Dick's
Parkfield Pictures |
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Photos
Parkfield Slide
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New photos
added here May 22, 2019 (captions
in red) |
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Parkfield,
CA, is the site of a bluegrass
festival every Mother's Day weekend. At other times it's the
site of trail rides, wild pig hunts, weddings, motorcycle rallies,
rodeos and other events, under
the name V6 Ranch.
It's also
the site of earthquakes.
Located on the San
Andreas Fault, where the Pacific and North American plates slip
and slide and grind together, it's an ideal spot for earthquake
study. The US Geological Survey
has a building there with quake monitoring instruments, and when
there is a significant event, scientists converge on the town to
learn more about what's happening. Parkfield is an ideal location
for such a study. The tallest building in town is an old wooden
water tower, and the only two business buildings are made of heavy
logs. Property damage and injuries are unlikely even in a fairly
strong quake.
The town
motto for the rodeo, bluegrass festival and other events is “Be
here when it happens,” which of course refers to “the big one.”
There was a “little one” in 2004, which you can
read about here.
My first
knowledge of Parkfield and my first visit there came when my
friends, the late Ben and Wilma Briscoe of Avenal,
took me there for breakfast at the cafe one time. I was impressed
with the surroundings, and a year or two later, when I learned there
was a bluegrass festival there, I made plans to attend. From 2001
to 2019 I missed only one.
Parkfield is in the
Cholame
Valley, directly west of Avenal and south of Coalinga, but access is
from the south via
Cholame Valley Road off Highway 46 from Cholame, or from San
Miguel to the north on US 101 via Vineyard Canyon Road. Whether
you approach from south or north, to get to the town you turn east and cross Cholame
Creek, which follows the fault line. You are going from the Pacific
Plate to the North American Plate, and hopefully nothing shakes
while you’re crossing.
The
bridge was re-built about 2001, because the old bridge had been moved
out of alignment due to slippage of the fault. The new bridge is
already showing a slight change in alignment.
There is also a road
that runs north and south between Parkfield and Coalinga, but it
turns to dirt about eight miles out of Parkfield. It's never a good
route for RVs, and it's virtually impassable when wet.
I have to
confess that, despite warnings, I started up that road after a light
rainfall, because it didn't look that bad. However, the dirt there
has a composition that instantly turns slick when it gets wet. After
just a few feet I realized I needed to turn around. Then I realized
I should just back up very slowly back on to the pavement, and even
doing this, the truck slid around a bit.
When there
are no events going on, it's a quiet, rural spot. The sign at the
"city limits" says “Population 18, Elevation 1530.”
There are only two businesses in the actual town, the Parkfield
Café and the Parkfield Inn. I counted seven houses within the town
area, although there are others within a quarter mile. Except for
the main road through town (Parkfield-Coalinga Road),
all the streets are unpaved. There used to be a couple of gift
shops, one located in an old railroad caboose, but both are now
closed, and the caboose was removed around 2007. There are two
streets to the east off the main street and one to the west, plus
assorted driveways, pathways, etc. The two eastbound streets connect
to form the only square block fully surrounded by roadways.
Of course,
there are a number of farms and ranches out in the country along the
various roads, and on a hill above town, the John Varian residence, a
large new home that was built in the last few years. The Varian
family owns
the two businesses in Parkfield as well as 20,000 acres of ranch
land, the V6 Ranch.
It is very
pretty country. The Cholame Valley varies in width from maybe 100
feet to a mile. The fields and hills are covered with large, ancient
valley oak trees, and the principle agricultural activity is cattle
and hay. During the festival, the hay in some fields has been cut
and is drying on the ground, awaiting the bailer. As you approach
the town, the valley narrows down, and there is a flat, lush creek
bottom with brown hills rising abruptly about 40 feet from the
stream. North of town there are yuccas in bloom in May, and it's a
nice drive from the town to the end of the pavement.
The first
European settlers arrived in the area in 1854. In addition to
agriculture, there was extensive mining, and in 1900 the population
was around 900. When the mines gave out, everyone moved away except
the ranchers.
I had the
pleasure of meeting John and Barbara Varian, who operate the town
businesses, at the 2009 bluegrass festival. John's grandfather,
Sigurd Varian, along with his brother Russell, invented the Klystron
tube, which was critical in the development of radar. They
developed the technology into equipment that is still used in the
treatment of cancer.
Sig's son,
Jack, is the current patriarch of the family. He, and his wife Zee
live at the ranch headquarters, and all four children, two sons and
two daughters, live in the area. Barbara is a fifth generation
member of another ranching family that purchased land in the San
Ardo area in 1865. John and Barbara have two daughters and a
son, all of whom are involved in ranching and rodeo activities.
In 2009,
noting a number of changes that had taken place, I realized I should
photograph everything of any possible interest, before any more
changes occur. Small and quiet does not mean unchanging. Just since
the 2010 festival there is a new roof on the Community Center, a
cover over a row of mailboxes on the main road, a new building on
one of the ranch sites in town, and a swimming pool behind the
lodge. An old building a block
off the main street burned down. In the 1890's this was the original
Parkfield Hotel, and it was memorialized in a drawing by Sally
Vedder that graces the cover of the 2011 festival
program.
