Last night, at our destination park in Red Bluff, I was unable to get on the Internet because of the large trees around us, interfering with the signal. The office had a dedicated phone line for Internet access, but I don't subscribe to dial-up so I wasn't able to use it either. However, this morning before we left, Rick moved the motorhome into a clearing so I could upload yesterday's entry and some pictures.

Because of the Internet delay, we didn't get on the road until 10:30 AM under sunny skies and with a temperature hovering around 18C. The northern part of California, at least around the Interstate, is pretty boring; flat, dry and predominantly farmland but to the hazy west, we could vaguely see the outline of the Coast Mountains. Initially the farms were mainly livestock...cattle and horses, but as we progressed south, there were orchards and fields of grain and hay. By noon, we were nearing Sacramento where we jogged over from Interstate 5 to California Freeway 99 to see if the scenery improved. It didn't and the one thing that really stood out was how dirty everything was with all the garbage along the sides of the road.

Once we got closer to Bakersfield, the open fields became row upon row of grapevines for as far as our eyes could see and occasionally we came across cotton fields as well. There was a thick pinkish-grey haze, which blanketed the whole area, and suddenly before us, we saw the Sierra Madre Mountains. The mercury had peaked at 32C but as the sun was setting in the west, it quickly plummeted to 18C and we finally had something pretty and interesting to see!

We continued to drive as the sun set and decided to get past Las Angeles at night rather than waiting until tomorrow, when it was sure to be busier. After studying the map, we have decided to go to Desert Hot Springs first thing in the morning and unload the trailer at the park we are staying in for the next few months. It is only 65 miles back to Riverside and at least then; we won't have to manoeuvre the trailer through the traffic. It will also give us an opportunity to get acquainted with our surroundings and organize our mail, phone etc. before heading back to the city.