The rain that was forecast for today has not materialized and we are happy about that but all the wine growers will be sad -- they really need the rain in this area.
At times it was an eventful drive and at others it was quite boring. As we left Paso Robles we drove thru miles and miles of almond trees. Some were in bloom while others hadn't even budded out yet. Then as we neared Lost Hills, CA we began to see a forest of oil wells. Hundreds of them for about a mile along the highway and extending as far as the eye could see north and south. I googled it to find out that this is one of the largest oil fields in North America. It was discovered by accident when farmers drilling for water struck oil in 1922. It had its peak production in the 30's then started slowing down until 1976 when new technology found better ways of extracting the oil. Today production is still increasing.
We took Hwy 395 up the west side of China Lake Naval Air Weapons Center and then cut across to Death Valley National Park. It was after 4 when we arrived at the first campground at Stovepipe Wells so we made camp in the parking lot like camp area. We picked the path all the tent campers took to the only restroom on the grounds so foot traffic was heavy most of the evening.
John fell asleep at 9 PM in his chair -- long day!
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