About
34 years ago, when my kids were middle teenagers, we went on a road trip in western
Fresno
County. Besides myself our party included Teri and
Jennifer Estel and Tim Liddle (now Teri's husband). We took various roads
from Fresno, ending with Highway 33, which goes through
the hills west of the San Joaquin
Valley, and over a pass into Coalinga.
Just over the pass Highway 198 comes in from the east and runs
contiguously with Highway 33 into Coalinga. On the way, we drove past an area where
oil pumps had been decorated to look like animals
and other creatures.
From Coalinga we headed north up
Los Gatos
Canyon, stopping briefly at a small
county park. If you are familiar with the Woody Guthrie song Deportees,
this canyon is the location of the plane
crash that inspired it.
We continued on, coming
to a place where the road turned to dirt for a few miles. In this
area there were signs along the road warning of asbestos in the
soil, and many people riding dirt bikes (I assume a day of dirt
riding is not as dangerous as working for Johns-Manville for 20
years).
The road went up higher, became narrow and winding, and went past
the closed New Idria Quicksilver
Mine, then out into the valley through Mendota. During
part of this trip we briefly drove thorough a section of San Benito
County.
In
recent months I have been wanting to go as far as the county park, to check it out
as a possible winter camping site, and to take some pictures of the
oil pumps. I had scheduled this trip twice, canceling both times due
to unsettled weather. I finally decided that Tuesday, December 11,
was the day. The temperature was predicted to be in the mid 60s,
with no chance of rain, so I got started about
10:30 a.m.
Although it was sunny
where I live in Clovis, I hit light fog as soon as I got on Highway 168 west, and it got
thicker as I continued farther west into the country via Highway
180. It was never as bad
as the worst of our winter fogs, but for quite a few miles I kept my speed
at 45
MPH. For several miles I followed a slow farm truck, where I could have
gone a bit faster, but could not see far enough ahead to safely
pass.
Eventually the fog began to burn off, and somewhere along McMullin
Grade, visibility became normal – hazy, but no problem driving at
full speed. Turning west at Five Points, I followed State Highways 145 and 33, known in this stretch as the Fresno-Coalinga Road, and
soon after crossing Interstate 5, I came to the oil pumps. It looked
as if some had been removed, and those that remain are rusted and
faded, needing some new paint. Nevertheless, the animal markings
were quite visible, and I got a number of good photos, walking into
the oil fields on both sides of the road to get closer.
I then continued on over the pass, observing that some light fog
lingered over Pleasant
Valley
and the town of Coalinga. However, I turned off on Gale Avenue, then to
Derrick Avenue, and northwest on the
Los Gatos Canyon Road. At the Gale and Derrick intersection there were
many oil
pumps,
most of them newer models. In the southwest corner I counted at
least 30 pumps, and in the general vicinity there were easily a
hundred, though not all were working.
After
the first two or three miles, the road into the canyon became winding and went up and down along the
creek, but it was in very good condition and reasonably wide. Most of
the time I could go 30 to 40
MPH
with some 20 and 25 MPH
curves. Along the 12 miles from the intersection to Los Gatos
Creek
Park, the canyon has many wide, relatively flat spots, all occupied by
small ranches, mostly cattle with a few horses.
The vegetation is made up of typical coastal foothill species, much
like the Sierra but with the addition of a lot of small juniper trees. During my
trip I saw many, many hawks, including two who posed, one on a pole
in the oil fields, one on a tree just outside the park fence.
The park has lots of picnic tables, with garbage cans, BBQ pits, and
fire rings at most sites. There was one bathroom, filthy beyond
belief, in what I think is the overflow section. There is also a
backstop for softball there, with a field that is far from flat. The
price for camping is $18, but only $5 for seniors. There is plenty
of terrain that is open enough for walking. You could do a lot of
exploring outside the park, but it is fenced with stern no
trespassing signs. There are yuccas on the hillside, gone to seed at
this season.
The
first part of the park road is paved, then dirt with a muddy but easily
passable section leading to the overflow section. There is no
Internet/cell reception.
On the highest part of the main campground there is a
dirt road
going up and around – not good for my Honda, mainly for quads and
dirt bikes. The park is not really RV friendly...no flat spots, and
low branches near every table. There is one pretty good spot. I
don't know if I would camp here. I would mainly go to eat, drink, and read,
and I explored most of the park during the time I was there.
There was no one
else there. There was lots of trash around the
"overflow" sites, otherwise it was pretty clean. There is
a strong juniper smell as you walk around. It was cool with a breeze
some of the time, but a bit warm walking with a sweatshirt over a T-shirt. Sitting at a table right after I arrived, I could have used
a 3rd layer but I toughed it out.
It was 83 miles from my house to the campgrounds.
I spent about 45 minutes there, and having accomplished both my
goals, headed home by the same route, enjoying clear, sunny weather
all the way.
--Dick
Estel, December 2012 |