Central California
After our two day delay in the San Francisco bay area,
we continued our journey southward. We left Oakland after the morning rush hour
so we didn’t have to deal with horrendous traffic as well as horrendous roads.
We also wanted to let the fog lift a bit over Altamont Pass. |
![]() Pea Soup Andersen’s Santa Nella |
When the landscape was visible, we were able to see nut
groves, cotton fields and the huge feedlot at Harris Ranch. As we passed the
Lemoore-Coalinga exit, the fog became heavy again. We decided to call it an
early day. |
![]() Olive tree Kettleman City | ![]() Olives |
It was still very foggy the next morning so we left about 10:15 in the morning. When the fog did break, we could see pistachio and almond groves. An interesting site in some of the groves were raptor nest boxes, encouraging natural rodent control by enhancing nesting areas for raptors. As we approached the exits for Bakersfield, towards the end of the Central Valley, we started seeing oil pumps and more cotton fields.
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![]() Cotton field and equipment |
![]() Southwest of Bakersfield | ![]() Another oil pump in the same area |