Thanks to my daughter Melissa, I know now that those strange mountains in Southern California are called the Laguna Mountains. They are located between San Diego and the desert, straddling Interstate 8. The mountains are composed of gneiss and schist. They started as sandstone and mudstone, metamorphosed into granitic schist and quartzite. At some time in the distant past, they were turned vertical (tilted) by rising magma and metamorphosed. What you see today is the result of those processes and severe erosion.
Some highlights of our stay in Yuma follow. Peggy and Mike went to a buffet last year and so wanted to take me as soon as we got here. There is Indian Reservation just across the border in California where there is the usual gambling complex. On Friday nights, they offer the best seafood buffet I’ve ever seen. I wasn’t the slightest bit interested in the one armed bandits (they still have some manual one armed bandits in this casino!) But the food! The Food! I ate Alaskan King crab. They were the largest, thickest crab legs I’d ever seen. The shells broke easily exposing beautiful crabmeat which came out whole. Peggy decided that on our next trip, she’s eating crab too. Of course, other tidbits included seafood au gratin, steamers, shrimp in a variety of dishes, and several kinds of fish. Oh, also a dessert table including half a dozen sugar-free desserts. We are going back!
Mike Peggy took me Algodones Mexico. By car it’s about 10 miles. 5 miles back into California and 5 miles south. Incidentally, the border between this part of Arizona and California is what’s left of the Colorado River. Remember, that’s the mighty river that carved the Grand Canyon but now is tapped by the city of Los Angeles and much of its water is siphoned off. Others grab their share and a small stream enters Mexico. The landscape between here and Algodones is essentially desert, even a little bit that’s irrigated on both sides of the state border is really desert.
We parked the car at the border (the same Indians who run a casino offer parking at five dollars a day on the US side of the border. We walked across into Mexico with no questions asked. Two steps of the border and you’re in a border town which seems to exist to capture American dollars. Peggy and Mike wanted to have their teeth cleaned and I wanted to check out new lenses for my scratched glasses. There have got to be 25 to 50 dentists offices, a similar number of eyeglass outlets, again of drugstores, not to mention the plastic surgeons. The sidewalks outside all the shops and stores have street vendors. You walk down the sidewalk with articles for sale on your left, overhead, and on the right. The nice thing about it is this provides shady sidewalks in the hot sun. Every vendor tries to stop you. Every price is set for haggling, at least on the sidewalks. I have been offered so much Viagra that I’m a danger! Some of the vendors include those children who offer to shine your shoes (I was wearing sneakers). We watched for young men painting the most unbelievable pictures with spray cans of paint. There were lanterns whose glass chimney’s had been painted with Southwest scenes. There were frame-able pictures, saws, and other decorated items. I watched them work for quite a while. They were fast, accurate, skillful and entertaining. They mixed colors on torn pieces of newspaper. They used scrunched up plastic shopping bags to apply this paint onto their spray painted surface. They used the edge of a piece of cardboard (like a cereal box) to make lines which turned into a cactus or a bird or a coyote. I don’t think anyone can appreciate the artistry unless they had seen it.
We returned to Algodones twice more that week. In addition to everything above, I was amazed by the customs procedure at the border when returning. It seemed to me that those people in cars had a much longer wait and a better chance of detailed inspection. The walkers didn't spend much time with the border patrol agent. They asked what you bought in Mexico, looked at your passport, ran the number through a reader and sent you on your way. Somehow, I expected more but I was glad it moved well because it was very hot in the sun, waiting.
