The drive down Interstate 5 is always a long, boring drag. Fast food and speeding traffic are the norm, but yesterday I made my first overnight foray of 2011 to a Central CA favorite of mine, the Carrizo Plain National Monument.
As far as monuments go, Carrizo is a little utilized, barely known three quarters of a million acre paradise. The main attraction each year, besides free campgrounds, is the early spring wildflower bloom. Although it's too early to tell yet how the bloom will be or when the peak will happen, I took a sunny weekend before a week full of rain to check on the potential for this season, and to see some of the other features of the monument.
Taking the Highway 58 exit which most people use to get to Bakersfield, I turned west instead, putting me on track to travel through such small stalwarts as Buttonwillow and McKittrick. Neither would be mistaken for a burgeoning suburb, and although they are just a few miles apart each is grounded in a completely different economy - Buttonwillow is an agricultural crossroads, while McKittrick is in the middle of Kern County's vast oil fields. For the sightseer, getting through them without stopping is the right thing to do.
Hwy 58 would eventually lead to Santa Margarita on the Central Coast, near Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo. But I wasn't going that far. This was a solo overnight campout on a perfect, warm winter day. I was going to gauge the pending wildflower bloom, to find out if Carrizo had gotten the early rainfall the rest of California got hammered with in late fall. 58 was empty, as usual. Not many cars or trucks travel this desolute route, which traverses western Kern County and its oil fields into the fertile farm and ranch land of eastern San Luis Obispo County. Parts of the monument are in Kern, the rest in SLO. One thing is unmistakeable - this is a monument with a zillion natural features, even when it's not yet wildflower season.
One of the most obvious as 58 ambles down toward the Plain, is the San Andreas Fault. The fault runs on the east side of the monument, at the base of the Temblor Range, a rugged series of wrinkles and push ups rising to over 4,000 feet. The animals and birds are what attract me, along with the wildflowers. You might run across a herd of pronghorn, or a small band of Tule Elk. Kangaroo rats will inevitably invade your campside as soon as the sun goes down, especially at the southernmost canpground, known simply as KCL. I've seen or caught an endangered snake, the San Joaquin Coachwhip, in the hills. Mega - sized jackrabbits might convince some that jackalopes live, and live at Carrizo. Small voles and mice abound.
My attraction to this place is all of the afore stated; the two campgrounds, Selby to the north and KCL farther south, each sport wheelchair accessible outhouses and nicely put together campsites. I've been comfortable here in warm sun and driving rain. And if you're not here during wildflower season, it's likely you won't have much company. I like that part in winter.
I chose to camp at KCL toward the southern acreage, because I knew there would be great horned owls and I needed an owl fix. The birds at sunrise are very noisy, so if you wish to camp at KCL be a bird lover. It annoys many. I found the perfect campsite, with just one drawback - the tent would be beneath one of the large eucalyptus trees, which are bird hotels. Knowing this, and that I'd have to wash the tent fly when I got home, I began to set up the tent anyway. I placed it with the entrance facing the south east, to get a wake up call from the rising sun right in my face. Didn't want to sleep too late, although it would be a relaxing night.
The setup was perfect. Not only did I have a clear view of the sunrise ready made in the morning, I found that as the half moon set a thousand galaxies became visible; I had camped in a postcard - view site, able to look out over a half million acres of green beauty, and all the stars in Heaven staring right back at me.
I wasn't very hungry and decided after the long drive to head to the tent and look up from inside. Laying flat on my back felt great; before I know it I had drifted off to dreamland, awakened only by the respectfully soft "whooo - who who" of at least three resident owls. I woke at midnight, already having slept 5 hours. Took a short roll outside to listen for critters and saw in my headlamp another of my favorite residents, a kangaroo rat. I had to race him to the tent because I'd left the tent fly unzipped and he was making a b - line for it. They are such cool creatures! I herded him away from the tent and listened as he made his way into the thick, fresh stalks of young fiddlenecks, a ubiquitous early bloomer at Carrizo.
All night long I heard mice and other small rodents in the plants outside. At the same time the owls hooted, every so often getting an answer from a compadre in another tree. It was delightful to hear, happening just as I'd hoped it would, and caused a great sense of relaxation. I awoke this morning at 7:30 AM - I guess I needed it, and a 4wheelbob "thank you" to the Great Horned owls of Carrizo Plain.
I set off early this morning to come home, packing up quickly at 8:30. My camp is an easy set up, easy take down - nothing very difficult except finding the energy to say "time to go home." And for the first time in all my visits, I was going to exit the Plain at the south end, toward the sunny burg of Maricopa and the quiet, old empty Highway 33.
The south side of the monument was considerably greener than the grass of the north portion. Fiddlenecks and buttercups were beginning to show, and it looked as if this might be another banner year for wildflowers. The large number of marked BLM sites included Padrone Canyon and Traver Ranch, both begging for further exploration. The folds of the hills, hidden canyons a walk away, endless dirt roads to who - knows - where...all are among the features that call me back at least twice each year. I missed the pronghorns this time, but I'm sure they knew where I was. I'll be back in another month to six weeks to watch the bloom explode all over the monument. I expect it'll be a very good year, especially if this week's rain forecast holds true. Soda Lake, a seasonal alkaline sink was very close to full at this time. The lake is yet another attraction, as are the great fields of flowers north of the lake along the feeder creeks.
For the first time visitor, here's how it goes during wildflower season. Get there on a Thursday or very early Friday to be assured of a campsite in either Selby or KCL. Selby's got more sites and more room to improvise, but KCL is more picturesque. Oh, bring water - there isn't any available at either campsite, and it's a long drive to find any. I usually pack a 7 gallon jug no matter how long I'm there, just in case. And firewood...it gets cold at night, no matter what time of year. It can get windy, or rainy, or be hotter'n...well, you know. Dress accordingly.
Carrizo Plain National Monument deserves your attention. I suggest reading about it first on the BLM website (that's federal Bureau of Land Management for you who stay home too much), and call the number of the Guy Goodwin Education Center at the Plain for best wildflower viewing information. Will you see me down there? Watch this space for updates. Planning may be no more than a week in advance. But I'll be there again at some point, chasing kangaroo rats, listening to owls and convincing newbies that if you drive across the Plain to the San Andreas Fault and start jumping, you'll register on the seismograph at Parkfield....heh heh heh....I love newbies! See you there!
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