Last Friday, we had to have the windscreen replaced on our truck as it had a huge crack across it which started out as a chip. We got the truck back the same day but when we drove out on Sunday afternoon to go to see a nearby volcanic mountain (which we couldn't get near to as it was all private land round it) we could still hear air whooshing in down the right hand side. This meant that we had to take it back to the garage on Monday morning to get it fixed so we didn't leave Colusa till after noon.
As we had to drive through Williams and it was lunch time we stopped for a steak meal at Granzellas which everyone has been raving about all week. It was a nice meal but the deli attached to it was fascinating. Olives of every size and colour, imports from Italy all over, Proscutio ham and cooked meats of every descripton, pasta and Italian ice cream. Shame it was very expensive. There was also a gift shop and a motel nearby all belonging to Granzellas. I think they had cornered the market in Williams.
We went north and suddenly saw a huge snow capped mountain in the distance - our first view of Mount Shasta which is a huge 14,000 + feet volcano which just rises out of the valley. It was snow covered and looked huge even though we were about 100 miles away from it.
We arrived at a Forestry Campground at Red Bluff. It's a very nice, pretty place with nature trails and paved walks all over. We went round the trail marked Mount Shasta View, but were disappointed that the view was very limited- probably because trees and bushes had grown since the path was laid. We are having a couple of days rest here and Terry is using his new camera to take shots of the wild life. Shame we didn't see the cayotes that are supposed to be around the trail we went on last night.
Driving up the Californian Central Valley has been very interesting as we have never seen agriculture on this scale before. The valley is 430 miles long and up to 200 miles wide and nearly every bit is used to cultivate crops, using irrigation from the rivers that run through it. We have seen pistachios, almonds, olives, walnuts, rice, vines, alfalfa, sweetcorn, peaches, figs, oranges, satsumas, limes, grapefruits, canteloupes melons, watermelons, strawberries and other crops we couldn't identify. They were harvesting rice as we drove up yesterday. Amazing. It all depends on the water so no wonder there have been on going battles about access rights to take water out of the rivers.
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.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
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I was raised in Bakersfield at the southern end of the Central Valley.
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