July 30th 2010
On the road at last!
The last month in Arizona has been totally unbearable with temps regularly exceeding 108 degrees. Finally, we are off for six weeks in Ashland Oregon with a quick stop in Sequoia National Park.
This year the old Prius has been replaced by a newer, roomier, more powerful version, and with better mileage (52mpg) to boot. Son Jon is the recipient of the old 2008 version, and he will soon be off for Seattle returning to the Emerald City with the lovely, brilliant and lively Jessica at his side.
My trusty guide Sacajawea (AKA Miss Paula) occupies the seat to my right navigating thru the treacherous desert and mountains that lay in our path. In a time past she was my Magellan, artfully guiding my speedy Italian Alpha Romeo through the hills and villages of Tuscany, Umbria, Apulia etc. and that dangerous land, Sicily. It just seems more appropriate to call her Sacajawea on this trip.
BTW, speaking of the fine Shoshone woman, as I have discovered in my recent readings about her, she gets hardly any credit for all she did. Were it not for her skills and toughness, Lewis and Clark would have probably suffered the same fate as Amelia Earhart. What I find most amazing about Sacajawea was she was not quite sixteen when she joined L&C and carted around a newborn son on the entire journey. Sadly, she died at the age of 32. Until recently, she never really got the credit from historians she clearly deserved. Ever hear of the Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea Expedition? Well at least we put her on the dollar coin (which nobody ever uses) in 2000.
I have three letters to describe the first day of driving, YUCK…oops four letters. With few exceptions driving through SoCal is boring and you have to be constantly on your toes to dodge the trucks and crazy drivers on Interstate 5. The first seven hours or so that it takes to get to Bakersfield…boring! But once past this point it is beginning to get interesting. The stark contrast between acres of orange groves spaced between brown desert hills is remarkable. It is truly amazing how irrigation has transformed this part of California. Sure hope the water never runs out!
The last hour of the trip we climb out of the desert and see the looming peaks ahead. Our destination, Three Rivers sits at 3000 feet, not high enough to cool down much but it is just a few miles from the Sequoia NP entrance. We arrive at the Western Holiday Lodge, not exactly the Peninsula Hotel in LA but good enough and the price is right. Tomorrow a day in the park and the vacation begins…yea!
Before I close on this day, however, I would like to make one social comment. This part of California and the Central Valley is dominated by the Mexican American population. Many of the families here have lived here for generations. Most of them are here legally but many are not. I just wonder how many of those beautiful oranges that come from here and wind up tables across America are picked by these “illegals”. I also wonder who would pick these Oranges for meager wages so we can buy these Oranges, or lettuce or tomatoes etc. at reasonable prices? If you spend any time here you quickly come to realize that the issue of illegal immigration is far more complicated than the ideologues in Washington and on Fox News want you to believe. Put these people on a bus and send them back to Mexico and the repercussions to the local economy (and the business owned by legal U.S citizens) will be devastating. What will happen to the cost of produce? Unintended consequences? Will we decide to import more from South America to compensate? Whatever, we need Washington to stop arguing and come up with some practical solutions!
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