Sunday, November 7, 2010

Road Trip Kernville

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Yesterday was a nice day for a road trip.  Easing out of Bakersfield on Edison Highway, we pointed east travelling through the orange groves and vineyards.  I live deep in Grapes of Wrath country and the scene may have looked similar to that Judd’s except I was travelling east rather than west in an air conditioned auto with a stereo, good tires, and plenty of gas.  Okay.  The scenery may have looked similar.  The golden hills rising up from the San Joaquin Valley up into the Sierra Nevadas were topped with a blue, blue sky.  The earlier prediction of rain didn’t look like it would pan out.

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We took the Caliente Road in order to meander through cattle country on our way to Kernville for lunch.  The Cowboy Memorial is a road trip I would like to take some other time.  We needed to head through Walker Basin, up to Lake Isabella (In my opinion, it’s the ugliest lake ever.), and finally Kernville.  Yes, the Cowboy Memorial road trip will have to include a stop at the Pony Expresso Restaurant.

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In Walker Basin, there were some fun remnants of Halloween (The most wonderful time of year.).  This couple may have better bones than me and Farmer MacGregor; but our car at least runs.

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We made it up to Kernville for a late lunch at the Kern River Brewing Co.  (The food was alright and the service was spotty.)  The area is a spot for sportsmen – kayaking, rafting, mountain biking, hiking, fishing, hunting, etc. As we were having lunch, the storm clouds began to gather.  We took a ride up into Tulare County where I got out and hiked down to the Kern River.

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I snapped a few pictures of native plants I would like help identifying.  Next post, I’ll put up the images and see if anyone can help.

There was a few claps of thunder and a few washes of rain on our way back home through the Kern River Canyon.  Once we reached the Valley floor, we headed to Dewar’s to finish off the day.

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