Kern River Canyon

I pulled the Road King out this evening and headed towards the Kern River Canyon.The Kern River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately 164 miles (264 km) long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield. Fed by snow melt near Mount Whitney, the river passes through scenic canyons in the mountains and is a popular destination for white water rafting and kayaking. It is the only major river in the Sierra Nevada mountain range that drains in a southern direction.

This is a California Landmark that is near the mouth of the Kern River Canyon. One mile north of this marker on May 1, 1776, Francisco Garces of the Franciscan Order, crossed the Kern River in his search for a shorter route from Sonora, Mexico to Monterey, California. He was the first known explorer to describe this river, which he named Rio De San Felipe.The river is also well known for its danger, and is sometimes known as the "Killer Kern". A sign at the mouth of Kern Canyon warns visitors, "Danger. Stay Out. Stay Alive" and tallies the deaths since 1968; as of April 8, 2007 the count was up to 238. Bakersfield-born Merle Haggard's song Kern River recounts just such a tragedy. Most recently, as of July 9, 2007, the head count for the number of deaths is now 250.

This guy stopped and asked me if I needed any help. He had taken the day off from work and spent the day in the Kern River Valley enjoying his ride.

Snow melt from Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states, feeds the Kern River, which provides drinking water for Kern County. The river is important riparian habitat, including critical habitat for the Kern Canyon Salamander.

This picture is taken from the mouth of the Kern Canyon, obviously looking west at sunset.The Lower Kern below Lake Isabella is a fishery unto its own. This section of river flows from the dam at Lake Isabella over 40 miles to the city of Bakersfield. This section is famous for its Small Mouth Bass as well as very large Rainbow Trout. It's also home to Large Mouth Bass and Crappie.

The canyon is very rugged in places.Here is a picture of some California Poppy's
(click on picture to enlarge and see the poppy's better)
The poppy is the State flower of California. A common myth associated with the plant is that cutting or otherwise damaging the California poppy is illegal because it is a state flower. There is no such law. There is a state law that makes it a misdemeanor to cut or remove any flower, tree, shrub or other plant growing on state or county highways, with an exception for authorized government employees and contractors (Cal. Penal Code Section 384a).