Going Home To Charlotte

Aunt Patty says vacation is over, and it's time for me to return to Charlotte.   This has been a fun trip for me, learning about the San Joaquin Valley, and the Central Coast of California.  I can't wait for my next trip!  

This is Stanley saying Goodbye from Bakersfield, California!

Back To Bakersfield

I was sad to leave the coast...it was so beautiful, but it was time to return to Bakersfield, and start thinking about returning to Charlotte.

The bay in the background is Morro Bay.  The big rock jutting up is Morro rock,a volcano plug, which a volcano vent that filled with magna and hardened.  There are 9 of them in the area.  These plugs are over 20 million years old!

 Here, we're looking at the ocean to the north...see the barbed wire fence separating the pastures?  The left side is more eaten down by steers than the right!
 We drove home a different way, through the oil fields.  For miles and miles, all you see are pumps, rigs, pipelines.

 These fields, which have no shade, reach 110, 115 degrees in the summer.  And because California gets no summer rain, the fields are very dusty and dirty.  Can you imagine working in them?  Stay in school!  Get an education!

 Then we drove into the farming area, where again we saw orchards.

These trees still have leaves, and lots of tumbleweeds up against the fence.  The farmers will bulldoze all the tumbleweeds into a big pile, and set them on fire.  Because they are so dry, they explode into a fire, and burn very quickly.  Fun to see.

 This field is prepared for planting.  See the mountains in the background...a nice clear day.
 This field is planted, with its irrigation system installed.  The larger pipe carries water, which goes to the upright sprinkles you see.  This is one type of irrigation.

 We're in Buttonwillow, some of the best farming land in California. The soil is very dark.  It is excellent for growing cotton, alfalfa, onions, tree crops.

 This is the farmer's cooperative cotton gin.

Buttonwillow Cotton Gin.

 This is a tomato processing plant.

 Lots of boxes, ready to ship.

 This field uses a flood irrigation system.  There are pipes at the end of the field which release water into the ditches among the rows.

 Potatoes are grown in Kern County...guess where I am?

 The Frito Lay plant...where Lay's potato chips are made.  School children take field trips to the factory...an always popular activity.

 As we continue our drive home, we come across another type of irrigation system that uses above ground sprayers, on hydraulic wheel driven irrigation systems, that roll across the fields.

 Miles and miles of orchards.  Many farmers are replacing field crops with tree orchards, because the permanent crops - trees - get first dibs at water.  And trees are more consistent income producers.  The US used to get our pistachio nuts from Iran.  Because of the recent political trouble, farmers here have planted trees...it takes 7 years for the trees to produce a good crop of nuts.  Aunt Patty's friend Alan has planted many acres of land with pistachio and pomegranate trees.  He also grows cotton, alfalfa, onions for dehydrating.  Farmers like to plant different crops, so that if one crop doesn't do well, there are others to help him earn some money.

Not uncommon for a road to end at an orchard!

What do the farmers do with a field that still has some good plant material, but not enough to harvest?  Would our thrifty farmers allow it to rot?

Nope, they bring in the sheep!  Kern County has a large Basque community, who have been sheepherders here since the late 1800s.  There are some really good restaurants in town, that make traditional Basque food.

The sheepherder moves the sheep from field to field.

These are young pomegranate trees/bushes, that the farmer has planted as a windbreak.  In a few months, these will be covered with leaves and red blossoms, that will become fruit.  Spring here starts in February!

Flash says, "oh, I am so glad to be home, on my sofa!"

Bye for now!

Flat Stanley Visits the Pacific Ocean

We drove north on Pacific Coast Highway to the San Simeon Elephant Seal Rookery.  They are called elephant seals because of their size, and because the bulls (males) have a nose, proboscis, similar to an elephant's trunk.  The seals return to the same breeding area each year.  There are breeding grounds all along the California coast.  

Adult males are 15-20 feet long, and weigh about 6000 lbs!  Bigger than me. 

Here's a bull surrounded by his many female, cow, companions.

