Wednesday morning we packed up, returned the car and set off north. The weather was now in the 90's, which you would expect in the desert. Our route was to travel back to the I15, go north and take the 395 to Kramer Junction then to Mojave for the night. from there we will join the 99 and travel through Bakersfield to Fresno, where our Bluegrass festival is.
The little stretch of I15 north of San Bernadino is a long treacherous climb of more than 2000ft, we opted to take the truck lane and travel slowly, even so we had to turn off the A/C to keep the water temp normal, even with or uprated radiator. Once over the top we made good time along the very straight 395 to the curious Kramer Junction. Just a crossroad in the desert, but thriving on the trucks that pass through. It was busy enough to have traffic jams at the junction. We stopped for a freshen up at the Pilot Station there.
Turning West we drove through Boron, with its massive Borax mines and then along the northern boundary of the masssive Edwards Air Force Base - didn't even see any buildings or runways it is so big.
Mojave is a town situated to the North West of Edwards. It is an interesting place. It is quite industrially active. We were camped just beside its huge airport, whose three principle activities seem to be a storage dump for unwanted aircraft - huge 747s, Airbuses etc. are lined up waiting .... for what? Also a storeage area for wind turbines. To the West of Mojave are hundreds of wind turbines and the airport is used as a distribution centre for them - they are very large when you see them on the ground. Lastly, and most intriguingly, it is the home of Richard Branson's Space Plane, although we have not seen it,this is where it is being developed and built, though it will fly from an airfield in New Mexico, on the west side of the White Sands Missile Base.
On the west side of town there is a long ridge, which is completed covered by hundreds of wind turbines.
Mojave must also be a rail junction as we heard locos moving constantly through the night and saw some really large trains moving through.
Trip 9 - California Dreamin'
On this trip we set out to immerse ourselves in the culture and the nature of California. To discover its textures and see some of its natural wonders. We discover that California is very big. It is not a state that you can just pass through, it is, more than any other place we have visited, more like another country. It is a land dominated by mountains, the spaces between and like nowhere else, water.
Our start in the heavily populated area to the East of Los Angeles, known as the Inland Empire, is crowded into the lowlands surrounded by magnificent mountains. The feeling is of a cauldron which is trying to boil over the mountains to the fresh air of the rest of the state.
To the South is a band of Desert, which is the buffer to Mexico, which we did not explore on this trip.
We travelled North through the mountains (everywhere in California you can see mountains) to the desert, and on again to the huge Central Valley, mile after mile of intensive agriculture. Culture here is dominated by food, flatness, low income and trying to impact on the 'sameness' of the flat lands through music and festival. It is the communication and administrative corridor that links all other areas of California.
To the East is the huge mountain chain of the Sierra Nevada which clearly demonstrates the magnificence of the natural world, both in its geology and nature, reflected in the pysche and pride of most Californians. It is Eldorado, dominated by Gold!
To the West of the Central Valley are the coastal mountains, San Francisco and the magnificent coast. More isolated cultures, from mixed resources, communities seperated by mountains.
To the North of the Central Valley more mountains and a culture which looks more North towards Oregon than South to Sacremento.
This blog details our journey through California, where we pick and choose, or just scratch the surface, of this diverse and beautiful state.
Our start in the heavily populated area to the East of Los Angeles, known as the Inland Empire, is crowded into the lowlands surrounded by magnificent mountains. The feeling is of a cauldron which is trying to boil over the mountains to the fresh air of the rest of the state.
To the South is a band of Desert, which is the buffer to Mexico, which we did not explore on this trip.
We travelled North through the mountains (everywhere in California you can see mountains) to the desert, and on again to the huge Central Valley, mile after mile of intensive agriculture. Culture here is dominated by food, flatness, low income and trying to impact on the 'sameness' of the flat lands through music and festival. It is the communication and administrative corridor that links all other areas of California.
To the East is the huge mountain chain of the Sierra Nevada which clearly demonstrates the magnificence of the natural world, both in its geology and nature, reflected in the pysche and pride of most Californians. It is Eldorado, dominated by Gold!
To the West of the Central Valley are the coastal mountains, San Francisco and the magnificent coast. More isolated cultures, from mixed resources, communities seperated by mountains.
To the North of the Central Valley more mountains and a culture which looks more North towards Oregon than South to Sacremento.
This blog details our journey through California, where we pick and choose, or just scratch the surface, of this diverse and beautiful state.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
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