Bakersfield, CA to Lake Isabella, CA

Not a lot of driving today. Just a short jaunt east of Bakersfield to what is a very popular recreation area for the locals. The elevation is a few thousand feet higher than Bakersfield and so it can be a bit cooler there during the summer. Still, it felt like summer to me. It was scorching hot in Bakersfield and not all that much cooler in Lake Isabella. But, as they say, it’s a dry heat.

It was a stunning drive up the Kern River Canyon into the Sequoia National Forest. The road hugs the side of a narrow canyon with a white water river flowing through it. This narrow road surprisingly turns into a four lane divided highway as the canyon widens out. The town of Lake Isabella is not a big place but seems to do well from all the recreational activities that take place all around it. There are over 800 campsites in the campgrounds nearby and lots of shops catering to campers, boaters and fishermen.

By the time we got to Lake Isabella it was lunchtime. We’d parked in a little strip mall. At one end was the “My Place Restaurant”. The two women who appeared to own the place  were very friendly and happy to serve me out front where Eliot could join me dining in the shade. Coffee came in a lovely cup and saucer.

We spent the night at Pioneer Point Campground. The campground has about 80 sites but only three were occupied last night. The campground attendant, Penny, (she looked like a Penny to me) came around in the morning to collect our fee ($22). She appears to live at the campground and, this being slow season, was, I think,  looking for someone to talk to. She informed me that is was unseasonably hot. It had snowed just two weeks earlier. She also mentioned that she had started seeing lizards which meant that it wouldn’t be too long before there were rattlesnakes about. She said that occasionally a rattler will decide to take up residence in the campground. Apparently there’s a guy to call who’ll come and collect and relocate the critter but it seems he’s moved to Nevada so now she’s not sure who’s going to rangle the snakes. Penny also told me that there’s a resident mountain lion who’s lived in the area for years. The mountain lion gives the campground a wide berth when it’s busy but in off-season will sometimes stroll around the perimeter.

This is a view of Lake Isabella from Pioneer Point. The $22 fee included a lukewarm shower.