Bakersfield, California

We drove on to Bakersfield yesterday.  When we looked at the map, it seemed Fresno was too short of a day, and that the next day to Death Valley would be too long.  We want to arrive in Death Valley before the sun goes down because it is DARK there after sunset.  In any case, after arriving in Bakersfield, we decided to stay put for a day or two.  For one thing, they have a hot tub at the park where we are staying.  Anyone who has snowbirded with us in the past knows that we love a good hot tub.  This one isn't particularly comfortable to sit in because of the "lip" constructed around the edge to keep the water in the tub.  One can't lean back against it, and it isn't comfortable to lean one's head against either.  The best way I found was to be on my knees in the bottom of the tub.  Still, the water was warm, and it felt good on our bones and joints.

This is the forecast for our neck of the woods today (and by that I mean home, in Oregon):

If you don't know what that means, it's a forecast for freezing rain and ice!  Glad we're not there to see it.  There isn't much to say about yesterday's trip.  We saw a lot of this:

Lovely, eh?  That's Kern County for you.  There are lots of grain processing plants and stock yards.  Also, I think we saw quite a few methane processing plants.  With all the stock yards around, it seems methane would be a great way to generate power.  This also happens to be the area where Mike was born--in Taft, California, which is just up the road.  He hasn't been to Taft since he was two.  Every time we're in this area we threaten to go, but so far, we haven't.  Maybe today, huh?

We've driven about six hours per day for three days.  Yesterday, the road was rough.  Things were all shaken up in the RV.  We're a little road weary, and so it'll be good to just sit tight for a day or two.  We're planning on an extra day here for now, but we will probably end up staying two.  The sky is heavily overcast, and it's not particularly warm.  But the park is nice and quiet (no trains going by, which is usually the case), and so we can get some laundry and shopping done while we're here.  AND, there are at least four quilt shops in town, according to my directory.  We need to buy some groceries, and I'm doing three loads of wash.  We still want to pick up a little space heater at a Target somewhere, and I'd like to spend my $12 in rewards at a Staples store if we can find one.  We'd like to find a magnetic pen that will stick to the hood of our little stove.  I collect refrigerator magnets along the way, and we keep our shopping list stuck up there with magnets.  If we had a magnetic pen to go along with it, we would be so totally cool, don't you think?  BTW, the refrigerator magnets don't stick to the refrigerator because it has wood paneling on it.  Darn.  And so they get stuck to the stove hood.

So with that bit of fascinating travel news complete, I'll stop for a while.  I'm hoping to write again later today and tell you about the quilt shops I visit.