"That's better!" exclaimed Robin as we escaped the dreary environs of Bakersfield and emerged into the California wilderness. As the morning progressed, the landscape became ever more beautiful. When we saw the Tejon Ranch near Tehachapi, both of us wondered how - and why - we had never come this way before. It was just stunning. I found a reference to it on Google - but we saw none of the development, just hills and valleys studded with trees. I was sorely tempted to get out of the motor home and start hiking. Not knowing, at the time, who owned the land, I thought better of it.

Their website is at http://www.tejonranch.com/

I laughed, though, when Robin said "How do you pronounce that word?"
"What word?"
"Te-something."
"Tehachapi?"
"English people don't say words like Tehachapi!"

I refrained from reminding him that English people do say words like Mousehole (pr. MAUzle) and Worcestershire.

By the way, for the uninitiated, Tehachapi is Teh-HATCH-uh-pee.

The day got warmer and sunnier - topping out at just over twenty degrees. California went on and on and on, but in a much more pleasant fashion today. The wind was high at several points, which is probably why there were two huge wind farms along our route. I realized as I watched the turbines turn that they remind me of pinwheels. I would like to see just one wind farm where the "pinwheels" are painted red and blue and yellow.

We did hope to get to Arizona today, but that was not to be. We decided to stop in Blythe, CA, as it would have been eight hours from our departure. So we got to Blythe, only to discover that there are no RV parks here. A gas station attendant directed us five miles out of town to McIntyre's RV Park. When we finally got there, we found it to be a state park that wanted $35 for a spot with electricity and water. Presumably we had to find the spot on our own, in the dark, as there was nobody on duty at the booth. So we turned around, drove back to Blythe, and checked into a motel. Now, looking online, I see that McIntyre's is actually private. It just looked like a state park in the dark. http://www.destinyrv.com/mcintyrervresort.htm

So here we are, all snug for the night. R is watching tv in the motel room while I blog. Tomorrow, we are determined to get to Ajo, AZ. As a matter of fact, I'm going to call them and make a reservation. Now that's positive thinking.