--Dick Estel, May 2009; updated May 2011, May 2014 and December 2022
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Click photo for a larger
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The old water tower |
The coolest-looking home in Parkfield |
The John & Barbara Varian home |
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The muddy road, with my tire tracks at
the right |
The V6 Ranch gate |
Barn on Parkfield-Coalinga Road, north
of town |
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Hay field just outside of town |
Hay drying near town |
Close-up |
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Ranch near Parkfield |
Cholame Creek north of town |
Oaks & field west of town |
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Entering the Pacific Plate |
Entering the North American plate |
The "city" limits
(2001 population count) |
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Intersection, north side of town |
Looking north on the Parkfield-Coalinga Road |
Mailboxes on Parkfield-Coalinga Road
near Park Street |
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Guarding Park Street |
Looking north from center of town |
South from the same area |
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Center of town |
Looking
east on Oak Street |
Permanently parked |
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Parkfield Cafe |
The new wing, added 2008-09 |
Parkfield Inn |
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Parkfield School |
Library in a can |
Where they measure the shaking |
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State Division of Forestry
complex |
CDF building |
Why Verizon is the only cell service
that works in Parkfield |
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Dining al fresco |
More food choices when the
bluegrass
festival is on |
Concession booths on Oak Street |
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Tent camping at the festival |
Between Oak and Park streets |
RV camping behind the restaurant |
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RVs by the Community Center |
Camping in the "back 40,"
near the rodeo grounds |
Camping in front of the Community
Center |
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Plenty of shade under the plentiful
valley oak trees |
Heading into town from the south |
One of several pieces of old
farm equipment on display |
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The long-gone caboose in 2001 |
One of two fountains in the town |
Kids & water
always go together |
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The cafe as it was before remodeling |
Branding irons
hanging from ceiling of cafe |
Cafe & stage
area a month before the festival |
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Oaks along Cholame Road, south of
Parkfield |
On the road between Parkfield and San
Miguel |
Windmill along the road to San Miguel |
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Flowers on hill
above town, April 2010 |
A
month later, only a few flowers remain |
Hill
northeast of town |
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Free
range chicken |
The
Parkfield dog |
Horses
near the rodeo grounds |
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Rodeo
grounds |
An
ancient profession, still needed |
Varian
Family |
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The
main "downtown" intersection |
Looking
west on Oak Street |
Entry
to festival area |
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The
Community Center |
Old
house, now used for storage
(burned down in 2011) |
Fountain
in audience area |
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Looking
toward cafe from
main bluegrass camp area |
Picking
in boondocks camping area |
Not a
statue, but a real kid with good climbing skills |
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The
new swimming pool |
The
Community Center got a new roof in 2010 |
New
building on a ranch property in town |
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The
mail boxes are now protected from the weather |
Tree
house
near the cafe |
Bridge
where Cholame, Vineyard Canyon and Parkfield-Coalinga Roads meet |
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Road
sign near the bridge |
Even
in a very dry year, there's a bit of water by the bridge |
Field
above creek |
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Looking
east across the bridge |
Field,
vineyard and hills west of
Vineyard Canyon Road |
A dry
year means a small hay crop for 2013 |
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V6
Ranch |
Stock
pond on the ranch |
Hills
above the ranch |
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Cholame Creek,
north of Parkfield |
Cliff by
Parkfield-Coalinga Road |
Remnant of old
fence near road |
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New
in 2014 around the
platform -
a circle of lanterns |
Rugged but practical lawn
furniture for sale |
The old Shell Oil Company
pump
house is now a rental cabin |
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The hay is short and the
grass
on the hills is brown in 2014 |
The
view east of town |
Another
eastern view |
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The
bridge near the southern
approach to Parkfield |
This
is just about the last
house left on east Park Street |
Big
spool back of the cafe |
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This
mill is pulled through the log instead of the usual method where the
log moves into the saw |
The
bridge north of town on the
Parkfield-Coalinga Road |
A
closer look |
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Windmill
near the bridge |
Cholame
Creek and hills beyond from the bridge |
Old
fence in the bed of the creek |
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These
quail keep watch on a
ranch fence next to the bridge |
There
were tanks on the hills |
A
lone picker at the 2014 bluegrass festival
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One
of Parkfield's many horses |
Wagon wheel gate north of town |
Hay in the field next to Parkfield |
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Panoramic
view
looking east and north from the edge of town |
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Round
bales, seen for the first time in May 2016 |
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Population
used to be 37 - where did they all go? |
Witches
left over from Halloween |
Beautiful
valley oaks north of town |
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Hills
north of town |
Ranch
along the Parkfield-Coalinga road |
Bridge
north of town on Parkfield-Coalinga Road |
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Windmill
near the bridge |
Hay
baling machine |
And
the results of baling |
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Some
bales are round in 2016 |
Rabbit,
not afraid of the photographer |
He
spent long moments munching on a juicy weed by the road |
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A
pirate ship in Parkfield |
An overflow "tent city"
north of Park Street at the 2017 Bluegrass Festival |
A
view along Parkfield-Coalinga Road |
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This hay was cut minutes before the
photo was taken |
Mower at work along Parkfield-Coalinga
Road |
Wagon wheel gates are a must in
this
country |
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Some say
Parkfield is a one-horse town |
Parkfield's big wheel |
The seasonal CalFire station
is open
for business |
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Looking
west on Oak Street |
Yellow-throated
birds beside Cholame Road |
The
bridge across the San Andreas Fault |
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Related Links |
Parkfield
Events |
Parkfield
Bluegrass festival |
San
Andreas Fault |
US
Geological Survey |
Parkfield
Quake of 2004 |
Klystron
Tube |
San
Ardo |
San
Miguel |
Coalinga |
Bluegrass
2003 |
Bluegrass
2004 |
Bluegrass
2005 |
Bluegrass
2006 |
Bluegrass
2008 |
Bluegrass
2009 |
Bluegrass
2010 |
Bluegrass
2011 |
Bluegrass
2012 |
Bluegrass
2013 |
Cholame
Valley Road |
Bluegrass
2014 |
Parkfield
Slide Show |
Jack
Varian's Blog |
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