30-May-2004 -- Persistence pays off!

Thwarted on my first attempt by locked gates on 12 April 04 (visit #4) we were cruising southbound on Interstate 5 and we decided to try again. We passed through the peach orchards on Milham Ave and came up to the same locked gate as before but this time, there were lots of people out and about working to load peaches from small crates to full size crates and then onto the back of trucks.

I was able to find the supervisor and he had a radio and contacted a person with a key to the gate who came a short while later. He granted us permission to transit and even unlocked the gate so we could drive through. We crossed over the interstate transitioning from green orchards and into the abandoned oil fields and the golden brown hills very much like 37n121w that I had visited earlier in the day. We thought we would be able to drive to within a few hundred meters and be back in about 15 minutes. On the other side of the interstate there was another locked gate (N36 00.518 W119 59.385) shown in Picture #6 so I got out and hiked the remaining fraction of a mile to the confluence. I followed the road to a small animal trail in the same direction as my GPS was directing and followed it until well inside 100 meters when it directed me off the trail into the brown (sticker laden) grass directly to the confluence.

It didn't take long to make it back to my vehicle. While I was gone, my wife was offered a large box of freshly picked peaches shown neatly stacked by my daughters in Picture #7.

One hour and five minutes total time from the time we took the Kettleman City exit off Interstate 5 until we were back on our way.