No pictures today. We've completed our winter southwest trip and are now home in Northern California. Mixed feelings, of course, because we enjoyed the freedom of the road, but we also missed our family and friends.
The wonderful people we've met will never be forgotten: Jeff and Lynda in Tucson with their new fifth wheel trailer, their new business, and their new life. Bob and Karyn from Pincher Creek, AB, Canada traveling the lower 48 for the second year of their retirement, and Dale and Jean from Edmonton looking for new places to "quad". Then there was Jay and Linda that travel from Yuma to Minnesota to Utah following the nice weather with their Boston Terrier "Hank". Jim and Jane from Lindstrom, MN have a fifth wheel exactly like ours and we passed a few hours talking "RV's". Bob and Kaye from Boise in their extraordinary new motor coach shared many stories with us. And, of course, there was Larry and Judy, whom we met in Yuma, who turned out to be friends of friends and who live just 50 miles from us when they are not wintering in the southwest.
We pulled the trailer 2,835 miles, and drove the truck 4.645 miles. We have a few new scrapes and dents on both of them, as well as on ourselves, but, with all the ups and downs, we wouldn't trade it for a moment! It's been quite a ride!
We will be home until at least June, 2013. For those of you who check in from time to time, thank you for your support. Don't forget where the blog lives, and check back in a few months. Our next trip is outlined to be into Oregon, Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, and south into Texas before returning to Cali for the Holidays in November.
See you then!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Loop the Loop
Twas a beautiful morning in Bakersfield. The locals are hoping that it won't get any hotter or any cooler for the rest of the summer....
We jumped into the truck and drove east on Hwy 58 to check out the "Tehachapi Loop". This is a monumental engineering feat that allows the busy railroad tracks between Mojave and Bakersfield to gain (or lose) a significant amount of elevation in a short amount of space.
In the pic, Bakersfield is to the left and Tehachapi and Mojave to the right. The tracks come into the loop at the upper left, pass through a tunnel, loop around, and exit to the right. If you look closely, you can tell that the train cars are smaller at the far right and larger at the near right. The loop is .73 miles in circumference, and most trains, particularly if they are over 4000' long, will cross over themselves as this one is doing.
The loop was built by approximately 3000 Chinese recruited in China using picks and shovels and 600 barrels of black powder a week. It was built between 1874 and 1876, and remains one of the most viewed rail sections in the world.
We were fortunate to arrive at this viewpoint just as a train was entering the loop from the east. Within 20 minutes of its passing, another train followed in the same direction, and then a train that had been waiting on an eastbount siding came through in the opposite direction. By the time all the trains had completed their "loops", there were some 25 people standing along the side of the road in awe.
You can see a dirt road inside the loop on the left side. This goes to a farmhouse situated inside of the loop (out of sight in the pic). As per regulations, the engineer must blow his horn in a specified pattern whenever the train approaches and crosses a road, so that farmhouse must be a noisy! The railroad museum docent in Tehachapi noted that traffic varies, but there have been up to 50 trains counted in a 24 hour period. Wow! This is obviously the main thorough fare between the San Joaquin Valley and all points east.
Those points east (and west) are noted on the sign at the restored Tehachapi Depot. The depot is now a museum noting railroad history in the area, and also containing pics of the 1952 7.2 earthquake that destroyed most of the town and 3 of the 10 railroad tunnels near the loop. Repairs were made within 3 weeks and 2 days, and freight began to be transported again. The tracks in the mountains are so steep that over the years 17 people have died and millions of dollars worth of locomotives and railroad cars lost as brakes failed and equipment "ran away". There is an awesome display in the museum of a section of iron track that has a circular section removed by the drive wheels of a locomotive trying to gain traction as it tried to avoid roaring down the hill backwards. I couldn't get a pic, but the rail was literally melted from a height of 8 inches down to 1/2 inch in just 30 seconds! No indication whether the engineer saved the train. Let's hope so.
About half way between Tehachapi and Bakersfield is the Bakersfield National Cemetery. This is a cemetery for veterans that was established in 2005. The land it sets on was donated by the Tejon Ranch Company, the largest single landowner in the state of California. The Tejon holdings are a combination of 4 Spanish land grants that were issued in 1845, and stretch from Bakersfield to Los Angeles, some 270,000 acres of range land, agricultural holdings and commercial and residential development.
The cemetery is very private and quiet. Most of the land is planted in natural grass, awaiting the need to be used as grave sites. There is a registry building, a security building, and walkways and benches for private reflection. Unfortunately, there is plenty of room for future needs. Donna and I paused for a moment of gratitude to those veterans who are resting here.
We jumped into the truck and drove east on Hwy 58 to check out the "Tehachapi Loop". This is a monumental engineering feat that allows the busy railroad tracks between Mojave and Bakersfield to gain (or lose) a significant amount of elevation in a short amount of space.
