Our route took us south through the middle of California. Lots of dry grasslands in the first part of the journey.
And then desert, divided by an aqueduct.
We saw miles and miles of orchards, vineyards and ground crops. Some looked just fine, but there were orchards that had been abandoned because of the lack of water. Some others were clearly in distress.
Due to the four year drought, the state has imposed strict limits on water usage and the farmers were understandably upset about being cut off from the water they need. They have made huge investments and their livelihoods and those of their workers are at stake. Lots of protest signs along the freeway, most posted on the side of old trailers.
It's difficult to know which side to take on this issue. The farmers are up against it, but on the other hand man has tried to turn the desert into something that it isn't. It may make some sense to plant citrus trees in this environment, but we also saw huge fields of corn. When corn can be grown easily across much of the U.S. without irrigation, why plant it here? As well, despite the inevitability of the water running out we saw hundreds of acres of new orchards planted.
As we turned east toward Barstow the scenery changed once again. You might be able to make out a train moving through tunnels beside us.
After a long day of driving we arrived at our motel in Barstow, a real oasis!
What water shortage?
Twelve laps (round trips) mom!
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| Shark attack.
Tomorrow, we head back to Las Vegas for one last fling.
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