As some of you may know, I live in Bakersfield, California and of late, my friends and I have been on a bit of an “explore the desert” kick. I think the desert is just darn gorgeous and am an undercover geology nerd, so I’m super into it.
The other weekend, we drove out to RedRockCanyon and FossilFalls and had a total blast wandering around all afternoon. We tried to get over to Ayer’s Rock in Inyo, but the internet provided no directions and no one near Coso Junction had the foggiest of ideas what we were babbling about. Boo.
Anyway, long story short: I’d like more of these adventures, especially ones with neat petroglyphs to look at (I do realize most of the glyphs are on the Navy base, so they are totally inaccessible, but some of the locals told us there are tons not on the base). My problem is that it’s near impossible to find information on this stuff. Does anybody have any suggestions for books? Or advice on where to go explore? Any tips would be great.
For what it’s worth, I’m completely out of shape. So, scaling rocks by my finger nails or climbing a vertical wall face is probably out of the question. But, we are young and can probably handle a moderate level of hiking difficulty.
Anything that’s within a few hours of Bakersfield (mountains or whatever, but I do love the desert) would be awesome. And any websites, books, etc. would also be awesome. Oh, and for what it’s worth: I don’t really do camping. But that’s not to say I would mind driving to the nearest down and “camping” in the flea motel
I would highly recommend taking a tour of Little Petroglyph Canyon…it looks like you’ll have to wait until Fall, though. Link to Maturango Museum tour info.
Lynne Foster’s Adventuring in the California Deserts is a good book to get you started in exploring the desert. There are lots of petroglyph sites out there, but make sure you’re prepared before heading out on some of the roads.
You might be interested in checking out Painted Rock in Carrizo Plain National Monument–the wildflowers are in full bloom right now and Soda Lake actually has water in it!
I actually saw this last week and have been working to coerce my friends thussly. That looks amazing! I don’t see that it’s sold out for this spring yet, though? Where are you seeing that? I figured I could bamboozle my friends into going in May :).
Also looks epic, but I don’t have 4WD or CB radios (of course, the 4wd thing sort of limits me also in what I can get to just in general). I have an old but well working SUV I can take out, but it certainly isn’t 4wd. Boo.
Just bought it on Amazon, due to your rec. Thank you! Any other good ones you know of?
Very cool! See, this is the neat stuff that is in my proverbial backyard that I’ve never even known the existence of. It looks like we can’t get out to the rock until Summer, though, due to the birds. Are there other neat sites out thataway?
Thank you so much for all your info! Amazing. If you’ve got more, I’m all ears!
Yeah, the Ayer’s Rock link I posted is from that same site. We Googled and Googled and asked for more info on it, but alas, couldn’t find a damn thing.
Upper Sheep Canyon looks really neat. When I Google that, though, nothing comes up but a bunch of info on a similar named place in Arkansas and the link you posted. Do you have any more info on that area? For instance, is it within the area of the Navy base?
The Museum’s main page – http://www.maturango.org/ – says “Spring Tour Dates: April 3, 4, 17, 18; May 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30; June 5, 6; BUT - all trips are booked full.”
The tours during springtime provide docent-led access to Painted Rock(our guide explained that even a pre-arranged tour might not get to go in under certain conditions) – they allow freer access in the summer when the birds aren’t nesting there. Call the folks at the education center, you might still be able to sign up for a tour before then. Even if you can’t get on a tour, California Valley is only 90 minutes from Bakersfield; I think you’d enjoy a day trip out there.
David Darlington’s The Mojave: A Portrait of the Definitive American Desert is worth checking out, too. Darlington explores various aspects of the Mojave, including a search for the southernmost Joshua Tree and a Jeep trip across the region on the Mojave Road.
Bakersfield? Wow, that’s got to be exciting. Bakersfield is famous for their music scene. The Bakersfield sound transformed country music. Merle Haggard and Buck Owens came out of Bakersfield. Modern artists like Dwight Yoakam and Highway 101 carry on the tradition.
I’ve always wanted to visit. Is the music scene still big?
Hey Diosa, the reason these locations aren’t advertised is that looting and defacing is a huge problem (not that that is the reason you guys are heading out). But, in general, archaeological site location in California is confidential. Now, obviously, there are well known locations which are advertised as well as locations that the local all know about too. But the defacing is a real problem and is why access is (somewhat) controlled.
Anyways, here is a link to a pretty cool pictograph site just north of you in Exeter in Tulare County. It’s called Rocky Hill and is now owned by the Archaeological Conservancy.
I will give the education center a call and see what’s up- it definitely looks like it’d be lovely just for the wildflowers! (Our little desert trip the other weekend started as a wildflowers in the mountain trip, but the bastard fog ruined those plans).
Mr. Mann’s books look fascinating, but some of the more interesting looking ones appear to be ungodly expensive :eek:. Oh my!
