From moonlight to neon, part 1

Like the butterflies, I left the coast to travel north, back to Canada for the summer, stopping for food, fuel and rest along the way.
First,east to Bakersfield, a city in southern California and in the middle of a large agricultural area and some oil wells.

It is located in a fertile green valley between mountain ranges.

Passing large orchards of almond trees in bloom, the ground covered in their fallen blossoms,made me want to run down between the rows (but there was a fence!)

Spring wildflowers in distance

Soon I came near the mountains and stopped at a farmer's market.They had many varieties of oranges and a type of citrus fruit I have never seen before.They called it "Buddha hands" and grow it to be used for making candied peel. It has no juice and is also good for zesting or adding to a glass of water for flavor.

heading into the mountains

A display of oranges and Buddha hands
Gas there was $3.79/gal! That was a shock after filling up in Arizona for $2.15 in one place! California gas has added tax.
Continuing south east then the long drive north to Lone Pine took several hours.
To pass the time, I listened to Kitaro. His fascinating suited the environment I was driving through.
North of my route was the "Sequoia National Park" and I would have loved to spend some time there but that will have to wait for another trip.When I first started this journey, I wanted to see everything but soon realized it is better to see less and spend more time in an area and discover its treasures.

Lone Pine is a  town just west of Death Valley and took me out of the way a bit but I wanted to see "The Alabama Hills" near there.Many movies, commercials, and TV shows have scenes from there as it is such a remarkable place.
I stopped at a visitor's centre for information about a BLM (Bureau of Land Mangagement )campground a few miles west of there. It's free if you want to be somewhere out in the desert but I chose to stay at an organized campground which cost only $5 and has other people nearby. Tuttle Creek campground was very nice.There were no hook ups or water and just some pit toilets but each site was very spacious, well kept,had a picnic table and a wonderful view.
 I dumped my grey and black water tanks and filled the fresh water tank while at the visitor's centre. I've learned that driving with empty tanks saves on gas (water is very heavy!)It's a juggling act because I need lots of fresh water prior to going into a desert area where there may not be any  water available. Part of RV life is to keep daily track of the tanks (including gas and propane), find out where the dump stations are and how far I will will be from services.
It's amazing how some people show up in the desert with only a small bottle of water, expecting more available.It can be a very dangerous place and preparation is essential.

More adventures await in Part 2!

"Without imbalances,there could be no movement in life" (Deng Ming-Dao)

"Yoga folds movement and Stillness into one another" (from "Wherever you go, there you are" by Jon Kabat-Zim )

"If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we'll be happy with more?" (author unknown)