Oh my, what a day!  Right now it sounds like a bunch of chickens cackling. (Too many sisters in one room). I am in Oakhurst CA at the home of my aunt Georgia and Uncle Jetton.  After driving several hours I walked in the kitchen entrance to three rooms full of old people (my age) all sitting down listening to the pick’n and singing.  In case you don’t know what pick’n and singing is you need a lesson on people from Arkansas.  And that is where our family comes from.  You can take the girl out of Arkansas but you can’t take the Arkie out of the girl.  In this case you can’t even take the Arkie out of OLD WOMEN!

What a  fun night.  Georgia and Vela (my mother’s sisters) singing their Hillbilly tunes, one harmonica player, who also sang with the most beautiful voice I have heard in a long time.  His voice reminded me of George Beverly Shay who was a voice from the long ago past.  There was also a base guitar player that added a lot to the ensemble.  Not only did Georgia and Vela sing they pulled in aunt Annie in too (another sister of my mom). Their voices harmonize beautifully together.  It was especially fun when Vela did the chicken dance.  I’ll see if I can upload a video.  Well, I tried to post the video and it did not work.

Woke early this morning so I could go work out before hitting the road again.  I packed everything up last night so all that needed to be done was  load the car.  Of course it doesn’t sound like much to do….WRONG!  I have so many little bags to load and arrange that it always takes longer than  I think it will.  Finally got on the road at 11:00 a.m.  I was trying to get to Oakhurst as early as possible because of the shingding.  But, I was late.  I had an opportunity arise that I didn’t want to miss.  Last night when Betts treated me to dinner she told me her daughter lives in Fresno and she thought I would be going through Fresno and perhaps I would like to stop and meet her.  Remember Betts is the maternal birth grandmother to out daughter.  Her daughter is our daughter’s biological aunt and her children Rebecca’s cousins.  I love meeting Rebecca’s birth mother’s family.  So, I called her and stopped in tot see her family.  It was delightful.  I really enjoyed meeting Janice and her husband Lazarus and two of her 6 children.  It fills in pieces of Rebecca’s genetic traits.  Thank you Janice for such a delightful time with you and your family albeit short.

It took about two hours to drive from Orange County to the other side of LA County.  I can’t believe the throngs of people, the crowded freeways and congested traffic.  But…the signs were great.  No problem following California traffic signs and highway markers.  Such a pleasure when compared to several other states I have gone through.  After leaving the Los Angeles area the terrain becomes mountainous.  Long climbing roads with trucks laboring up slowly in three lanes. Cars passing at about 55 to 60 miles per hour.  It seemed so odd to see hundreds of trucks climbing the mountain all packed end to end, side to side for as far as you could see.  Coming down the mountain the trucks had to stay under 35 miles per hour.  As I hit the peak of the mountain I could see between a Vee of mountains the valley way below.  It looked green and lush…until I saw the rest of it as the mountains dropped away.  The ground was parched and dry and the old growth of grasses in some parts looked almost like powder due to the dearth of water over the past three years.  Entering the fourth year of drought 98 percent of California is in drought.  Some parts of California are without water and must have it trucked in.  The news last night reported that this is the worst drought in the last 800 years.  It would be interesting to know how that could be figured out.

The San Joaquin Valley produces food in abundance because of the kind of soil and temperature that the plants needs.  Warm days and cool nights create the environment needed.  It is one of the leading producers of food for our country as most areas allow for more than one crop.

After driving quite a few miles the valley opened up to green, beautiful orchards and fresh growth of ground plantings.  As far as the eye could see the irrigated crops grew lush and green.  Water is so scarce I wonder where it comes from to irrigate so many thousands of acres of farmland.

The drive from Fresno to the Yosemite  area was absolutely breathtaking.  I drove during the golden hour of sunlight, right before dusk.  The orange sun swept across the mountains and the flat lands turning the dried grass into golden flames.  As the mountain became steeper I could look down upon rows and rows of undulating land.  Though my glimpses were quick and fleeting I could see the valley below nestled like a baby in a bassinet, enclosed and secure among what appeared to be rumpled quilts of gold.  The only altitude sign I saw today stated that I was at 2,300 feet above sea level.  There were mountains much higher than where I was but I think that is about the highest elevation I went over.  As I drove down to the lower levels a little sign stated that I was entering Oakhurst with a population of 13,300.  Tomorrow I hope to go into the national park area of Yosemite.

To be continued when I live another day…