Somehow, that sentence about being hot in the sun made me think a little about the climate here. I have heard a million times and that "it's dry heat". I always felt, dry or not, hot is hot. Well, I guess I have to confess I was wrong. Hazy hot and humid is uncomfortable in the sun or in the shade. Here, as soon as you step out of the sun, you feel a huge difference in the heat. Since arriving in Yuma, most days have been in the low 90s in the shade. Going anywhere in the sun has been hot and uncomfortable. But I can sit in the shade beside our camper and read comfortably in this heat. I know I can't be comfortable at 93° but I am! Hard to get New England out of my brain! What I really love here is the endless sunny days with beautiful blue skies. The evenings are simply the best. About an hour after sundown, the temperature drops in to the low 80's or high 70's, the air is balmy, there are no bugs and an evening walk about 8 pm is heaven. I could begin to think about this!!
I had planned to take a little vacation from this arduous journey and visit San Diego by myself. Within a few days of making of this plan, San Diego went up in flames! Calamity Jane strikes again. With 900,000 evacuated from the city and thousands of homes burned to the ground, Melissa advised me to rethink my plans. As usual, she's right. So, our drive through San Diego County may be as close as I get to San Diego. I'll let you know. Meantime, my son Erik is planning a Mexico tour for me. Some time ago I took a course on early civilizations in Mexico and he suggested I would enjoy seeing some of those sites. I totally agree. Stay tuned.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Southern California
We went south from Laurel Bay on US 101 and California 1. Escape is part of the trip on the coast and part inland. We chose the inland route 101 in order to go to a town called Solvang which was founded by a group of Danish settlers in 1911. The settlers have worked very hard to keep that Danish flavor of the downtown section. The buildings are primarily half timber with stucco or decorative brick work between the exposed beams. There are a lot of towers, especially clock towers. The roofs are a variety of substances in an attempt to look like thatch. There were flat tiles which had moss growing on them. There were wood shakes. But mostly, there were wooden shingles width three points instead of a squared and these were laid in such a way as to, at first glance, make you think you are seeing thatch. Many roofs had stork figures. Some roofs had crossed wooden pieces at the ridge line, again as a real thatch roof would. The most impressive part of the town was four bakeries! we went into three before being overcome by the fantastic aromas in the third one. There we bought a special dessert for our lunch.
South of Solvang, we went back to the coast. Off the coast of Santa Barbara County, we saw a bit least nine offshore oil rigs. This beautiful coastline is ever in danger of an oil slick but the people on Cape Cod are worried about unsightly windmills. I wonder if they'd give up their use of oil in order to prevent the building of the windmills.
We drove through part of Santa Barbara because the AAA book highly recommended the mission and the county courthouse. We were in the RV and traffic was horrendous. Mike took one look at Mission Road, narrow, cars parked on both sides and an impossible corner. We went on. I asked a man of the bicycle if he knew where the county courthouse was. He said the next light, on the left but no left turn allowed there. Mike drove on until we could get back to the freeway (not highway, not interstate, but freeway in California). We camped one more night on the California coast north of LA, crossed L. A. in horrendous traffic, and camped just north of San Diego. We turned east on I 8and across three sets of mountains to the desert in Southern California. These mountains were the weirdest thing I've ever seen. From a distance, they looked like some huge being had scattered boulders all over them. You could see the rock standing out from the mountain. As we got closer, you could see that some of what looked like boulders were still attached to the ledge that they were eroding from. Some of the boulders seem totally free and ready to roll down and in a moment. Further into these mountains, Peggy said they look like heaps of rock created by dump trucks. She was so right. The last of the mountains were like the first with boulders and soil. I'm searching for the name of these mountains. Incidentally, on I 8, we went from sea level to 4000 feet in the first hour! I can't find the name of the mountains that straddle I-* in Southern California. Help!
We came into the desert near town called Octillo. Shortly thereafter I asked Peggy what kind of cactus was growing there and she said octillo! It looks like an upside down octopus. Near the border, I could see the outline of major mountains to the north. At their base was a pink undulating strip. After many miles, we get close enough to see that the pink strip was really and dunes. sent in an area and a number of camping sites with campers in circles and dune buggies behind or beside each camper. These buggies were the size of small cars and I was told they fill the dunes on the weekends. on the small dirt roads running beside I 8 were border patrol cars at intervals. We were only a few miles from the Mexican border.
