Population: 403,455 Elevation: 403
We are back from The Netherlands and we are back to the truck disaster.
This picture is actually from our first spot in the park. The tow truck put us in a different spot where we don't see the building, but the idea is the same.
The truck is still in the shop. The GMC dealer has ordered the parts we need, but they are on a national back order. They have no idea when the parts will be shipped. Carlos, the service guy, said it could be 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 months. I called the emergency service guy, Bill, who helped us when we broke down and he said he could get the part but it would be an aftermarket part and not a GMC part. I didn't care so I told him to get it. It took him a week, but he got the part to the GMC dealer. Now we need Carlos to install the part and get the truck running.
Since the turbo is under the 100,000 mile powertrain warranty, we are allowed a rental car. They gave us a Chevy Traverse SUV. I am glad they are paying for it because I rented a car to get us to Las Vegas, a car in The Netherlands, and a car to get back to Bakersfield. Rental cars aren't cheap right now.
Good news on the trailer accident. Stiemist RV Repair called and said they have the parts we need to fix the trailer. Too bad I can't get there. I told them we are stuck in Bakersfield and would have to schedule when we are mobile again. He said 'No Problem'. So I guess we are going back to Sacramento for a while (someday).
Needless to say, our winter schedule is out the door. I moved the Yuma stop to February and canceled everything else. We just don't know when we will be able to leave Bakersfield. In the best case, the part is all they need and they can get it installed early next week. The worst case is that they get the part on and they find a problem that it caused in the engine and we have to wait for more parts. Here is a picture of the part the blew out. It's that big pipe that makes a 90º bend downward.
Here is a picture of the truck on the side of the road.
Here are some pictures of the RV park where we are staying. You can see that it really is an Orange Grove. The oranges are almost ripe although there is a sign in the office not to pick them yet. I think if you look for the most orange ones, you would be fine.
I still have to write a blog about more Netherlands stuff, but in the meantime, here is a link to a new page of Netherlands photos. All I can say for now is that they are in there. I still need to write descriptions and captions and do some organizing.
We are stuck here so we should do some exploring, but we really haven't yet. We did go out to lunch at a place called 'The Wool Growers'. It reminded me of the Elk's club in Red Bluff. They have long tables in a back room mostly set up for large groups and has minimal decoration. They do have an actual restaurant section, but that was closed for Covid. Anyway, the food was good, they serve Basque food. Jan had lamb and I had roast beef. We just got the lunch meal which came with a salad and fries. They seem to mostly serve food family style because you can get the dinner portions which come with salad, soup, spaghetti, and rolls and then you get the dinner food. I don't know that I can eat that much. As it was, Jan couldn't finish her lamb so we brought it home and I had it for dinner.
There are several breweries in town so we might hit one or two this weekend. I would brew a batch, but I don't know how long we will be here.
What else can I tell you about Bakersfield?
The air is always hazy with dust. The air quality was 151 (unhealthy) with microdust. It has never cleared up since we've been here.
Most of the restaurants are Mexican or Basque.
There are citrus trees everywhere.
Highway 99 is a mess because of construction of the High Speed Rail bridges.
This is a major train hub and you can always hear train horns off in the distance.
It is not on our list of places to settle down. It is too hot, dry, and dusty.
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