You are officially the first person to ever, EVER say anything positive about Bakersfield on this board. Sir, your red, white, and blue Buck guitar will be in the mail tomorrow ;).
Bakersfield still has quite the jumpin’ music scene, if that’s your thing. Buck’s Crystal Palace restaurant and night club is busy every weekend, usually by the house band (which regularly has famous folks like Dwight and Merle sitting in). They also have oodles of concerts. Weak drinks, but a fun place to hang out!
Everybody here has a crazy Buck story. Me? He hit on me when I was 13, of course I’m fairly confident he was drunk as a skunk (and I looked much older than I was). Dwight is another crazy guy, as anybody who has met him will tell ya. My friend’s boyfriend used to be the sound guy at the Palace and we’d hang out there during the day- oh geez, Dwight. You just. . . you have to see him in person yourself.
I totally understand the logic behind that, for sure. And as a history buff myself, I totally appreciate the effort to keep these beautiful things beautiful. But hey, that’s why I’m here asking! I figured Dopers could point me in the direction of neat things that maybe aren’t openly discussed on the net. Of course, I will be nothin’ but respectful, as I always am at any such site.
And man: that link looks SO cool. Who knew that there are such neat things in Exeter of all freaking places? Amazing. Any idea how I’d go about seeing that? I peaked around the Archeological Conservancy site, but I’ve got nothin’.
Boo urns! Well, the good thing is that, that means it’ll be on that awesome museum led tour that goes on the base!
I was planning on going alone at dusk, covered in whatever it is that most attracts mountain lions (probably dead rats). I fail to see what’s wrong with my plan.
Ok, just kidding. I’m hyper aware, don’t worry! I would never go alone and we are always as prepared as we can be!
Yeah, that one book is priced NOT to sell, eh? Maybe you can find them in the library or something.
I just spent a couple of nights at the Bakersfield Holiday Inn (nice place, btw). The Kern County Museumis pretty cool, with all of the relocated/restored buldings. The displays in the buildings themselves are too dark, though. There is a small room in the Chamber of Commerce building that has some stuff from the Bakersfiled music scene.
A couple of other spots worth seeing near Bakersfield include the Tehachapi Loopand the Kern Valley Museum–some neat movie artifacts there, including a mud wagon that was used in the 1939 version of Stagecoach .
Glad to hear they’ve kept the Palace open since Buck’s death.
I need to make time and visit. Merle Haggard isn’t getting any younger.
I’ve heard Bakersfield is an oil town. My granddad worked in the oil fields in South Arkansas for almost 45 years. His house was in the middle of the oil fields. He could hear all the wells pumping and would go out at night to fix one that stopped.
I was working a job down in Bakersfield in March of '06 and some co-workers and I went out to dinner one night at the Crystal Palace. Unbeknownst to us, it was the first night the Palace re-opened after Buck Owens had died.
It’s a dinner theater and while dinner was being served, as was apparently the case every night, they played old clips of Hee Haw and other of Owens’ appearances. But then, right after dinner, before the Buckaroos came out to play, they brought his guitar out and set it on a stand right in front of the stage, turned the lights down and shown a spotlight on his guitar and played an old clip of Owens singing “Streets of Bakersfield.” It was pretty goddamn touching. Afterwards, the Buckaroos did their show with that red, white, and blue guitar front and center on the stage.
Love the museum! I worked there when I was a young teen (I was a docent during the dinosaur exhibit and got to dress like I was an archeologist. Fun!). The coolest stuff (as tends to be the case with museums, I suppose) is all in the basement that is off limits to the public: electric chairs and other creepy things. It’s also fun to play around all those old buildings late at night- beautiful, spooky, and for some reason just gives a better feeling of what it would have been like to live there (not sure why that is).
It most certainly is, though ag and various other production (ice cream, chips, Coke, etc.) also provide a lot of jobs.
I think the Crystal Palace is still the so-called #1 country night club in the US and it is always packed, so I don’t think they’ll be closing it any time soon at all! They generally have a pretty good calendar of shows and events on their website, actually.
Aw, yeah. I’m sure what added to it is the fact that Buck’s son steps in with the band now. I haven’t eaten dinner there in a minute, but it’s not bad at all. What they do surprisingly well is Sunday Brunch- but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, country folks know breakfast.
So, any other neat hiking ideas, Dopers? I’m so thrilled by the responses so far!
I always found it kind of funny that Buck Owens Boulevard is a nice enough commercial road, right next to the freeway near the river but Merle Haggard Drive is out on the edge of town in the middle of the tank farms and oilfields. Seems somehow appropriate…
Diosa, do you know where Kelso Valley is?
Also, for no other reason other than that it kicks ass, Dewar’s! Man, I love that soda fountain at the downtown location with the elk head overlooking the counter. Classic.
I’m a big Haggard fan.