I've noticed in southern California and here in Arizona that there are very long bridges over dry river beds. These riverbeds are as applied as the Mississippi. It makes you realize how flat the country is and how wide the streams spread when there is water.
We're here in Yuma Arizona for a month. I'm not sure what I'll be blogging about. However, a first observation. It was about 90 the first afternoon and we went swimming. The pool was tepid. But when I got out, within it seemed like seconds, my body was frozen wherever my wet bathing suit touched. I think it has to do with the dryness of the air which immediately sucks the moisture away. Anyway, I've adopted a new tactic and change out of my wet suit before walking home! I'm sure I'll have more to say about dry heat as I go along.
South of Solvang, we went back to the coast. Off the coast of Santa Barbara County, we saw a bit least nine offshore oil rigs. This beautiful coastline is ever in danger of an oil slick but the people on Cape Cod are worried about unsightly windmills. I wonder if they'd give up their use of oil in order to prevent the building of the windmills.
We drove through part of Santa Barbara because the AAA book highly recommended the mission and the county courthouse. We were in the RV and traffic was horrendous. Mike took one look at Mission Road, narrow, cars parked on both sides and an impossible corner. We went on. I asked a man of the bicycle if he knew where the county courthouse was. He said the next light, on the left but no left turn allowed there. Mike drove on until we could get back to the freeway (not highway, not interstate, but freeway in California). We camped one more night on the California coast north of LA, crossed L. A. in horrendous traffic, and camped just north of San Diego. We turned east on I 8and across three sets of mountains to the desert in Southern California. These mountains were the weirdest thing I've ever seen. From a distance, they looked like some huge being had scattered boulders all over them. You could see the rock standing out from the mountain. As we got closer, you could see that some of what looked like boulders were still attached to the ledge that they were eroding from. Some of the boulders seem totally free and ready to roll down and in a moment. Further into these mountains, Peggy said they look like heaps of rock created by dump trucks. She was so right. The last of the mountains were like the first with boulders and soil. I'm searching for the name of these mountains. Incidentally, on I 8, we went from sea level to 4000 feet in the first hour! I can't find the name of the mountains that straddle I-* in Southern California. Help!
We came into the desert near town called Octillo. Shortly thereafter I asked Peggy what kind of cactus was growing there and she said octillo! It looks like an upside down octopus. Near the border, I could see the outline of major mountains to the north. At their base was a pink undulating strip. After many miles, we get close enough to see that the pink strip was really and dunes. sent in an area and a number of camping sites with campers in circles and dune buggies behind or beside each camper. These buggies were the size of small cars and I was told they fill the dunes on the weekends. on the small dirt roads running beside I 8 were border patrol cars at intervals. We were only a few miles from the Mexican border.
I've noticed in southern California and here in Arizona that there are very long bridges over dry river beds. These riverbeds are as applied as the Mississippi. It makes you realize how flat the country is and how wide the streams spread when there is water.
We're here in Yuma Arizona for a month. I'm not sure what I'll be blogging about. However, a first observation. It was about 90 the first afternoon and we went swimming. The pool was tepid. But when I got out, within it seemed like seconds, my body was frozen wherever my wet bathing suit touched. I think it has to do with the dryness of the air which immediately sucks the moisture away. Anyway, I've adopted a new tactic and change out of my wet suit before walking home! I'm sure I'll have more to say about dry heat as I go along.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Morro Bay
We left Madera and climbed over the mountains to the coast, Morro Bay. We went down Route 99 which runs through the center of the state and onto route 41. An interesting sign at the beginning of 41 said trucks RVs vehicles with trailers are not to use this road for the next 25 miles. We switched over to Route 46 which went through some mountains, then route 101 South to 41 and then 41 over the last of the mountains to the coast. My California map shows mountains north and south of Morro Bay but let me tell you, they're here too!
