The road from Chula Vista to the Sierra foothills took less time than we anticipated, even after crawling through LA on a Tuesday mid-morning. I-5 and Hwy 99 differ greatly. I-5 has a lot of nothingness from the grapevine up to Sacramento. The fields stretch for miles in all directions, and often look barren. Almond and citrus trees go on and on. Businesses only make an appearance at truck stops and the few small towns on this desolate part of the Imperial Valley. Past Bakersfield, Hwy 99 looks like Aurora in Seattle, with businesses and fields alternating for space along the sides of the road. The purple tree in this photo popped up along the way. It's purple....what's not to love?
Hwy 99 between Bakersfield and Visalia the fields displayed the results of spring farming. Straight rows of new seedlings drank in the sun. Irrigation canals flowed gently with fresh water. Tractors and workers busily went about their business. We turned onto Hwy. 168 East driving toward Lemon Grove.
Orchards lined the highway.
Miles of walnut trees give way to groves of oranges, lemons, tangerines and grapefruit.
The drab colored olive trees stand in the sun, not far from the cherry orchards. Fields of strawberries, onions, and other local produce vie for space here and there.
Grapes vines run across the fields and up the mountainsides. A few wineries invite travelers into their tasting rooms.
Just past the town of
Lemon Grove an earthen dam rises above the road. The dam creates Lake Kaweah
which sprawls for miles into the foothills.
The lake shoreline weaves in and out of the nooks and crannies of
foothill rocks creating bays and inlets.
The highway passes through wall of rock that alternate with open views
of the lake.
The road rises in elevation as we travel toward Three Rivers (population 2000) and the gateway to the Sequoia NP. The business part of Three Rivers line Hwy 168 for two or three miles. Three Rivers welcomes the tourist trade with restaurants, motels, campgrounds, gas stations grocery stores and gift shops.
We chose to stay at the Sequoia RV Ranch on North Fork River Road, a mere 2 miles from “town”. Thankfully the park accommodated our day early arrival. Our site provided 50 amp service for 3 days. Then we would move to a different site when the weekend crowd arrived. The “big rig” rating which is one of my requirements for making a reservation was stated in the directory. However that rating was pushing the limit. Spacing was tight. We had to back out of our pull through site. There was not enough room to pull out forward because of the trees and narrow roads. We think that perhaps new owners have taken a neglected park and begun upgrading.
Several sites that overlook the little river/creek looked like a nice place to stay. However, should we ever decide to return we will try the Kaweah RV Park.
We received information on the History of Kaweah Colony, the beginnings of Three Rivers, CA. Between 1886 and 1892 some people created an experiment in utopian socialism that is still studied today. The official name was Kaweah Co-Operative Commonwealth, but referred to as the Kaweah Colony. The group formed their colony with Gronlund’s theories. They found the land between the Marble, Middle and North forks of the Kaweah River as the colony site, with the timberlands as their source of income. Fifty three timber claims were filed. The applicants had the same San Francisco address, and some weren’t citizens, thus bringing suspicion of fraud. Membership cost $500…$100 cash and the remainder in goods or labor. Actual membership didn’t exceed 300 people. Their first settlement was about where our campground is today. They made a road to the trees so they could bring pine and fir down to the sawmill located at the current entrance to the Sequoia NP. The road took 4 years to complete using hand tools. It is an engineering marvel. The road maintained an 8% grade for nearly 18 miles and a gain of 4,000 feet elevation. They wanted to build a railroad, but didn’t have enough money.
At the same time as the road completion, Congress created the Sequoia Nat’l Park. Any possibility of securing their timber claims was gone. They tried to go to court, but that wasn’t successful. The colonists disbanded in 1892. During their short existence the colony published the first newspaper. It was mainly socialist propaganda, but each of the 96 issues offered details of colony life. The weekly paper was printed on the first steam-operated press in the county.
The colony was granted a post office on May 17, 1890. The building was moved from time to time to accommodate the postmaster. The present day Kaweah Post Office, a 10 foot by 12 foot structure was built in 1910. We drove a mile further down the North Fork road to see California’s State Historic Landmark # 389.
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During our trips in and out of the RV park we saw small houses and big houses.
Some driveways stood dusty and open. Other driveways possessed secure and interesting gates.
Along our little road horses grazed in open pastures. Derrille walked the road in the morning and talked to those horses. He also waved at the road crew trimming brush along the shoulder. On the first day we decided to drive up to the Sequoia NP and get some literature.
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