Camping Out West...Day 35...Wednesday, July 21, 2010...Lingering in Ridgecrst...The "Garmin" finds a New Way Through The Sierras

Late night last night...by the time I finished posting my blog entries, it was after 1:00AM. So...I'm sleeping a little late this morning.
Before I leave Ridgecrest (and civilization), I've got a few things to do. First, a haircut at the "Hairitage Salon". Leslie does the cutting (only the 9th person to ever cut my hair) and does a fair job...I now look considerably less "scruffy". Then, on to Stater Bros. grocers for some steaks, pork, pasta...and an eggplant (I'm going to attempt eggplant Parmesan "camper-style" one of these nights).
Looking over my maps, I don't see a clear route to get me from the east side of the Sierras to my destination, Sequoia National Park, on the west side. So...I figure I'll just let my Garmin navigator find it's own way.
Out of Ridgecrest, I'm heading west on Mountain Route J41...a five or six mile climb, then down into a valley with some cattle farms. Pretty soon, I'm going through the town of Kernville next to a beautiful lake (Lake Isabella). Out of Kernville, I'm going up and up for over twenty miles through the southern unit of Sequoia National Forest. It's tough going for the Escape (with camper). Most of the time, I'm going around 15 miles per hour. I let a utility truck pas me...and he's not going any faster. Finally, I'm up and over the mountains and into another valley...some horse farms, narrow road, isolated...I even have to cross to "one-lane" bridges. Hours later, I finally get to a "real" road (Route 65) near the town of Terra Bella. The rest of the trip goes fast...and soon I'm at the entrance to Sequoia National Park. The Ranger suggests camping in the "foothills" and taking just the Escape up the mountain to the trees. So I camp at the first available campground...this proves to be a wise choice as the road up the mountain to the trees is steep, narrow and under construction.
So...I uncouple the "sleep module" from the "travel module" and settle in for the night...it's already late afternoon. Some three-cheese ravioli with vodka sauce and some good Chianti makes a perfect dinner. By 9:30PM, I loaded into the sleep module and "out like a light".