Day 9: 3:00 a.m. start from San Diego to Bakersfield, CA

We told some people we met yesterday that we were heading through Los Angeles today and every one of them raised their eyebrows or shook their heads.  That's why we got up at 2:00 a.m. and were on the road at 3:00 a.m.!   Even so, the traffic was very heavy by 5:00 a.m. in L.A., though it was moving.  I gave Vernon an adjustment tonight.

As the sun was rising, we drove through very interesting smooth green mountains on the other side of Los Angeles.

And when we drove into Bakersfield, there was lots of agriculture including miles of fruit trees - some budding, and a couple with oil drills right in the middle of the rows of trees!  Also miles of grape vineyards.

Kern County where Bakersfield is located has a remarkable history including waves of people moving there due to the gold rush, and then the discovery of oil in the area brought another wave of people setting up drilling and pumping operations all over what is now Kern County.  Kern County produced 80% of the oil in the country at one time.  Even now, it produces 10% of our country's oil.

Vernon and I visited the Kern County Museum and learned a lot about oil drilling in the early days.

We'll be in Santa Clara tomorrow for a few days visiting my son, Ben and his wife, Katie and son, Owen who is 5 1/2 months old!

Made it through L.A.!!

The sun rising on the mountains north of L.A.

miles of blossoming fruit trees near Bakersfield

Early oil drilling rig - one of the reconstructed displays at the Kern County Museum

Steam boiler to power the engine to run the drilling operation

Plaque says that the oil pump (shown below) was made from a Redwood tree

Early wooden oil pump (the wheel is wood too)

Dovetail log corners of an early Kern County jail (see picture of the front of the reconstructed courthouse and jail 3 pictcures  below) 

Log walls separating the 2 jail cells in the courthouse/jail

He is putting mortar between the logs and the joints  - reconstructing the early courthouse/jail

The front of the reconstructed 1867 - 1874 Kern Co. Courthouse and jail (both in the same building) 

Day 9   San Diego to Bakersfield, California    264 miles