The Lakes RV Park and Golf Club

After a sleepless night we left Bakersfield. The Bakersfield RV park was very close to railroad tracks and trains ran ALL NIGHT. We won't be staying there again. We hit the road heading north on Hwy 99 to Chowchilla which is about 130 miles south of Sacramento, and is famous for the 1976 kidnapping of 25 schoolchildren and the driver of their school bus. They were buried underground in a van but were eventually able to escape with the help of the bus driver. The kidnappers were caught and are spending life in a nice jail cell somewhere.

 The Lakes RV Park is a beautiful, gated park with lakes,  a golf course and nicely manicured hedges between sites that provide some privacy.  We can play golf for $10 each on the Pheasant Run course if we choose to do so. http://www.pheasantrungolfclub.com/  We walked over to "The Putter", a restaurant at the golf course, and had a great lunch...Calamari for Jack and Salmon Salad for me. We're looking forward to a week here and some quiet nights.  It's a pleasant 82, sunny with a slight breeze.

Bakersfield CA ....Day One

Burnt Out RV in the Bakersfield RV Park  

 Our Spot

 

So we are officially out of Southern California and in the Central Valley...Bakersfield, Kern County. The little info packet we receved states that Kern County is the nations #1 petroleum producing county with ten of the largest oilfields.

We left home around 8:30AM and headed West on I-10 in strong winds under overcast skies. I followed Jack in my car, behind the 5th wheel, exactly 16.4 miles until I couldn't stand it any more and passed him.  Our route this year bypasses I-5 and takes us up I-215 through Tehachapi (instead of the Grapevine,  which is the devil) to 395 and eventually Hwy 99.  We passed the  small town of Boron where there is a "Twenty Mule Team Road" and claim to fame is the worlds largest producer of borax. Took us about three hours to reach Mojave, where I saw a sign " Hyundai: California Proving Grounds" There was a winding track off in the distance and I was tempted to take the ol' Buick through it's paces but decided to keep on course.  Jack and I met up again at Kramer's Corner which consists of gas stations and fast food restaurants before you head back into the desert.

Arrived at the Bakersfield Palms RV Resort around 12:30 PM. It is a clean park, not too far off the highway, and there were only two other rigs here in the "nightly" section when we pulled in. There is a nightly and a monthly area. The monthly area is quite full and it's where we saw the burnt out RV.The palm trees next to it are scorched and black.

As soon as we set up the 5th wheel we noticed the dust from our most recent wind storm at home had coated the window screens and settled inside on the counter tops. Jack removed the window screens and hosed them down while I cleaned inside. Ugh, it's always something it seems but thankfully nothing more serious than that.

Made a quick trip to the store for ice, stopped to pick up dinner at Baja Fresh and we're settling in for Happy Hour. I spotted a Starbucks for my morning latte and life is good!  Temperatures are a pleasant 78 and sunny. Tomorrow we head to Chowchilla and "The Lakes RV Park" for a week.

 

 

Loading the 5th Wheel

 

Blocking half the street..

 

 

 

Sheryl and Russell Crow are ready to go...waiting in the 5th wheel for departure


Jack brought the 5th wheel over this morning so we could begin loading things inside before temperatures reach 108 again.

 

Animal Rehab

So today was my last volunteer day in the Admin dept.(I still have one more goat day on Sunday) Admin is an interesting place. I have learned a bunch of interesting facts ....Did you know that if you get ants drunk, the remaining (if any) sober ones will carry their mates back to the nest?  What I'm not clear about is why you would want to do this study in the first place.Aside from answering phone calls in Admin, we accept injured animals for rehab. I've accepted Hummingbirds, bunnies,weasels, baby hawks and other misc birds.. Today a lady called and asked if someone could babysit her 25 turtles while she goes on vacation...um.... no crazy turtle lady, goodbye...

Until the 18th

Jack is bringing the 5th wheel over today so we can load some stuff. I'll wipe down cupboards and make the bed,do an inventory and make a list (another one as we already have 2 typed up in our document file).

I probably won't post anything more before we leave unless something exciting happens like we win the lottery or I steal a goat......so until the 18th........

Buffalo!!

Buffalo Slot

 

We took a trip out Hwy 86 today to visit the Red Earth Casino. It is a little place about 35 miles from home, on the east side of The Salton Sea on the  Torres Martinez Indian Rez. I believe I read somewhere that the tribe has 4  members at this time. The Red Earth Casino features $2 shrimp cocktails and gas/diesel are the same price today at $3.65. http://www.redearthcasino.com/index.php

 

I got lucky on the Buffalo Slots. That was nice, but this particular slot machine features a voice screaming " Bufffffalllooooo!!!" and then the sound of a stampeding herd. Basically everyone in the casino can hear it......a bit embarrassing.

 

98 degrees today and breezy. We leave in 2 weeks!

 

 

Looking Ahead

We'll be leaving the desert on Saturday May 18. On the 19th we will be checking into The Lakes:  http://www.thelakesrv.com/amenities.php

I am looking forward to spending a week in this park because of the amenities it boasts. I'll let you know if they live up to the hype.

Meanwhile we are still taking care of last minute things....I got a haircut today, car got an oil change this week, Jack is stashing stuff in corners of the garage and the staging pile in the guest bedroom is growing.

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