In the pic, Bakersfield is to the left and Tehachapi and Mojave to the right. The tracks come into the loop at the upper left, pass through a tunnel, loop around, and exit to the right. If you look closely, you can tell that the train cars are smaller at the far right and larger at the near right. The loop is .73 miles in circumference, and most trains, particularly if they are over 4000' long, will cross over themselves as this one is doing.
The loop was built by approximately 3000 Chinese recruited in China using picks and shovels and 600 barrels of black powder a week. It was built between 1874 and 1876, and remains one of the most viewed rail sections in the world.
We were fortunate to arrive at this viewpoint just as a train was entering the loop from the east. Within 20 minutes of its passing, another train followed in the same direction, and then a train that had been waiting on an eastbount siding came through in the opposite direction. By the time all the trains had completed their "loops", there were some 25 people standing along the side of the road in awe.
You can see a dirt road inside the loop on the left side. This goes to a farmhouse situated inside of the loop (out of sight in the pic). As per regulations, the engineer must blow his horn in a specified pattern whenever the train approaches and crosses a road, so that farmhouse must be a noisy! The railroad museum docent in Tehachapi noted that traffic varies, but there have been up to 50 trains counted in a 24 hour period. Wow! This is obviously the main thorough fare between the San Joaquin Valley and all points east.
Those points east (and west) are noted on the sign at the restored Tehachapi Depot. The depot is now a museum noting railroad history in the area, and also containing pics of the 1952 7.2 earthquake that destroyed most of the town and 3 of the 10 railroad tunnels near the loop. Repairs were made within 3 weeks and 2 days, and freight began to be transported again. The tracks in the mountains are so steep that over the years 17 people have died and millions of dollars worth of locomotives and railroad cars lost as brakes failed and equipment "ran away". There is an awesome display in the museum of a section of iron track that has a circular section removed by the drive wheels of a locomotive trying to gain traction as it tried to avoid roaring down the hill backwards. I couldn't get a pic, but the rail was literally melted from a height of 8 inches down to 1/2 inch in just 30 seconds! No indication whether the engineer saved the train. Let's hope so.
About half way between Tehachapi and Bakersfield is the Bakersfield National Cemetery. This is a cemetery for veterans that was established in 2005. The land it sets on was donated by the Tejon Ranch Company, the largest single landowner in the state of California. The Tejon holdings are a combination of 4 Spanish land grants that were issued in 1845, and stretch from Bakersfield to Los Angeles, some 270,000 acres of range land, agricultural holdings and commercial and residential development.
The cemetery is very private and quiet. Most of the land is planted in natural grass, awaiting the need to be used as grave sites. There is a registry building, a security building, and walkways and benches for private reflection. Unfortunately, there is plenty of room for future needs. Donna and I paused for a moment of gratitude to those veterans who are resting here.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Another Day in....Bakersfield?
The weather was wonderfully warm in Bakersfield this morning, and we just couldn't face the thought of a day in the truck, so we decided to stay another day at the River Run RV Park. We spent some time reading, catching up on "what did we do the last 2 months" conversations, and generally doing....Nothing.
We talked to a semi-permanent resident of the park who knew Buck Owens back in the day, and went to high school with Merle Haggard. That encouraged us to take a drive to Buck Owens Blvd to see the famous "Bakersfield" sign. This was on the main highway 80 years ago when the "Okies" came through. Today it's on a side street, but still is reminiscent of the Dust Bowl days that brought so many people to the central valley. Buck Owens Blvd winds through a light industrial area and so is a bit shabby, but leads into an area of older upscale homes on the northeast side of town.
We returned to the trailer for an evening walk along the Kern River. There's no water in it because of the dam at Lake Isabella, but the mile or so walk was good and Pris enjoyed it. Along the way we saw a lot of the machines that Bakersfield/Oildale is famous for: oil pumps. They are scattered everywhere and the smell of natural oil is heavy in the morning and evening. They all feed into pipeline systems that feed into refineries that dot the landscape.
The camera doesn't do justice to the sunset, but trust me, it was spectacular!
We talked to a semi-permanent resident of the park who knew Buck Owens back in the day, and went to high school with Merle Haggard. That encouraged us to take a drive to Buck Owens Blvd to see the famous "Bakersfield" sign. This was on the main highway 80 years ago when the "Okies" came through. Today it's on a side street, but still is reminiscent of the Dust Bowl days that brought so many people to the central valley. Buck Owens Blvd winds through a light industrial area and so is a bit shabby, but leads into an area of older upscale homes on the northeast side of town.
We returned to the trailer for an evening walk along the Kern River. There's no water in it because of the dam at Lake Isabella, but the mile or so walk was good and Pris enjoyed it. Along the way we saw a lot of the machines that Bakersfield/Oildale is famous for: oil pumps. They are scattered everywhere and the smell of natural oil is heavy in the morning and evening. They all feed into pipeline systems that feed into refineries that dot the landscape.
The camera doesn't do justice to the sunset, but trust me, it was spectacular!
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