Friday, July 6th, Kernville

We woke up in Bakersfield...  I got up first, and took a walk along Mill Creek park, a delightful Linear park along a creek, one time mill race.    When I returned, the ladies were up,  nearly ready. We opted for a local cafe instead of the motel breakfast buffet, so headed to a promising place, the 24th Street Cafe...  Breakfast was wonderful... Bakersfield was looking like a pretty good place... Having eaten, we headed east, into the Canyon of the lower Kern River.   A place I spent much time, many years ago.   In college, Dad had homesteaded a number of 5 acre lots, below Lake Isabella, near Erskin Creek.    The family  spent a lot of time along the Kern when I was a kid.     Now, 40 years since my last visit, We, Tina, Steph and I are returning to the Kern, to scatter Mom's, Dad's, and Cleo's (the dog) ashes... On the anniversary of  Dad's death, in a place which holds good memories...  I talked to Dad about it, and he approved, so today, we were found with three urns, looking for a place to scatter their contents...  The canyon had changed in the intervening years, I never found the spot we most often fished... Other spots were crowded with holiday weekend campers...  We finally settled on a spot below the dam, near the site of Keyesville, a one time gold camp on BLM land.  There was a boat "put in", for rafters, on this day, deserted...  The family fished and explored here, and nearby occasionally.  This became the place. Now, some hours later, we are now in Kernville, at the Kern Lodge, the ladies are playing "hands and feet", a card game the often played with Mom... I am blogging... There is wine and beer... Things are good...   Hours before found us driving the canyon, looking for the spot I remembered, possibly a somewhat mythical place, a product of a then 11 year old mind, and 45 years... We didn't find it... I would like to blame Caltrans, and their efforts, but my memories are likely faulty.   We emerged from the canyon, into metropolitan Bodfish... On to the town of Lake Isabella, then off, past the high school, then off on a dirt road, in search of the family cabin sites... Grandpa's cabin... The cabin burned in a wild fire many years ago... We had sold it 20 some years before... By chance, the TV news footage included film of it burning... We knew it was gone, but hoped to find the site... Confronted with new cabins, fences and "No Trespassing" signs, we gave up, and instead drove up Erskin Creek road... Back to the town of Lake Isabella, stopping to buy Coors Beer (there drink of choice when fishing), passing the "Dam Corner Store" then left, towards the dam, and Keyesville, and BLM land along the river.   We tried the north side, but settled on the south side, at the boat "put in".   Down to the river's edge... On the boulders...  We carried two bags... One held Mom, Dad, and the dog (and paperwork, certifying these ashes to be their remains)... The second held an old army blanket, the picnic blanket of the Kern River picnics of my youth, and 4 cans of Coors... (the old gold cans of Coors Banquet beer, not the Silver Bullet of today) We sat by the river, opened each of the urns, opened the plastic bags within each... Then poured each into the river...  Cleo, the dog was first, a cloud swirling in the water... Eddies  carrying her into the up stream shallows, then back out into the river current... Mom was next, her ashes mixing with those of her precious dog... Dad followed, the three wisps of ashes becoming one... We emptied a Coors into the river, as each of us sipped on a golden can...   The clouds of ash dissipated, the river cleared, but then, magically, the current would kick up sparkles of ash from the bottom... Glittery bits...  We sat for a while... Then, packed up, climbed the bank and left... It felt like a good end... Back up river... Along Lake Isabella... To Kernville... Further up river to Fairview on the Kern, now McNalleys... back to Kernville... Check in... Nest, the ladies playing cards, I blogging... To diner... Kern  River Brewing Co., Back to the room... I walk, down to the river... Now, 8:00, in the room, blogging again...  This time posting... Tomarow, over the mountains to the Owens Valley, and Bishop... From there home via Yosemite