The chorus of the crickets fills the warm night air, joined by the squeaking clicks of some kind of insect that sounds over here one second, then over there the next, then again but up there the next, adding a "Surround Sound" effect to the evening symphony. I am encamped just outside the boundary of Pinnacles NM, south of Hollister, CA, of The Wild Ones fame. (Indeed, though not the big bikers weekend, I see plenty of black leather-clad figures riding about on huge chromed and chopped machines. I can't imagine how it must be when they're really out in force.) I am staying at the private campground on the Bear Valley Ranch. The camp has over seventy sites, but tonight only about a dozen or so are filled. The setting is dry chaparral and oak-covered hills with exposures of rock, dark and rugged. The stars are bright crystals of light, the Milky Way smearing a course straight above me. I am relaxing around a Dura-Flame fire - no sparks shooting wood fires - having just finished a quick meal. Ahhhh. I feel good.

No rudeness this morning, but I wake up on my own at about 7:30 anyway. Of course I don't get on the road until about noon due to my usual morning slowness and wanting to post another page to the trip's website (see "Crater Lake"). I decide, initially at least, to follow the Sacramento River as it meanders south towards the city of its namesake. From Redding I head down to Red Bluff where I get on to California 99, which runs down along the river to Chico.

The first part of the drive takes me past some very nice looking orchards. I wonder what kind of trees those are? Oh. They must be walnuts. "Walnut husked here", the sign says. I am struck by one thing about the walnut trees. It looks as if each tree has an extra layer of bark on the bottom couple of feet, which is dark and furrowed, compared to the light gray, slightly rough bark on the rest of the tree. Interesting. I wonder if that is natural or is done on purpose? I shall have to find out.

I eventually pass the orchards and am now cruising through dry, yellowed range land. The Sierra foothills, leading up to California Gold Country, are to my left, brown and tan with dark patches where the chaparral and oaks grow thick. To my right runs the greenbelt along the Sacramento River with eastern flanks of the Coastal Range behind, almost lost to view by the blue haze of distance. No cattle grazing today though. I wonder where they might be?

As I drive by an orchard just past Hamilton City, I notice that every 5th or 6th tree has a silvery strip tied to a branch; it sparkles as it flutters in the wind. Is it for decoration? Is it for "pest" protection? I just don't know. Anybody? I notice that quit a few properties are up for sale. I wonder how much a spread of a few hundred acres goes for up here?

For a while now I've been keeping my eye on some smoke up ahead. As I approach the source of the fire, I am transfixed by the huge column of smoke that rises slowly from the ground  before mushrooming out several hundred feet up. It has an orange cast to it, and as I get close I can smell its acrid odor permeating into the truck - much more attractive from afar. Driving by I see that a field is burning; on purpose or not I do not know. However, there are no emergency vehicles so I assume it's planned. I think I've read before that burning the "leftovers" from the harvest returns necessary nutrients to the soil. If I was a farmer I suppose I would know all this, but I am a product of the 'burbs so...

Uh oh. Someone's grandma has just pulled onto the road ahead of me. But wait. Hey, she's setting a pretty good pace. Cool! Wow. She even passes slow-pokeys. "Good for you grandma. You go!" "Ohhhh, I see. I see why she was in such a rush". She just pulled into the parking lot of the local Indian (Native American?) Casino. Don't want to keep those slot machines waiting!

I have occasional glimpses of the river, but to be honest there isn't much too it; not along this section anyway. I therefore head back to the freeway (I-5) and now start making great time south towards Pinnacles. Driving through Sacramento I note that it does have a skyline - a very small skyline yes - but a skyline nevertheless. I wonder how the Edison bailout issue is coming along. Before I left I heard that things weren't going so well for Gray Davis and his "rescue plan". Well, soon enough I will be back into the real world and all those kinds of things will once again be "important", but for now...

I gas up again at the freeway exit for Pinnacles in Los Banos. Then a short segment of the 33 to pick up Rt. 152, a scenic road that skirts the northern edge of the San Louis Reservoir, a state recreation area and wildlife refuge that is part of the California Aqueduct. The road goes steeply uphill, then just as steeply down the other side. Traffic the other way is surprisingly heavy (it's late afternoon at this point). I imagine it's commuters from Silicon Valley/San Jose returning to the closest area they could find affordable housing - which isn't so close. LA is not the only region with tremendous commutes.

Then it's Rt. 156 through Hollister where I pick up Rt. 25, a curving 2-lane country road that runs down the valley to the west of the Diablo Range. Driving through the town of Hollister I spot a computer store that also has a couple of those Razor Scooters displayed in the window along with computer equipment. Interesting. I don't think you'd find such a combination down south. Leaving Hollister I wind my way along Rt. 25 until I come to the turnoff to Pinnacles NM at the Bear Valley Ranch. I drive past a private campground just outside the monument's boundary - I am headed for the campground by the visitor center, as noted on my electronic map. The entrance station is unattended (it's about 7 pm) so I breeze on by and very quickly come to the Chalone Creek area - my destination. I turn in looking forward to resting my driving weary bones and perhaps finally cooking up some of that chicken that's been marinating for the last 2 weeks in the cooler.

I drive around the small loop which contains residence housing on the outside. "That's strange. I don't recall seeing park residences and an equipment yard at a campsite before". The sites are all within the loop and I pull over to the bulletin board by the restroom. "If no attendant, please leave payment of $5 in envelope and deposit here (arrow)" "Well, that's cheap." I check the bathrooms and they look pretty good. There's no one else here tonight so I won't worry about being disturbed but, "That's so weird having the residences so close by." And then I read that no fires or grill or stoves allowed - extreme fire danger! "Well, that's ok. I don't need to cook for dinner ,and it's not cold, so no big deal on the fire. But, what about lanterns?" I would want to be able to use my lantern to read and/or write by. No way am I going to bed at dark (which is fast approaching). It doesn't say anything specifically about lanterns, but it's really the same thing - flames - so I'm looking and thinking. "Hmmm. These are almost all walk-in sites, but it looks like those down there are pull-in. Sort of." So I'm looking and debating on whether to stay here tonight or not, and then I see a ranger walking by.

"Howdy", he says.

"Hi!"

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah. Are lanterns allowed?"

"Oh no. Nothing with flames. We have extremely dry and dangerous fire conditions here."

"I can see that, but the sign didn't say anything specifically about lanterns, so I was just wondering..."

"What do you need a lantern for? For the caves?" (There are a few caves in the park.)

"Oh no. Just for reading at night."

"This is just a day use area you know."

"Oh. This isn't a campground?" Looking around, "I guess I can see that it's not really set up for camping." (Duh!)

"The park close at 8!"

"Well, I guess I'd better get moving then."

"Oh. You have plenty of time." (It's only 7:15)

Driving out I see again that there is no camping symbol on the sign for Chalone Creek and now I see why. Once again Street Atlas USA was wrong! I end up at the private campground, which allows "fake log" fires (so I purchase a couple at the store there), and lanterns. Not wanting to cook (which is also allowed) I opt for a huge roast beef sandwich (using up the rest I have), chips and carrots instead. I light a log and settle in for the evening

Jeesh! It's dangerous here! I almost got bombed on the head again by another acorn falling from the huge oak tree whose branches soar over my head above. It's practically raining acorns there are so many falling. I wonder if this is the season when they all cut loose or this is an ongoing thing. Next time I'll bring my helmet!

Tomorrow I'll drive up to the visitor center and figure out what I'll do on my last day of exploring. But for now I'll just sit and enjoy this pleasantly warm evening, listening to all the sounds of the night while sucking down the last of the Coronas. Not a bad way to "end" things.

Night!