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.

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” a couple of years ago, which you can read about here.

Whether you approach from State Highway 41/46 to the south, or from US 101 to the 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 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.

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. Since 2001 I've missed only one.

Parkfield is in the Cholame Valley, directly west of Avenal and south of Coalinga, but access is via Cholame Valley Road off Highway 46 from Cholame, or from San Miguel on US 101 via Vineyard Canyon Road. 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 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 westbound 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 Varian residence, a large new home that was built in the last few years. The Varians own the two businesses in Parkfield as well as 20,000 acres of ranch land, the V6 Ranch.

There is a Parkfield Winery that sets up a booth at the bluegrass festival each year, but I’m not sure exactly where it is located (perhaps on Vineyard Canyon Road?).

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