Springtime in the Desert

We're now in Bakersfield again. Last time we were here, the oranges weren't quite ripe. They have since come and gone, and it's orange blossom time again...

There had been a rain before I got to Twentynine Palms two weeks ago, and this had triggered a relative riot of desert blooms.

During my two weeks in Twentynine Palms I went out caching with Doug and Shannon a few times. On one of our trips, in a riverside park, we saw this shy guy:

We waited to see if he'd come out for a better portrait, but he had more patience than we did. At another park we went to, we saw several of his cousins out for a day at the beach.

Yesterday, here in Bakersfield I spent the day on a fabulous bike trail along the Kern River. Completely paved, with roadway underpasses so you never have to negotiate level crossings or any vehicle traffic. They really take their bike culture seriously here.

I spotted this artwork along the trail. If you gotta have water tanks, I guess they can try to adopt protective colouration.

I wrote the last time I was here about how the "black gold" rush is on. There were a number of active drilling rigs right beside the trail. At one end of the trail was an above ground pipeline, with frequent weird loops.

I asked a worker in a Chevron truck what they were, and they are to prevent the pipeline breaking when it expands with the heat. All that silver cladding is actually a protective layer, the real pipe is inside.

One more day here in Bakersfield, and then we up anchor for Sacramento. The weather report still has it sunny and in the low 70's, so our Winter of Summer isn't over yet.