks like we will need now that we have arrived. I had allowed for a day to explore the old downtown area and maybe take in some of the historic buildings. Well, we cruised downtown after parking and hooking up Colectiva, and about 10 minutes later we were done – a fair bit disappointing.  The Fox Theater opened on Christmas Day in 1930. The 1500 seat grand theater from those early times looks like it would be fun to poke through, but unfortunately it is not open for touring.

I also had allotted a couple of days to bike the Kern River Parkway, with over 30 miles of paved and groomed trails winding its way through town along the banks of the Kern River. Two issues with that – first, it is supposed to rain the entire time we are here. Second, here is the pleasant Kern River basin. Since the rain was the only water anywhere in sight, our plans for pleasant biking disappeared in an instant!

We did manage to take in some interesting spots taking the edge off our initial impressions. About 30 miles southeast of Bakersfield in the remote community of Keene California is the Caesar Chavez National Monument. We learned about Chavez and is relentless efforts to get a livable wage for agricultural workers in one of the richest agricultural valleys in the country. The Monument is at the compound that Chavez developed to help bring strength to his movement.

Chavez had a history of activism for Latino civil rights. In 1962 he parted with his previous affiliations and formed what became to be known as the United Farm Workers (UFW). His close association with a Jewish film producer in LA garnered his interest in the Israeli Kibbutz concept, where large numbers of families live together and cumulate their individual strengths to apply their group power to accomplish more.

He set out on a mission with local help to find such a location. He identified an abandoned county owned TB facility in Keene that he believed would be perfect for his intended plans. He had already angered local movers and shakers with his labor movements, so he knew he could not be successful in securing the property. He enlisted his confident to make the offer, win the property, and then turned it over to Chavez. The county was so enraged when they learned of the transaction that they refused to cash the checks Chavez sent them monthly for the contract on the acquisition. After several years the county relented and began accepting the payments.

In an interesting twist of fate, Chavez’s wife had been forcibly restrained in that very same TB facility as a small child, and had horrific memories. She refused to move there with him as he established his American version of a Kibbutz and further organize his movement. Ultimately she relented as she witnessed him giving his all for the cause, and decided she needed to do so as well, and moved to LePaz. His highly successful Grape Strikes in the mid-60’s established not only a fairer wage structure but also introduced worker health and safety innovations that helped make this back breaking work more bearable.

Chavez passed of natural causes in 1993 and is buried at the Monument. His wife, Helen, still lives at LePaz and is gracious enough to share the Chavez Center with the world. The museum on his life and activism is well done, and the film spectacular. This is well worth the visit if you are ever in the area.

When we went to the Monument we arrived a bit early, so we just drove around the area a bit. Because we did we stumbled on the Tehachapi Loop – what a find! In 1874 when Collis Huntington was working feverishly to complete the second transcontinental rail line along a more moderate southern route, his folk engineered this nearly ¾ mile long helix to attack a portion of the grade near Tehachapi California that was too steep for rail traffic. To deal with the grade, a spiral of track was built which loops over itself, so tight that it only requires a length of 85 cars for the engines to be passing directly over the rear of the train going under the initial tunnel. The engineering was so revolutionary at that time that it was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and has since been established as a California Historical Landmark (#508). Supposedly this line remains one of the most active rail lines in the world with often over 40 trains passing through here a day.

We can’t dispute that claim. As we were heading back toward Bakersfield, Robin spotted a train chugging up the grade. So, we headed back to the overlook to take in the spectacle. If it only takes 85 cars to have the engines pass over the rear of the train, the one we witnessed must have been well over 100 cars long. As we marveled at the engineering feet, the engines rolled over the tunnel and out of sight many minutes before the pusher engine at the end of the train even came into sight. In all we estimate that it may have taken 20 minutes for the entire train to roll over itself.

About an hour and a half west of Bakersfield is Carrizo Plain National Monument, perhaps the most remote Monument with the least infrastructure in the system (except maybe some in Alaska that have no roads at all.) The Carrizo Plain lies between the Temblor Range and the Caliente Range. Long ago the plain was settled and farmed, but as the amount of rain in the valley would not support emerging large scale farming techniques, the valley was eventually abandoned by nearly all settlers.

The San Andreas Fault runs along the base of the Temblor Range on the east edge of the plain. One of the unique features of the Monument is Soda Lake. This was an actual lake back in the Pleistocene era. During heavy rains the water does pool up in parts of the basin. But with no outflow, the alkali salts just sit in the basin, in the heavier areas up to a half a foot thick. The snowy white image of the lake really catches your eye.

Near the lake is painted rock. The formation is a horseshoe shaped smooth sandstone formation about 250 feet across and 50 feet high. Scientists estimate that the Carrizo Plain and this rock formation were occupied as early as 2,000 years BC.

The inside of the horseshoe formation provided overhanging rock that provided shelter for the Chumash people. You can be sure the Chumash actually lived here because there are many grinding bowls underneath the overhanging rock formations. Also there is black soot on the ceiling of the overhangs that would have been caused by the cooking and heating fires, which may have also been used for evening lighting.

The entire interior of the horseshoe is riddled with petroglyphs. Although significantly damaged prior to the BLM taking control and securing the site, the centuries old rock paintings are still visible and interesting. The nature of the paintings themselves is very different from any we have ever seen before.

Being managed by the BLM, there is virtually no infrastructure here. There is an education center in the old Goodwin ranch house now part of the monument. But the center is not open during the week, and nobody was there over the New Year weekend, so we had to book our self-guided tour on the recreation.gov website. Once booked, we printed off the confirmation the site gave us, and headed the hour and a half or so to the Monument.

When arrived there was a locked gate with a keypad. We could see Painted Rock in the distance, but could not get through the gate with the Equinox. We scoured the printed confirmation and no gate code was printed on it. So, since we could actually see it, we headed out on foot. Turns out it was over 7 miles to hike out, hike around, and hike back to where we parked. Recreation.gov charged us a fee to use the site to get our tour reserved, and then neglected to provide us the gate code – thanks Obama! Oh well, the exercise was good for us.

On the way back we stopped to see the lone Button willow tree that is a California historic site. This tree, now located in the town of the same name, was a very distinguishable way marker on an ancient native east/west trail through southern California. Because it was the only tree in many miles, it became a gathering place for the natives on the trail, which eventually led to the establishment of the town of Button Willow. It is not highly impressive, but we enjoyed seeing it once we figured out it was here.

We also stopped at the Tule Elk State Nature Preserve not far from Button Willow. Hundreds of thousands of Tule Elk roamed the Central Valley when it was first settled. Tule Elk were named after the Tule they eat, a thick grass like plant that grows in the marshes of the Central Valley. Heavy hunting was thought to drive the herds to extinction by 1870. However in 1874 a sole surviving breeding pair was discovered in the marshes of Buena Vista Lake, and under protection, the herds now manage around 4,000. Sadly the Preserve was under reconstruction which was supposed to be done by the first of the year. Unfortunately they were behind schedule and the park remained unopened, so we had to view from the road only.

Interesting connections – Buena Vista Lake was created by the flow of the Kern River. Of course we know that the Kern River (or Kern Meadow as we like to call it) is dry, and sadly the Buena Vista Lake is now a dry lakebed as well. Good thing they found that elk pair in 1874! There is no Tule growing anywhere near the Kern River these days.

So maybe I was a bit quick to indicate there was not a lot to do here.

Talk to you soon!