As we came into Morro Bay, we passed a large gumdrop shaped rock (mountain?). There is another just outside our campsite. The biggest one is in the Bay. I found out there are nine of these cores of old volcanoes in a line across this county. The 10th is north of Morro rock hidden under the ocean. Until 1969, Morro rock was quarried for its granite. Now there's a causeway at the north end of town where you can drive out to the rock. We walked around the rock to watch the ocean waves splashing against its base on the West side. A native told us how high the winter waves reach against the rock. Most impressive. The town is small, about 10, 000, and most of the houses are east of Route 1, climbing the hill side, each with a view of the bay.
We went north along the coast yesterday. Our goal was to see Hearst Castle at San Simeon. I really don't know what to say about that. It was too large for me to grasp. In fact, I didn't take any pictures and neither did my photographer. You couldn't use flash in any of the buildings and the outside was too large to frame. But let me tell you a little about what I saw. It seems bigger than life. And yet, this is how one man lived. He actually moved in to each of the guest houses as it was completed. He started using this compound while it was still building around him. In fact, he rebuilt the swimming pool three times while he lived there. Remember, he was very conscious of the California earthquakes, so he built all the structures using reinforced concrete. When he changed his mind, the reinforced concrete had to be removed before anything new could be built there. We went up 150 steps from the tour bus site. Incidentally, we rode the tour bus 5 miles across the Hearst Corporation ranch to get to the house. Anyway, the hundred and 50 steps were broken up into several flights of stairs, most of them curving from one landing to the next. On one of the landings was the largest pool I think I've ever seen, surrounded by classical columns and pediments. Then one flight up further to the Plaza (?) outside the front door. This was some entrance. The door was at least two stories high and wide enough for an elephant, had a fountain big enough to swim in with marble benches in a graceful curve around the outside. Probably seating for a hundred. Inside, we went through a few of the main rooms. The first was the great room used for cocktails before dinner. It was probably 25 x 50 feet and I would estimate 30 feet high. The outside walls were wainscoted in several hundred-year-old church seats. When I think of the Gothic churches of Europe or Westminster Abby that I've seen on TV, between the congregation and the high altar along the sides are stalls with high wooden backs and seats with little arms all carved out of wood. These were used as wainscoting in this room. The ceiling was one found in a Mediterranean Castle and brought over whole. It wasn't large enough for the room, so skilled craftsmen added to it in such a way that you cannot tell where the old ends of the new begins. This seemed to be his attitude toward all the antiques he bought in Europe. Use them. We went through some bedrooms in one of the guest houses. Each room was filled with antiques and each was used by whatever guest was assigned there for the weekend. He average 50 to 80 guests each weekend. The views from the terraces were fantastic. He looked out across a rolling brown hills to San Simeon Bay. All in all, I think I need to return to San Simeon. I just haven't grasped it.
We went further north along the coast and saw a couple of beaches and filled with elephant seals. These were juveniles who were there awaiting the arrival of the adults who winter here. There was a docent from the group protecting these seals. He was helpful in explaining what we were seeing. Even further north, we came to a place called Ragged Point. Peggy took some wonderful photographs. Suddenly at this point, the coast changed from beaches and some low cliffs to rugged mountain sides flush against the surf. I'm not sure that I ever saw this in real life before. I kept asking Peggy to take more photos both north and south.
Today, we went to San Luis Obispo. The mission there is still a functioning church. The walls are very thick and have signs saying not an earthquake proofed building. At one time, the church had been refurbished to look like a New England church. It has now been returned to as close to its original decoration and format as possible. The Stations of the Cross were primitive paintings as were many of the decorations which were done in very bright colors. The church itself was L-shaped and the altar was set at an angle facing neither section of the L. Outside, the church was whitewashed or the Adobe was painted white. There was a beautiful plaza in front of the church with a pergola which I photographed for my daughter-in-law.
All in all, I really enjoyed our week here in Morro Bay. I had read about the mountains along the shore in California but seeing it is much more impressive.