These pups are about 1 year old.  They were very close to our viewing area, because the tide is high, due to recent storms.  We were lucky to see them so close up.

 They don't have ears, they have big, round eyes, and little flipper like hands.  Cute!

Here are two bulls arguing over who is boss...they make big noises when they fight, and throw their head and necks at each other.

  This guy has hardly any beach.  Last week, the elephant seal volunteers had to close part of the highway, because the seals were washed ashore.  They were able to get them back on the beach.
 Sharks are dangerous for elephant seals.

 When we got back to the hotel, the kite surfers were in the water, having a great time.

 I wanted to go, but didn't have my wet suit with me.  Darn.

I think I need a nap...see you later!

Flat Stanley's Trip Through the Central Valley to the Central Coast

Yesterday, we drove to San Simeon, on the Central Coast of California.

The San Joaquin Valley, which makes up the bulk of California, is an incredibly diverse land.  Bounded by the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east, and the Temblor and Coastal ranges to the west, the soil and climate produce 25% of our nation's food.  Almost all walnuts, pistachios, almonds, carrots are produced here.  Pomegranates, citrus, stone fruit, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, artichokes, melons, garlic, even cotton and hay...all from our Central Valley.  Kern County also produces lots of oil...it is referred to as little Texas.

Most of the orchards now have no leaves...winter here!  This looks like a nut orchard. Tumbleweeds blow across the freeways and nestle up to the fences.

 These are grapevines...notice the drip tubing.  We have no (or very little) natural water.  Water is pumped up from aquifers (big underground lakes). The aquifers are replenished by the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada...the snow melts, the rivers fill with water, and the water flows down to the valley, goes underground to the aquifers...we LOVE rain and snow! 

We have many canals like this that criss cross our valley.  The canals deliver water to our farmers, who use very efficient ways to water their crops.

 It is not unusual to see lots of big, heavy equipment, all lined up, ready to use.

 This is a juice processing plant...Patty and Robert have a friend who grows pomegranates...the final pick of his pomegranates go this plant, where the pomegranates are pressed and the juice is extracted.  If you read the label on a grape jelly jar, you'll see that quite often, the jelly has pomegranate juice in it!

 Here we have a citrus orchard, for Halos, a variety of oranges!  Notice the windmill - when the temperature is near freezing, the farmers will turn on the windmills to move the air, to prevent frost from setting on the fruit, which would damage the crop.

  The citrus crops are ready in the winter!

 Picking the fruit, getting it ready for transport.

 As we approach the western side of the valley, we enter the oil fields, where we see drilling rigs, 

 a drilling platform for a new rig, 

 a pipeline farm and pipeline.  

 As we continue westward, we see an almond processing plant.  See all those hulls to the right?  They will be recycled!

 We start crossing the Temblor Range, where the recent rain has made the land beautiful!  See the pipeline?

The California mountains are rich with beef cattle...and the ranchers are very happy for the rain and growth of grass...as are the steers!

 This is the San Andreas Fault...yep, that hole canyon thing you see there.  Patty says it's always weird to drive through this area.  Some people think there will be a big earthquake, and CA will fall off into the Pacific Ocean!  There is measuring equipment in the fault, so scientists can determine how active the fault is. 

 The fault extends from San Francisco down to Mexico...or at least, that is the part visible to us.

 And now we're up in the Coastal Range, and we can see the Pacific Ocean.  What a beautiful, clear day!

 Here, we're driving along Pacific Coast Highway, going north, and we pass a beautiful ranch.

We're heading to Sebastian's, a local restaurant by the Hearst Castle, for a bite to eat, before checking into our hotel room.  Here I am with Robert and Flash.  There is lots of Spanish/Mission architecture along the coast, because a while ago, a Catholic priest, Father Juniper Serra  from Mexico, traveled north, and founded Missions (churches).  

 See the castle up on the hill?

 A nice walk along the beach, before heading to our hotel.  

Whew, I'm tired!  Time for some r&r....more later!