This is our last week of work in Carlsbad. We're looking forward to closing this chapter in our lives and moving on to the next. While there's a lot of uncertainty that lies ahead, there are definitely a lot of exciting things to look forward to, including trips to the California coast, hiking in the Sierras, being closer to family and friends, and getting to know the community of Three Rivers.
As we've moved around to a few parks and visited many others, we've come up with a short list of ideals for where we'd like to live - small town, not too far from a decent sized airport; relatively mild winters, not too far from decent snow; gateway community with a strong connection to the park, but not overrun with tourists; mountain park west of the Mississippi. Pretty specific and pretty darn picky, so imagine our surprise we we visited Three Rivers.
We flew into Fresno and arrived in the town, which is situated along the Kaweah River, a little over an hour later (check). During the month of April when we visited, it was as green as the Shire, while an hour's drive up into the Sequoia groves we were walking on four feet of snow (c
heck, check). Sequoia & Kings has two entrances. The first is a pretty straight shot out of Fresno through Squaw Valley, while the other is along the narrow, twisty road out of Three Rivers. Because tour buses and large RVs can't negotiate the narrow roads, the majority of the traffic goes through Squaw Valley. This has allowed the village of Three Rivers to develop into an artist colony that caters to, but doesn't totally rely on park visitors to exist. The town has a good number of shops, hotels and restaurants (and more than it's fair share of art galleries), but is pleasantly devoid of tourist traps and hordes of people. And it just happens to be at the doorstep of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The perfect place for us? Perhaps, but perfection and reality don't usually line up so easily.
Sequoia & Kings is well known for having some of the worst air quality in the park service. Wind currents carry car pollution from the Bay area through the San Joaquin Valley, where it mixes with particulates from
the agricultural industry and a thick blanket of smog descends on Fresno, Visalia and Bakersfield for the entire summer. A small eddy breaks off of this current (pay attention to those little swirls next time you paddle a canoe and you'll get the idea) and heads straight up the canyon toward the park. As long as the air temperature stays below 75 F, the smog stays down in the valley, but summertime in Three Rivers means temperatures in the 90's and occasionally over 100 degrees. We'll know pretty quickly when we arrive whether the smog may impact our physical or emotional health. We've consoled ourselves with the fact that if it does start to get us down, we can always go up to the high elevations of the park on the weekends. That might save us for a while, but how long we can rely on this escape route is the big question.
We're both excited about the move and all the adventures that lie ahead. Looking forward to updating you during the coming weeks and months as we get settled, experience the park and explore further afield!
As we've moved around to a few parks and visited many others, we've come up with a short list of ideals for where we'd like to live - small town, not too far from a decent sized airport; relatively mild winters, not too far from decent snow; gateway community with a strong connection to the park, but not overrun with tourists; mountain park west of the Mississippi. Pretty specific and pretty darn picky, so imagine our surprise we we visited Three Rivers.
We flew into Fresno and arrived in the town, which is situated along the Kaweah River, a little over an hour later (check). During the month of April when we visited, it was as green as the Shire, while an hour's drive up into the Sequoia groves we were walking on four feet of snow (c
heck, check). Sequoia & Kings has two entrances. The first is a pretty straight shot out of Fresno through Squaw Valley, while the other is along the narrow, twisty road out of Three Rivers. Because tour buses and large RVs can't negotiate the narrow roads, the majority of the traffic goes through Squaw Valley. This has allowed the village of Three Rivers to develop into an artist colony that caters to, but doesn't totally rely on park visitors to exist. The town has a good number of shops, hotels and restaurants (and more than it's fair share of art galleries), but is pleasantly devoid of tourist traps and hordes of people. And it just happens to be at the doorstep of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The perfect place for us? Perhaps, but perfection and reality don't usually line up so easily.Sequoia & Kings is well known for having some of the worst air quality in the park service. Wind currents carry car pollution from the Bay area through the San Joaquin Valley, where it mixes with particulates from
the agricultural industry and a thick blanket of smog descends on Fresno, Visalia and Bakersfield for the entire summer. A small eddy breaks off of this current (pay attention to those little swirls next time you paddle a canoe and you'll get the idea) and heads straight up the canyon toward the park. As long as the air temperature stays below 75 F, the smog stays down in the valley, but summertime in Three Rivers means temperatures in the 90's and occasionally over 100 degrees. We'll know pretty quickly when we arrive whether the smog may impact our physical or emotional health. We've consoled ourselves with the fact that if it does start to get us down, we can always go up to the high elevations of the park on the weekends. That might save us for a while, but how long we can rely on this escape route is the big question.We're both excited about the move and all the adventures that lie ahead. Looking forward to updating you during the coming weeks and months as we get settled, experience the park and explore further afield!
No comments:
Post a Comment