The drive from Washington State, through Oregon and California was uneventful. Unless you count the pouring rain in Washington and Oregon, the dreadful driving conditions in California, the dreaded Highway 99 south of Sacramento and the fact I suffered with a cold the entire time to be uneventful. I said it once and I will say to again and feel free to remind me, I will never, ever drive through southern California again. Period! Been there, done that and I didn't get a damned t-shirt. The roads are lousy and the traffic unbearable. Nothing more to say on this. Time to move on.
On our trip south this year we decided to change things up a bit. While we have in the past spent our first night on the road in Roseberg, Oregon this year we drove past Roseberg and stayed in Medford. Being under the weather and just wanting to sleep I don't recall much but we did have a super cheeseburger takeout dinner from the Black Bear diner next to our Best Western. One of the best burgers I have had in awhile and foreshadowing of the excellent food we had on our trip.
The second full day was mostly in California. I'm down on California but in fairness, it is a big state and does offer significant variety in topography and environment, and lousy roads and traffic, but I digress.... We saw many beautiful hawks in northern and central California. Most of the hawks were Red-tail hawks but a few were Rough-legged. A highlight was that we believe that we saw a pair of White-tailed Kites. Hard to make a proper identification going 70 mph plus on the Interstate but what we saw was fairly convincing. I am still debating including them in my yearly species count. It is tempting, but....
On our second night on the road we stayed at Selma, Ca. This region is known for it's agriculture, a lot of raisin and wine grapes and for it's prisons. There are a lot of prisons in California. No wonder the Governor is issuing pardons at a record rate. It must to breaking the states budget just to keep these jail going, but I digress.... We had a fabulous dinner at the Cattleman's Restaurant in Selma. It was a 10 minute walk from our Best Western Hotel. They have sidewalks in Selma, not that we saw anyone on them but us. Some of the sidewalks end before the end of a block. Some go to the end of a block where signs are posted not to cross at this corner. Not a walker friendly town, but the car dealerships are huge, well lit and they seem to have good inventory. Interesting...
The next day at breakfast we visited with a fellow who is a local "wine grape" farmer. He talked to us about the California drought and how, in his view, the government "screwed up" by releasing water to save a non-native fish in central California thereby using water that should have been allocated to farmers. (editorial note: I am not opposed to saving fish!) Listening to him talk about the drought and the impact on not only the crops but the people gave us a perspective we did not have. He told us the reason he was staying at a hotel was that his wells on his farm were dry and there was no water for consumption or domestic use. He is one of hundreds if not thousands of farmers and well water users who are now scrambling to keep their farms and lives going. We commented that the recent rains must be welcome. He shrugged and said, "not really. It amounts to about one irrigation (cycle) for them". He told us that California used to provide the country with 60% of their food. It is now down to around 20%. It was both fascinating and depressing to hear his perspective. I remember driving through northern California last winter, seeing the bare, dry ground and saying that this looks like trouble ahead. Although at the time it was only a guess on my part, I don't think I realized how bad it would get. I wonder if any of us are prepared for what might happen if the drought continues. I would encourage everyone to spend a little time to educate yourselves on the situation in California. It is going to impact all of us, even in Canada.
Our third full day was spent driving in southern California. We had a choice of driving from Bakersfield to Barstow and then east to Needles, or going southeast from Barstow ending up driving by Palm Springs then east to our destination of Blythe, Ca. We chose the southeast route. When I saw the sign that told us we were 66 miles from Los Angeles I realized we had made a big mistake. The route put is into San Bernardino, Pasadena and directly into the belly of the dragon. The roads were lousy and so was the traffic, but I digress....
We made it to Blythe in good time and checked into our Best Western for the night. We checked out a new restaurant called the Red Cactus Bar and Grill. It was very comfortable. The service first class. The food exceptionally good. After a long day it was early to bed for a good night sleep.
The last leg of our trip was relatively short, 160 miles. The speed limit on Interstate 10 in Arizona is posted 75mph. We cruised at a comfortable 73mph. That's just what the 4Runner felt comfortable at. Traffic today was for a change on the light side which gave us a chance to enjoy the scenery. I know to some that desert is boring but to us it is wonderful. Not a lot of birds or wildlife but none the less we found lots to enjoy.
Well, this brings me back to the beginning. Here we are in Mesa, Az. It was sunny and warm when we arrived today. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain but then after that it is sun, sun, sun. On our way into Mesa today we were listening to Sirius satellite radio channel 24, Margaritaville. One of the Jimmy Buffett songs this morning was "Cowboy in the Jungle". I listened to the song and then said to Dana that I think some of the lyrics will make it into my blog post today. This might even be my mantra for our 2015 adventure in the Valley of the Sun. Here is the last verse of the song. I think you will know what I am getting at. Enjoy!
We've gotta roll with the punches
Learn to play all of our hunches
Makin' the best of whatever comes your way
Forget that blind ambition
And learn to trust your intuition
Plowin' straight ahead come what may.
And there's a cowboy in the jungle.
