Day 13: Bakersfield continued

The Picker

The crazy weather continues. We were supposed to be in Palm Springs today, but stayed here an extra day because Highway 58 East was closed due to ice, snow, and high winds, and I-5 South had severe weather warnings, particularly for high profile vehicles. Yesterday it just rained and rained and rained here. All Day Long. Non-stop. Without relief. Forever. Have to admit it was kind of cozy in the bus, but it was a l-o-n-g day. Several rounds of Chutes and Ladders. Orange juice making. Long, involved H games with Matchbox cars and various trucks. Showers. Laundry. Hanging from the ceiling. That sort of thing.

But today was bright and sunny. As if nothing had happened. Except the wind warnings were still up. And the mountains are covered with snow. Since we missed our tourist day yesterday, we took the highway cautions seriously and were happy to stay another day. So off we went!

First activity was geocaching. Our first stop was too muddy for words. Well, actually, we didn't know that until we got up to our na-na's in mud, and then we used lots of words. The car looks like Pig Pen slept there. So we gave up on that cache and headed to the next one, further along the same road, but not quite so muddy, where we were successful, after a bit of poking around, and H was beside himself with glee. Then we headed up to Ming Lake, where we found another one, and then Hart Park, where found two more, and it was lots of fun. H is hooked!

Examining the contents of the cache

Delights of cache number 2 about to be discovered

This was a tricky one. Very clever hide.

Site of a cache called Oasis.

At Hart Park we also found the peacocks, who were stunning. Mother Nature just has a way with design. The blues were breathtaking. The blending of browns and greens was stunning. And the little headpiece was tasteful yet cheeky. Don't know why Ralph Lauren even bothers.

We did notice that all the hills were quite green and nearly all the oil wells were still. There also seemed to be many former vineyards that had been ploughed under -- not sure why -- and several crews of pickers busy at work in  the orange groves. The diversity here is crazy. (Still haven't been to Buck Owens C&W Palace.)

Dismantled vineyard and snow on the Sierra Nevadas.

 I of course, forgot the binocs, so birding was minimal. Couldn't believe I did that -- Hart Park is a GREAT place for birding, something one looks forward to, for goodness sake. Even so, we managed, besides the peacocks, to see mergansers, grebes, coots, scrub jays, turkey vultures, a hawk,  a woodpecker, and several feral cats. And we weren't even trying.

We also enjoyed a slightly chilly picnic in the park before heading back to the Orange Grove where R and H picked more oranges and A & M WENT OFF SHOPPING!! And not being much of a shopper, I am now exhausted. But I did pick up a nifty handbag.  R managed to have a bit of a chat with some of the incoming RVers who had travelled over Hwy 58, and got varying reports -- one saying it was dry and windy but not icy, and someone else saying it was wet and icy and they had to be led by the Highway Patrol. Hmm. Anyway, the road is open, but we're not sure what that means. We'll check it all out tomorrow. In the meantime, we are enjoying the oranges and revelling in the geocaching experiences.