Right back where we started from. Okay, not quite, but we did cross back into the home state. We spent most of the day exploring the Southern Sierras. Our end destination was Lake Success in Porterville and we could have taken the interstate thru Bakersfield. Alas, that is not how we roll. Instead we took some very, very windy roads over several passes and were treated to a diversity of terrain. We drove through high desert, saw a couple of ghost towns, miles and miles of Joshua trees and then finally came upon the Sierras that we know and love. We rolled down the windows and made sure we enjoyed the aroma of the cedars. Ahh, almost made me homesick. Once on the other side of the mountains we dropped down into golden rolling hills with lots of Oak trees. We've been all over the US and there is nothing like the California hills. We loaded up on provisions at the coolest upscale Hispanic grocery store. Geez, what I'd do to have a store like this in Nevada City. The produce was abundant (papayas, mangoes, cherries, tomatillos, peppers, plantains, melons, cactus to just name a few) and piled higher than anything we've seen. There were more cuts and variety of meat than I even knew existed, and displayed so beautifully. The dulce pan section was colorful and vibrant. There was also a whole section devoted to just making tortillas. Maybe this is how they do it in the Valley, but it sure was new to me. We drove through acres and acres of Orange trees before settling down at Success Lake. We were going to swim, but opted instead for a Scrabble game. Tomorrow we head for Sequoia National Park where the Russell family is having a big reunion. I'm looking forward to hanging out in one place for 4 days with Ned's sisters, cousins and 95 year old Aunt. Let the partying begin! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Success Lake, Porterville, CA
