We left Bakersfield yesterday between 10 and 11 a.m. heading up to Lake Isabella northeast of Bakersfield. We drove up the grade with the rapidly flowing Kern River on one side and huge rocks on the other side of the two lane road. It was beautiful and again we were in Sequoia National Forest. After reaching the top, I took a wrong turn and we took an hour or so detour truly in the back country of California along a road with no cell service, very few cars and even fewer people....so we turned around. Whew! Dad wanted me to still prove that there was a lake up there somewhere and I finally found Lake Isabella. We drove alongside the shoreline of the lake for several miles and once we left Sequoia, we were in the high desert with high winds and cactus for the next 100 miles or more. We drove along the northern edge of Edwards AFB where many Space Shuttles landed in their day. The only thing we were really able to see was what appeared to be a pre-graveyard for 747s. There were at least 100 of them with many different logos but we were too far away to read them.
Driving along highway 58, off in the distance, there was a strange sight to the north of the highway. From miles away, it appeared to me to be a huge structure shrouded in stark white powder. I even suggested to dad that it might be a giant alien spaceship! Well, as we got closer, I decided to take the exit, which is called Rocket Road and the exit before is 20 Mule Team Road. Rocket Road was to the south, but the spaceship was to the north...so we went north. It wasn't too long before we were on the property of the manufacturing plant that makes Borax in Boron, CA. It was a strange experience because we didn't see any cars (until we were leaving along the far side of the plant) and the only people we saw were the drivers of semis coming and going. Dad finally saw someone in a red hard hat and I asked if he was green with antennas in his head! They do have a visitor center at the top of a huge hill along a dirt road. We didn't go there. Look at the pictures below and note the speed limit signs. Not sure if it's their sense of humor, or if there's a reason for the 1/2...Anyway, I went to their website and the Borax Boron Mine is the largest open pit mine in the world. The mining operation extracts thousands of tons of borates daily. Borate is the "special sauce" used in so many products: it's a micronutrient in agriculture, in ceramic finish, in fiberglass, flame retardant and wood treatments. Borates are also essential in the heat resistance of computer and TV flat screens. Some may remember the 20 Mule Team Borax commercials as it's also used as a laundry detergent booster.
Along the drive to Murrieta, we stopped for much needed nutrients...a scoop of ice cream for me and a strawberry malt for dad! More tomorrow...
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