Adventure 166: Oakhurst, California/High Sierra RV Park/Post A

Oakhurst was originally called Fresno Flats.

Traveling mercies showed up right in front of our door this morning when the local sheriff showed up. He gave us directions for a path off the mountain that not only saved us miles, but also saved us the wear and tear of descending the Old Priest grade. The back road he suggested was quiet and scenic, and there were a fair number of "humans" living in them there hills.  After an easy gentle winding through the forest, we passed through a former mining town called Coulterville, whose founder it is said lived in a tent and flew an American flag. The lure of gold must have been strong because we climbed out of the valley and traversed some seriously sketchy switchback turns to get to the top of the grade. Then we descended a six mile eight percent grade losing fifteen hundred feet all the while twisting and turning like the stomach of a teen boy about to ask his first girl out. The breaks were squeaking, the stabilizing bars were groaning, but the road was smooth albeit minus guard rails. I dared not look down, and I alternated using the truck breaks with manually using the trailer breaks to help prevent any overheating.  Finally, at the crest of the other side, there is a historical marker citing where General Fremont built a fort to protect the mining claims. Personally, I can see no reason to inhabit the place at all. Gratefully, after we topped the final grade, it was smooth sailing into Mariposa, a gateway town to Yosemite. It is typically old style Western designed to shake a few dollars from the passing tourists. We decided to hold firmly on to our wallet, especially in light of the fact that our main credit card has been compromised by some scoundrel back east. It's amazing how quickly the monitoring system informed us of the illicit activity, and even more amazing how quickly they disabled the card. Though aggravating, it verified our decision to have two active cards for the trip. It would be harder to trade gold nuggets for goods these days, especially since we wouldn't know gold if it shined its ever living light on us. After three hours of traveling mercy, we reached the town of Oakhurst, which claims thirteen thousand souls as residents and sits at the junction of Hwy 49 and Hwy 41. The town appears to be nothing but a series of strip malls shaped like an X marks the spot. We did find a cool historical site called Fresno Flats, which was the town's original name. Apparently, this was the staging point for moving timber from the mountains down into the valley back in the 1850s. The only real excitement of the day came when Judy melted a plastic lid as she was baking squash for dinner. She keeps a few things in the oven when we travel, and this little piece of plastic must have had a death wish because it fell behind where she couldn't see it. Scraping plastic dripping like hot pizza cheese from parts of an RV oven isn't that much fun, and the smell is quite toxic, but this is truly a first world problem, and it positively does not detract from the fact that life is good, especially today.

 First, the six mile descent into Bear Valley. Then the climb out. 

 Way back down there under the bridge is the Bagby Recreation Area. The light brown spot in the upper part of the picture is usually a lake, but after five years of drought, there is a mere trickle of river left.

 Frac needed a rest, and of course, we stop at all historical markers. This one told of General Fremont building a fort to protect the mining claims.

 High Sierra RV Park: site 29.

 The Fresno Flats jailhouse.

 Old Glory waving in the amber afternoon.

 Well, that's a deep (and dry) subject.

 Like all the forgotten old timers, this guy sits with his buddies behind a chicken wire fence.

 Flat one by six cedar boards woven using finger joint construction. This must have been when lumber was plentiful.

 Another of the sad old timers that time has forgotten.

 Whiskey, ointments, and miracle cures stacked like so many empty promises.

 The Old Fresno Flats school house.

 The kitchen in this house was way cool. Four families shared the place.

 There is a living room, a sitting room, a sewing room, a pantry, a kitchen, and four bedrooms up stairs. Quite a mansion for 1852.

 Clearly, they lived before permanent press.

 The view from the road.