Ca-li-for-nia here I come...(does every state have a song?)

Southern California - the landscape changes like the swing of a pendulum. Entering California is like a trial by fire. We drove what would be the length of time from Knoxville to Nashville through the California and Mojave desert. Several air force bases are in this area including the, now famous, 29 Palms. That's where Maverick and Goose got their training in Top Gun. The sun made my eyes feel like they were burning holes into their sockets.
















 Along the way we pass a sign for the town of Boron. Being the science teacher I am I immediately recall my periodic table from our 5th grade class in which Boron is the 5th element.
Boron, California (named for the element) is on the western edge of the Mojave Desert and is the location of the world's largest source of Boric Acid. This is a weak acid used sometimes as an antiseptic, insecticide, and flame retardant, and, if you are old enough to remember, 20 Mule Team Borax (a cleaning product). Interestingly, we saw the exit for 20 Mule Team Road. The 20 mule team name came from the teams of 20 mules that it took to haul the borax from Death Valley.



After crossing the last of the mountains we were treated to a vista that looked like it had been painted onto the landscape. Going down a two lane road we were treated to a view of a valley of green that traveled all the way to the horizon as we descended into the small town of Arvin, Calif. My eyes screamed AAAAAAAH!!!!

I have to tell you, living in Middle Tennessee, I'm used to seeing agricultural areas far and wide, usually growing acres of corn or wheat or tobacco. But I've never seen such a variety of crops growing in one area like I saw in Southern California.

On one side of the road were lush green grape vines and on the other side, orange groves as far as you could see. On down the way it changed to wheat and corn. This went on for miles and miles, on through the Bakersfield area and on up the interstate towards San Francisco.

 Where have I been? I didn't know California was a source of  so much produce. The last few days beauty has been defined by the shapes of unusual rock formations or the striations of shade and color in the side of a mountain. Now beauty takes on a whole new meaning.....green !!!


By the time we leave California I've come to realize that agriculture is definitely huge in this state. Believe or not, California is our nation's leading agricultural producer supplying over half our fruit, nuts and vegetables. (Where have I been and how come I don't know this). California is by nature a semi-arid land. Water is not a very "natural" resource in a semi-arid area, thus the name "semi-arid". Consequently, waving the magic wand to turn this "almost desert" into fertile farm land requires vast amounts of water making water highly valuable (liquid gold) and increasingly fought over. Water availability is something we in the Tennessee Valley with our network of rivers, dams and reservoirs, tend to take for granted.

Evidence of this intense struggle was all along the highway as we see, over and over again,  as farmers vehemently state their protest by posting signs saying "Farms grow where waters flow" and Congress Created Dust Blow and by putting the 'not allowed' over the names Pelosi, Boxer and Costa (federal legislators). You can learn a lot about an areas politics by reading the signs.