Day 5 - Bakersfield, CA to Redding, CA

Gratuitous Pet Picture

Nutella co-opted the cat's bed. There will be hell to pay.

First an observation: There is blight is every city and town in America. Whether it’s a result of the recession, loss of an indigenous industry, or Mother Nature, it’s there. But at home you stop seeing it after a while. It becomes a part of the scenery. When you travel across America, as we've been doing, it’s right there in your face, in all its forms, from the very subtle to the catastrophic.

We've seen closed and boarded up businesses, burned out buildings that make you wonder about arson, abandoned agricultural areas, and for lack of a better term, shanty town after shanty town. This country is in trouble.

What is constant is the usual suspect corporate stamps in every nook and cranny. Ross, JC Penney, Target, Best Buy, Wal-mart, Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, etc. When did the presence of corporate logos become the definition of civilization? It wasn't that long ago that a lit area - lights in the distance - represented civilization. And not in the neon sense of the word.

I have to wonder what visitors to this country must think when they see the blight. And what do they think when they see the same corporate logos in every single crossroad in America? Do we lack imagination? Are we too lazy to redefine civilization in a more imaginative and interesting way?

I love this country and am always amazed at its diversity and uniqueness until I stumble upon the 600^th McDonald’s on the trip. Really? We can do better.

Derron and I have been reminiscing about traveling across country or state to state as kids…you’d see maybe one McDonald’s, one Howard Johnson’s or Holiday Inn, and it’d be a big deal. I remember seeing Stuckey’s signs and counting down the miles until we got there. I guess what I’m getting at is, there is no anticipation anymore. You know what you will see in every town and city in America…some sub-set of the same old corporate logos. It is sad.

Oh well, back to the trip...

Had a great night last night in the Bakersfield RV Resort. The place was beautiful. Grass and a tree at every site. Beautifully manicured. Restaurant/bar within walking distance. And the food was good. We had a quick snack there last night and breakfast there this morning. Speaking of breakfast – and my NYC friends will understand this – I always order my eggs soft scrambled.  And except for NYC diners, they never come out that way. But this morning…I had me some soft-scrambled eggs! And they were delish!!!! I let the waitress know just how much I appreciated the chef getting them right. I hope she passed that on to him/her.

Despite the fact that there was no dedicated pet area at the park, there were enough empty sites to walk the dogs around a good bit. I swear sometimes Nutella is a cadaver dog the way she catches a scent and does not give up.

Today we’re off to Redding, CA. We had a really, really long day yesterday. Lots of back roads, hills, mountains, bleak scenery. We had to have a couple drinks last night to take the edge off. But this morning we’re heading north in hazy weather. We’re passing through what appears to be the agricultural part of California…vineyards, orchards, dairies, etc. We’re in the San Joaquin valley, once the home of the enormous Tulare Lake. But as people settled here, and drew water away from the rivers that fed the lake, it dried up. While sad, I imagine the lake sediment is one reason this area is so fertile.

At a rest stop I read about a settlement here called Allensworth.  Allensworth was founded, financed, and governed by African Americans in 1908. You learn the most fascinating things at rest stops. BTW, the vending machines at the rest stops in Arizona were chained down...not so in California. What does that say about Arizona?

We’re on CA 99, a two-lane road flanked by the vineyards and orchards…and some small towns. Not a lot else to look at so we've picked up listening to a Sue Grafton mystery we started yesterday…easy “read” that allows you to drift in and out and not miss anything.

Glad to know there are still some activists in Central California. Just passed this sign: “Stop the theft. End the Federal Reserve”.  Damn revenuers!  Also passed an Am-Vets museum with an old bomber and an F-4 on display in the parking lot. Derron loves any opportunity to look at Air Force stuff. We've passed three Air Force bases on the trip – Davis-Monthan, Luke, and Edwards. At each we take a little time to find out the mission and what kind of aircraft is there.

I had been amazed that we've not seen any stray animals along the trip…then saw a dog. But someone was already pulled over trying to snatch it up. Good thing because I don’t think we can handle another dog in our close quarters.

The weather has cleared. Sun is out…the way it should be here in California. The vineyards and orchards (and apparently nut and olive groves too) are vast…they must be beautiful when in bloom. At the ends of the orchard rows are boxes of bees just waiting to do their thing.

Been seeing a lot of trains here in the west. Reminds me we need a high speed train system in this country…and based on recent train accidents, we need to overhaul the current rail beds. Lots of containers moving about…wonder what’s in them all. Probably more cheap crap made in China.

Got to the JGW RV Park around 4:30. Great park. Well laid out but no bar. They put us right next to the dog park...great because it's been raining since we arrived. The winds kicked up as soon as Derron got everything hooked up. We shook and wiggled all night. I was sure we would topple over...but it's morning now and we're still upright.

The weather calls for rain all the way to the border. We think we can make it into snowbound Oregon but not as far as we had hoped. We may get as far as Eugene before we have to camp for what looks like a couple days. Good thing we have lots of food, propane, and a list of RV parks all along the way.

Now for the gripe of the day -- got an email from Direct TV contradicting everything we agreed to during two very long and difficult phone calls. If they've done anything with this email, they have ensured we will never, ever be Direct TV customers again.