As we came into Morro Bay, we passed a large gumdrop shaped rock (mountain?). There is another just outside our campsite. The biggest one is in the Bay. I found out there are nine of these cores of old volcanoes in a line across this county. The 10th is north of Morro rock hidden under the ocean. Until 1969, Morro rock was quarried for its granite. Now there's a causeway at the north end of town where you can drive out to the rock. We walked around the rock to watch the ocean waves splashing against its base on the West side. A native told us how high the winter waves reach against the rock. Most impressive. The town is small, about 10, 000, and most of the houses are east of Route 1, climbing the hill side, each with a view of the bay.
We went north along the coast yesterday. Our goal was to see Hearst Castle at San Simeon. I really don't know what to say about that. It was too large for me to grasp. In fact, I didn't take any pictures and neither did my photographer. You couldn't use flash in any of the buildings and the outside was too large to frame. But let me tell you a little about what I saw. It seems bigger than life. And yet, this is how one man lived. He actually moved in to each of the guest houses as it was completed. He started using this compound while it was still building around him. In fact, he rebuilt the swimming pool three times while he lived there. Remember, he was very conscious of the California earthquakes, so he built all the structures using reinforced concrete. When he changed his mind, the reinforced concrete had to be removed before anything new could be built there. We went up 150 steps from the tour bus site. Incidentally, we rode the tour bus 5 miles across the Hearst Corporation ranch to get to the house. Anyway, the hundred and 50 steps were broken up into several flights of stairs, most of them curving from one landing to the next. On one of the landings was the largest pool I think I've ever seen, surrounded by classical columns and pediments. Then one flight up further to the Plaza (?) outside the front door. This was some entrance. The door was at least two stories high and wide enough for an elephant, had a fountain big enough to swim in with marble benches in a graceful curve around the outside. Probably seating for a hundred. Inside, we went through a few of the main rooms. The first was the great room used for cocktails before dinner. It was probably 25 x 50 feet and I would estimate 30 feet high. The outside walls were wainscoted in several hundred-year-old church seats. When I think of the Gothic churches of Europe or Westminster Abby that I've seen on TV, between the congregation and the high altar along the sides are stalls with high wooden backs and seats with little arms all carved out of wood. These were used as wainscoting in this room. The ceiling was one found in a Mediterranean Castle and brought over whole. It wasn't large enough for the room, so skilled craftsmen added to it in such a way that you cannot tell where the old ends of the new begins. This seemed to be his attitude toward all the antiques he bought in Europe. Use them. We went through some bedrooms in one of the guest houses. Each room was filled with antiques and each was used by whatever guest was assigned there for the weekend. He average 50 to 80 guests each weekend. The views from the terraces were fantastic. He looked out across a rolling brown hills to San Simeon Bay. All in all, I think I need to return to San Simeon. I just haven't grasped it.
We went further north along the coast and saw a couple of beaches and filled with elephant seals. These were juveniles who were there awaiting the arrival of the adults who winter here. There was a docent from the group protecting these seals. He was helpful in explaining what we were seeing. Even further north, we came to a place called Ragged Point. Peggy took some wonderful photographs. Suddenly at this point, the coast changed from beaches and some low cliffs to rugged mountain sides flush against the surf. I'm not sure that I ever saw this in real life before. I kept asking Peggy to take more photos both north and south.
Today, we went to San Luis Obispo. The mission there is still a functioning church. The walls are very thick and have signs saying not an earthquake proofed building. At one time, the church had been refurbished to look like a New England church. It has now been returned to as close to its original decoration and format as possible. The Stations of the Cross were primitive paintings as were many of the decorations which were done in very bright colors. The church itself was L-shaped and the altar was set at an angle facing neither section of the L. Outside, the church was whitewashed or the Adobe was painted white. There was a beautiful plaza in front of the church with a pergola which I photographed for my daughter-in-law.
