Day 3, Cows to the left of me, Cattle to the Right...

March 24, 2023

Denis likes the road less traveled. Today, Google agreed. We meadered through the valley along Hwy 58, past agricultural land. We were surprised to find so many huge cattle ranches.The cow herds were as deep as the eye could see. I hadn’t realized that California is the #1 producer of dairy and #4 in beef in the United States!

The vineyards are being pollinated by bees. Each year, thousands of bees are trucked in to pollinate crops.  Given all the rain and the fragility of pollinator bee colonies, I couldn't help but wonder how they might be effected.

Finally, the mountains were ahead and it was time to join the traffic on 99. As we climbed, we found large swaths of yellow, orange, and purple flowers along the sides of the road. And, our double rainbow luck seemed to be with us. Yesterday, snow, icy roads, and rain were forecast and we wondered what we would do. However, while it was cold (41F) and a bit windy, we were very thankful for smooth driving up to the town of Tehachapi.

We have been this way before. Most Californians know the Tehachapi Pass. However, we have never before strayed off the highway. Today we did, partly to get gas, but mostly to visit a bakery I’d read about. Kohnens Country Bakery is a German Bakery, specializing in breads and pastries. It has a large offering of German speciality foods and beers, and from the looks of it, does a steady business in sandwiches, salads, and soups. We ordered Black Forest Ham on German Rye for lunch, but came away with a loaf of bread, a six pack of German lager, strudel, and three pastries for breakfast. It was a great break and Denis already knows what he wants to order nexttime we stop by.

Tonight was the only night we didn’t have a reservation. Sequioa National Forest cancelled tonight’s reservation due to flood damage. When I chose a different route, Red Rock Canyon State Park, on the edge of the Mohave Desert, looked the most promising but Ricardo Campground is a first come campground. I ususally don’t feel lucky enough to trust we’ll get a spot, but this time, I already had a list of a few alternative places to phone if Ricardo was full. Also, a ranger I’d spoken with when I phoned, told me the campground rarely fills up. We arrived around 2:00. I convinced Denis to take the first good looking spot we came to. We were happy we did. While there were other spots still available, many were shorter than our RV and SUV, and none were in as pretty a spot.

After settling in, we hiked through the magnificent rock formations and Joshua Trees. 

The clear night sky had us gazing at the stars. The bright crescent moon made many stars hard to see with our eyes but with our binoculars, we could see many more.