Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WORTH A TRIP
WEEDPATCH CAMP
In the Depression era, more than a million poor, white laborers from the Dust Bowl states
in the South and the Great Plains arrived in the Central Valley with dreams of opportunity.
Branded 'Okies' by the locals (whether from Oklahoma or not), the majority found only
more hardship in the Golden State.
Weedpatch Camp
(Arvin Farm Labor Camp; 661-832-1299;
www.weedpatchcamp.com
; 8701
Sunset Blvd, Bakersfield; by appointment) is one of about 16 Farm Security Administration
camps built in the US during the 1930s to aid migrant workers, and today it is the only
one with original buildings still standing (as of press time, they were undergoing renova-
tion). A reporter named John Steinbeck researched the people in this camp and their
lives inspired The Grapes of Wrath. Nearby tract housing still shelters migrant workers for
the six-month grape harvest.
From Bakersfield, take Hwy 58 east to Weedpatch Hwy; head south for about 7 miles,
past Lamont; then turn left on Sunset Blvd, driving another half mile. Look for the 'Arvin
Farm Labor Center' sign on your right. The
Dust Bowl Festival
is a free celebration of
Okie history held here the third Saturday of October.
Kern River Area
A half-century ago the Kern River originated on the slopes of Mt Whitney and journeyed
close to 170 miles before finally settling into Buena Vista Lake in the Central Valley. The
lake is long dry. Now, after its wild descent from the high country - 60ft per mile - the
Kern is dammed in several places and almost entirely tapped for agricultural use.
Its pristine upper reaches, declared wild and scenic by the Secretary of the Interior, is
nicknamed the 'Killer Kern' for its occasionally lethal force and makes for world-class
rafting.
Hwy 178 follows the dramatic
Kern River Canyon
and offers a stunning drive through
the lower reaches of Sequoia National Forest. East of the lake, Hwy 178 winds another 50
miles through a picturesque mixture of pine and Joshua trees before reaching Hwy 395.
There are two
USFS Ranger Stations
in the area, one in
Kernville
(
760-376-3781;
8am-4:30pm Mon-Fri)
and another in
Lake Isabella
(
760-379-5646;