All in all, I really enjoyed our week here in Morro Bay. I had read about the mountains along the shore in California but seeing it is much more impressive.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Yosemite
We left San Francisco this morning and traveled east toward Yosemite National Park. We used a variety of routes but mostly California 120 which starts in the middle of the Sacramento Valley and goes east across Yosemite. After leaving the cities (Oakland and Berkeley), we climbed up below sculptured hills which were dry and tan. We dipped down toward a dry brook which had green grass growing in its bed. The only green in a monochromatic world. We rode across the valley and saw a huge Holstein dairy farm. There must've been 500 heifers out in the fields. The cow barns were the largest I've ever seen and shaped just like those on the Audet farm in Vermont. Then groves and groves of almonds and walnuts, and even grapes. I saw a machine that appeared to be sweeping the ground under the trees. I later found out that to harvest these nuts, they shake the tree, use blowers to push all the fallen nuts into rows and then sweep them up. All done mechanically. As we left the Valley and started to climb some foothills and came upon the first California wind farm that we've seen. It was huge. There seemed to be two types of windmills. Those which looked like the ones in the Midwest with a single pole and large blades and the other which was supported on a three legged triangular shaped mast and had smaller blades. These had an interesting variation. It was a small rotor near the back of the head which looked very much like the rear rotor on a helicopter. Maybe has the same function which is to counter the rotational effect of the large blades. Who knows?
A little higher into the foothills we suddenly came on fields full of rocks. Like there had been an explosion and the rock from the explosion had scattered far and wide across the fields. I know that's about the opposite of what happened. These hills have eroded down to sedimentary rock which is harder than whatever was surrounding it so the rocks are showing above the dead dry grass. Some of the fields looked like headstones in a cemetery. I think the rock stands sometimes four to 6 feet high and the slabs of rock are about 6 inches thick and varying from two to 4 feet wide and stand in the fields just like in a cemetery. I think the rock is shale or slate. But the layers have been turned on their side so that instead of horizontal you are getting these vertical pieces sticking up above the surrounding ground. At one place was a long ridge of it, looking very much like a stone wall in New England.
I've decided that the one word that best describes the West is water. The lack of water creates a very dry climate where hardly anything grows. The land is brown and dry and barren. Then, the opposite extreme occurs. Too much water for the land to absorb falls on it in a short period of time and you get tremendous water erosion. The softer, weaker rock and ground is washed away leaving dramatic gullies and dry watercourses cut deep into the earth. Lastly, to make the land productive, huge amounts of irrigation have been introduced. No one knows the long-term effects of this irrigation. Are we tapping the aquifers and draining them? We do know that long-term irrigation deposits huge amounts of salts into the ground and makes it totally unproductive for long periods of time. Do we really know we're doing?
We spent a couple of days in Yosemite National Park. The Park is part of the Sierra Nevada chain which has been described to us as a 400-mile long block of uplifted granite. We went to Glacier Point which is 3100 feet above the Yosemite Valley. This valley was formed by the runoff from glacial melt. This is a totally new idea for me. I always knew that rivers cut through mountains but I never thought about those rivers being fed by melting glaciers. Glaciers also contributed to the shape of the mountains in the Sierra Nevada’s. The glaciers covered the tops of some mountains and their movement rounded the top of these mountains. Those mountains in the chain with pointed tops were above the glaciers. At present, there is a river flowing through the valley called the Merced River. Anyway, glacier point is a fantastic overlook. I’m sure I never looked straight down 3100 feet. I assure you, I held on tight! Peggy took the picture to prove I was there.
My favorite place in the park was glacier point but driving through the valley impressed me especially looking up at those rock formations I had looked across at from glacier point. Half Dome and other huge cliffs were perhaps more impressive from the bottom. Of course, El Capitan was overwhelming. There are plenty of pics of all of this. A thought occurred to me as I was looking at all that granite. When I visited the Rock of Ages quarry in Barre, Vermont, I learned that Barre is sitting on a granite dome that is some 10 by 30 miles and 10 miles deep. Imagine how much granite they could dig out of the Sierra Nevada’s.
