Stop 2: Weldon, CA (Lake Isabella, Kern River)

We're spending 2 nights in Weldon.

I didn't quite get it right the other day when I said that shifting to Twentynine Palms from Joshua Tree moved us farther along the way toward our next destination. We actually had to backtrack about 20 miles (I'll check the map before I speak next time). Still,  the improved environment at Twentynine Palms was worth the detour.

When I laid out our itinerary for this trip, I originally planned this stop for Ridgecrest (on the way to Death Valley). There's one RV Park in Ridgecrest and the reviews aren't good. Even so, I tried to make a reservation and was told that they don't take reservations because they "always have plenty of room". That, combined with the reviews and the fact that we couldn't think of a thing that we wanted to do do in Ridgecrest, got me looking for alternatives.

The closest alternative was the Lake Isabella / Kern River KOA, in Weldon, 40 miles West of Ridgecrest. We could think of a lot of things to do in that area so, even though it took us 80 miles out of our way (40 out and 40 back), we opted for the KOA. I made an erroneous assumption that that 40 miles would take us just south of the Southern tip of the Sierras - my mistake. It was 40 miles over the Southern end and took us over Walker Pass (5282') and some very steep uphills and downhills. I have a guide to mountain grades that warns me about things like that - guess I should look at it when I consider changes in the itinerary (took a subsequent look at the book - no warning)

The other thing that those trip extensions at both ends did was it extended our traveling distance to 220 miles. I have promised Kristen that, anytime that we tow the trailer more than 200 miles, I will stop along the way for gas. That may sound simple but it's amazing how many gas stations aren't aligned properly so that a trailer can easily get in and out. Just to be on the safe side, we always carry a 5 gallon can of gas but it's kind of a pain to use.

Today was our sight seeing day. We had a good time though this was far from our most successful sightseeing day.

First stop was the Silver City Ghost Town. The sheet that the RV Park gave us said that it was open 7 days a week. It's open on Weekends and by special arrangement.

Plaque explaining the origin of the Silver City Ghost Town.

The parking lot side of the Silver City Ghost Town.

Shot through the fence at the Silver City Ghost Town.

Shot through the fence at the Silver City Ghost Town

Next, we had a look at Lake Isabella. We'd never seen it before but we're guessing from the number of sandy meadows that are called bays and coves that the water level is pretty low.

Dam at Lake Isabella. Look how low the water is.

More low water at Lake Isabella.

Next, we wanted to visit the Kern River Fish Hatchery. The sign outside said that they are open from 8-5 on every day except Christmas and New Year. They were closed. We're guessing that they may have lost funding during last year's government shutdown and not gotten the funding back yet (not even enough to fix the sign).

Many years ago, we had a mini-family reunion camping trip far up the Kern River Canyon at a campground called Quaking Aspen (An outing that was particularly interesting because Earth First chose to have their rendezvous that same weekend at Quaking Aspen).

We had thought that we might drive up the Canyon to Quaking Aspen. We didn't get far before we learned that the road no longer goes through (don't know what happened). We did manage to get a couple of pictures of the river before we stopped for Lunch in Kernville.

The Kern River (up the canyon a ways).

The Kern River from the bridge in Kernville.

Another low water shot of Lake Isabella.

Kristen liked these flowers that ran all the way up the hill above Lake Isabella

 Tomorrow morning, were off for Death Valley. It's only 160 miles but we'll be gassing up along the way for another reason. We hear that regular gas in Death Valley is up in the $6+ range. I may even dump my gas can into the tank when we get there.

-JC-