Joani & David's Travels: Tuesday, October 8, 2013, Porterville with Uncle Jim, Porterville, CA

The air was a bit "thick" as we drove to Porterville, so the mountains were somewhat obscured, but still nice. Uncle Jim joined us for the day. He grew up in Porterville, so it was interesting to have his commentary on the things that have changed and the things that are the same after all these years.

He filled us in on the Hayes family lineage when we visited the cemetery.

Joani's Great-Great Grandfather's ranch was still in operation, although we have no idea who owns it now. Jim was pretty sure we would find handprints in the sidewalk from two kids 70 years ago - his and his sister's (Joani's mom), but we didn't get out to look for them.

Uncle Jim remembered fondly helping his grandpa on the ranch in the summers as a kid. It seems to be all orchards now.

We stopped at Porterville High School where Jim was pleased to get a Panthers cap for his hat collection.

Uncle Jim's alma mater

Sadly, the Porterville Museum was not open. Their hours are 10-4 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, so we were out of luck. Several of the displays inside included furnishings and memorabilia from the family. Many years ago we walked through this place with Joani's grandparents as they remembered and commented on things from their childhood on display.

Bakersfield is a really nice town, but if you don't have sprinklers - it's desert.

A lot of the area outside Bakersfield looks pretty rough with the oil rigs seemingly scattered randomly over the hills. Jim said they have been pumping as long as he could remember.