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canyonwalkerWildflower Travelog #7
California Valley, CA · Fri, 13 Mar 2026. 11am.
We left our hotel in Bakersfield this morning around 9:30am. We were in no particular rush, though probably we should have been given what a shit-hole Bakersfield is. It's just that our hotel was comfy on the inside, as long as we didn't look out the windows.
And it's not just Bakersfield that's a shit-hole; it's most of Kern County, the surrounding jurisdiction. Kern is at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, so nominally it's part of California's agriculturally productive Central Valley. But down here it's so hot and dry that the soil is sandy. Crops only grow where they're heavily watered. And there are oil pumps everywhere. It's more like West Texas than Central California.
Fortunately that similarity started to fade as we drove to the western edge of the county and started the climb up the hills of the Temblor Range. Here the sandy soil turned more moist, with dry scrub being replaced by rolling hills covered in green. It's like we were driving from West Texas to Ireland. Except there were still oil pumps dotting the landscape in the foothills. 🤣
As we climbed into the surprisingly green grassy mountains the air around us cleared. Thirty minutes earlier we could barely see the mountain range through the haze and dust clouds at ground level. But at even 500' elevation the hills sparkled with green grass and occasional patches of yellow flowers beneath a blue sky.
Of course, the beauty here is not a total surprise. I mean, we were expecting it. It's typical for this brief time of year between when the winter rains end and warm spring weather holds before the heat rises too much and turns everything back to brown. It's just that it's such a contrast from the dusty shit-hole of Bakersfield and its environs it's a welcome relief.
Further up the mountain pass we stopped at a few road-side pullouts to take pictures. Yes, it was so pretty up here, such a diametric opposite of where we started the day, that we stopped along Hwy. 58 to make photos.
Here we're not merely 500' above the valley but more like 1500.
We stopped also near the top of the pass. A geodesic survey marker I spotted on the berm next to the road informed us we're at elev. 1,927'.
Once over the pass it's a nice cruise downhill toward the Carrizo Plain. On the way down the hill is this iconic farmhouse.
This farmhouse probably isn't much to look at 46 weeks over the year. But during the 6 weeks or so that the hills are green and wildflowers are in bloom it's a nice little scene.
Of course, the wildflower display this year is tame compared to the riotous super-bloom in 2019.
From here the road descends into the California Valley. Yes, there's a very remote part of California that's named the California Valley. No, it's not the Central Valley, a 400 mile long stretch of fertile farmland, nor the Silicon Valley with its millions of residents and world-famous technology industries, nor even the San Fernando Valley, aka "The Valley", a part of Los Angeles famous for its Valley Girl patois. It's just the California Valley, pop. maybe about 100. And it's home to the Carrizo Plain National Monument, where we're going next.
California Valley, CA · Fri, 13 Mar 2026. 11am.
We left our hotel in Bakersfield this morning around 9:30am. We were in no particular rush, though probably we should have been given what a shit-hole Bakersfield is. It's just that our hotel was comfy on the inside, as long as we didn't look out the windows.
And it's not just Bakersfield that's a shit-hole; it's most of Kern County, the surrounding jurisdiction. Kern is at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, so nominally it's part of California's agriculturally productive Central Valley. But down here it's so hot and dry that the soil is sandy. Crops only grow where they're heavily watered. And there are oil pumps everywhere. It's more like West Texas than Central California.
Fortunately that similarity started to fade as we drove to the western edge of the county and started the climb up the hills of the Temblor Range. Here the sandy soil turned more moist, with dry scrub being replaced by rolling hills covered in green. It's like we were driving from West Texas to Ireland. Except there were still oil pumps dotting the landscape in the foothills. 🤣
As we climbed into the surprisingly green grassy mountains the air around us cleared. Thirty minutes earlier we could barely see the mountain range through the haze and dust clouds at ground level. But at even 500' elevation the hills sparkled with green grass and occasional patches of yellow flowers beneath a blue sky.
Of course, the beauty here is not a total surprise. I mean, we were expecting it. It's typical for this brief time of year between when the winter rains end and warm spring weather holds before the heat rises too much and turns everything back to brown. It's just that it's such a contrast from the dusty shit-hole of Bakersfield and its environs it's a welcome relief.
Further up the mountain pass we stopped at a few road-side pullouts to take pictures. Yes, it was so pretty up here, such a diametric opposite of where we started the day, that we stopped along Hwy. 58 to make photos.
Here we're not merely 500' above the valley but more like 1500.
We stopped also near the top of the pass. A geodesic survey marker I spotted on the berm next to the road informed us we're at elev. 1,927'.
Once over the pass it's a nice cruise downhill toward the Carrizo Plain. On the way down the hill is this iconic farmhouse.
This farmhouse probably isn't much to look at 46 weeks over the year. But during the 6 weeks or so that the hills are green and wildflowers are in bloom it's a nice little scene.
Of course, the wildflower display this year is tame compared to the riotous super-bloom in 2019.
From here the road descends into the California Valley. Yes, there's a very remote part of California that's named the California Valley. No, it's not the Central Valley, a 400 mile long stretch of fertile farmland, nor the Silicon Valley with its millions of residents and world-famous technology industries, nor even the San Fernando Valley, aka "The Valley", a part of Los Angeles famous for its Valley Girl patois. It's just the California Valley, pop. maybe about 100. And it's home to the Carrizo Plain National Monument, where we're going next.