We also visited the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. This grove is at the southern end of the Park, about 30 miles south of Yosemite Valley. I had seen the California coast redwoods earlier on this trip. It doesn’t seem possible, but these actually seemed bigger. They are said to be shorter, by about 30 feet, but they are clearly wider. Walking around the one called the grizzly giant made me realize just how huge they are. Of course, I had to have my picture taken inside the tunnel tree. At one point in history, there were two tunnel trees but one died due to the tunnel and this one is expected to follow.
The altitude in this area was so varied that I’m not sure I can explain it. We left the Central Valley of California and went to about 3000 feet in the RV. About 2000 of those feet were in one hill. We followed Route 120 out of the Valley and up this hill. We had planned to use Route 140 but mudslides closed the road. On 120 that hill was called New Priest Road. As we were leaving, we spotted Old Priest Road. Thank God they built the new one! Our route was longer but more gradual. The road clung to the mountain from which it was cut. The sheer drop to my right as we climbed (without guardrails, of course) scared the ___ out of me! Coming down was much easier (I was on the inside)! So, we camped at about 2800 feet, drove into the Park losing and regaining that altitude three times. The highest point we were at in the park was 6000 feet.
When we left Yosemite, we came back down to the Central Valley, called the San Joaquin Valley at about 100 feet of altitude. The valley is as flat as a pancake and you can see in every direction. The Sierra Nevada’s are all to the East of the Valley and feed three rivers into this area, the Merced, the Tuolumne, and the Chowchilla. Since about 1900, these rivers have been tapped by state organized irrigation projects to turn this dry valley into a productive paradise. The irrigation starts as cement canals leading water away from the rivers and out to a network of fields. From there, a variety of methods are used to spread the water on the fields. I saw huge dairy farms, the largest I’ve ever seen, with pole barn structures for the dairy cattle. These structures have no sides, a raised central section (I assume for ventilation) and two shed like rooves slanting down from the raised central section. The fields near the farm were corn (already cut down and I assume chopped but I saw no silos) and alfalfa, much of which had been cut and was laying in windrows. I assume it was going to be bailed, and not chopped as we would in New England. Keep in mind that all these fields, including the pasturage for the younger stock, were irrigated. I wonder how much irrigation can take place before the salts left from irrigation ruin the land.
We stayed three days here in Madera, which is just south of Stockton. Beautiful warm days and cool nights! We’re off to Moro Bay tomorrow. I will get to see the famous, or is it infamous, Hearst Castle!
A little higher into the foothills we suddenly came on fields full of rocks. Like there had been an explosion and the rock from the explosion had scattered far and wide across the fields. I know that's about the opposite of what happened. These hills have eroded down to sedimentary rock which is harder than whatever was surrounding it so the rocks are showing above the dead dry grass. Some of the fields looked like headstones in a cemetery. I think the rock stands sometimes four to 6 feet high and the slabs of rock are about 6 inches thick and varying from two to 4 feet wide and stand in the fields just like in a cemetery. I think the rock is shale or slate. But the layers have been turned on their side so that instead of horizontal you are getting these vertical pieces sticking up above the surrounding ground. At one place was a long ridge of it, looking very much like a stone wall in New England.
I've decided that the one word that best describes the West is water. The lack of water creates a very dry climate where hardly anything grows. The land is brown and dry and barren. Then, the opposite extreme occurs. Too much water for the land to absorb falls on it in a short period of time and you get tremendous water erosion. The softer, weaker rock and ground is washed away leaving dramatic gullies and dry watercourses cut deep into the earth. Lastly, to make the land productive, huge amounts of irrigation have been introduced. No one knows the long-term effects of this irrigation. Are we tapping the aquifers and draining them? We do know that long-term irrigation deposits huge amounts of salts into the ground and makes it totally unproductive for long periods of time. Do we really know we're doing?
