Views from the Highway Tutor: A CHANGE IN SCENERY

I last left you wandering the Tehachapi Pass. The Pass was a welcome change after two days of traveling through the desert. While the Mojave Desert often appeared desolate, barren, and never-ending, it was beautiful, and there really was a great deal to see.

We continue our trip through the Tehachapi Mountains which are the entry point to the beautiful San Joaquin Valley. Golden grasses cover the hillsides, along with an increasing number of trees. The winds coming down off the mountain provide a comfortable breeze and make for a pleasant day. The rainy season will turn much of this area to green. Water makes all the difference in the color of the landscape. Check out the picture to the below. One area is green and the other golden. The green area has been watered.

Grape Vineyards

Deeper into the valley, you begin to see green fields, farms and ranches that stretch again for miles. California is a big agricultural and dairy state. Cattle dot the pastures and dirt roads cut paths across the hills. There is a definite change in the landscape from the previous days – green is seen almost everywhere and trees stand tall, looking healthy, not scrubby and dry. The countryside is full of various crops. At this point we see miles of grape vineyards and fields of orchards. It was difficult at times, because of our driving speed and the distance of some fields from the road, to determine what was being grown. We could however, easily see the grapes and the lemon trees. We did pass hayfields and cotton fields and a stockyard filled with cattle.

Lemon Orchard

Water is a critical source for us as humans and to everything we wish to grow. California farmers must use irrigation to grow their crops. Can you explain irrigation to me? You can see in the one photo the water sprinklers or the irrigation system at work across the fields. We also saw several oil pumps scattered across the fields. The valley is an oil production area.