We spent a couple of days in Yosemite National Park. The Park is part of the Sierra Nevada chain which has been described to us as a 400-mile long block of uplifted granite. We went to Glacier Point which is 3100 feet above the Yosemite Valley. This valley was formed by the runoff from glacial melt. This is a totally new idea for me. I always knew that rivers cut through mountains but I never thought about those rivers being fed by melting glaciers. Glaciers also contributed to the shape of the mountains in the Sierra Nevada’s. The glaciers covered the tops of some mountains and their movement rounded the top of these mountains. Those mountains in the chain with pointed tops were above the glaciers. At present, there is a river flowing through the valley called the Merced River. Anyway, glacier point is a fantastic overlook. I’m sure I never looked straight down 3100 feet. I assure you, I held on tight! Peggy took the picture to prove I was there.
My favorite place in the park was glacier point but driving through the valley impressed me especially looking up at those rock formations I had looked across at from glacier point. Half Dome and other huge cliffs were perhaps more impressive from the bottom. Of course, El Capitan was overwhelming. There are plenty of pics of all of this. A thought occurred to me as I was looking at all that granite. When I visited the Rock of Ages quarry in Barre, Vermont, I learned that Barre is sitting on a granite dome that is some 10 by 30 miles and 10 miles deep. Imagine how much granite they could dig out of the Sierra Nevada’s.
We also visited the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. This grove is at the southern end of the Park, about 30 miles south of Yosemite Valley. I had seen the California coast redwoods earlier on this trip. It doesn’t seem possible, but these actually seemed bigger. They are said to be shorter, by about 30 feet, but they are clearly wider. Walking around the one called the grizzly giant made me realize just how huge they are. Of course, I had to have my picture taken inside the tunnel tree. At one point in history, there were two tunnel trees but one died due to the tunnel and this one is expected to follow.
The altitude in this area was so varied that I’m not sure I can explain it. We left the Central Valley of California and went to about 3000 feet in the RV. About 2000 of those feet were in one hill. We followed Route 120 out of the Valley and up this hill. We had planned to use Route 140 but mudslides closed the road. On 120 that hill was called New Priest Road. As we were leaving, we spotted Old Priest Road. Thank God they built the new one! Our route was longer but more gradual. The road clung to the mountain from which it was cut. The sheer drop to my right as we climbed (without guardrails, of course) scared the ___ out of me! Coming down was much easier (I was on the inside)! So, we camped at about 2800 feet, drove into the Park losing and regaining that altitude three times. The highest point we were at in the park was 6000 feet.
When we left Yosemite, we came back down to the Central Valley, called the San Joaquin Valley at about 100 feet of altitude. The valley is as flat as a pancake and you can see in every direction. The Sierra Nevada’s are all to the East of the Valley and feed three rivers into this area, the Merced, the Tuolumne, and the Chowchilla. Since about 1900, these rivers have been tapped by state organized irrigation projects to turn this dry valley into a productive paradise. The irrigation starts as cement canals leading water away from the rivers and out to a network of fields. From there, a variety of methods are used to spread the water on the fields. I saw huge dairy farms, the largest I’ve ever seen, with pole barn structures for the dairy cattle. These structures have no sides, a raised central section (I assume for ventilation) and two shed like rooves slanting down from the raised central section. The fields near the farm were corn (already cut down and I assume chopped but I saw no silos) and alfalfa, much of which had been cut and was laying in windrows. I assume it was going to be bailed, and not chopped as we would in New England. Keep in mind that all these fields, including the pasturage for the younger stock, were irrigated. I wonder how much irrigation can take place before the salts left from irrigation ruin the land.
We stayed three days here in Madera, which is just south of Stockton. Beautiful warm days and cool nights! We’re off to Moro Bay tomorrow. I will get to see the famous, or is it infamous, Hearst Castle!
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