Thursday Travel Tails - California

Mama begged to use OUR bloggie to share pictures of our travels this summer.  We were a bit skeptical, after all, we were gone for about 87 days and Mama takes tons of pictures which would take up bunches of our blog time!!

We decided to compromise and let her show travel pictures

 but WE would be the ones to show you around and give you our thoughts about each of the states we visited. 

 In these posts, you will be able to see the scenery, PLUS get honest reviews on the Rest Stops and the Hotels where we stopped along the way! We MIGHT let Mama give an occasional opinion (her opinions will be in italics like this).

Today, we are starting with our home state of California!

 

As you can see from Jakey's Pizapped the map, California is a big state with all kinds of different things to see! 

No matter which way we go, when we leave home we need to travel over the North Coast Ranges (mountains). 

In June, when we went to the BAR, we traveled over the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Isn't it pretty??

I, Arty, drove with Mama over the Tehachapi Mountains on our way to Texas. These mountains are home to the Tehachapi Loop, one of the most frequented "Railfan" stops in America.

(Mama says we will be taking our Daddy, the railfan, back there in the fall!) 

If  you would like to read more about the Tehachapi Loop click HERE!

(Madi, we thought your Daddy might like this place too!)

On the other side of the Tehachapi Mountains is the Mojave Desert!!

There were lots of Joshua trees and tumble weed  bushes everywhere!

 At the beginning it wasn't too hot but as we headed farther southeast it got REALLY HOT!!!

As you can see, California has tons of pawsome scenery and we have just shown you the mountains and desert! We also drove through farming communities located west and northwest of Bakersfield (in central California). They grow everything from tomatoes to flowers and olives to pistachios!

When we were traveling, except for our stay in Indiana at the BAR, we stayed exclusively at La Quinta Inns & Suites.

In California we stayed at the LQ, Bakersfield North.

 

I, Arty, loved our hotel room!! The bed was comfy and the room was spic and span with lots of room for zoomies!

 

This LQ has a nice place surrounded by olive trees to sniff around and keep up with your peemail. They also had a nice "Pet Area" with poop bags and a place for Mama to deposit my...ummm...deposits BOL.

There were even sidewalks so Mama could easily and safely take me for walkies without worrying!!

Mama here, I was very satisfied with the LQ Bakersfield North.  Check in was quick and painless, as was check out(and up to 2 pets stay for free!). The room was nice (and did not smell) and the bed was comfy. I really love that all LQ rooms now have microwaves and refrigerators too.  It was located very conveniently off of the highway, has gas stations and a Starbucks close by!

We tend to stop at TONS of rest stops when we are traveling. We know that staying hydrated is very important and what goes in must come out..BOL!! Mama also likes to pull over every couple of hours so she can stay focused while she is driving.

The Rest Areas in California weren't too bad. We were disappointed that many of the stops don't have grass in the "Pet Areas" though. 

We did enjoy taking walkies in some of the rest areas that backed up against farms, like this pistachio grove!

(Mama here, although safe, most of California's rest areas didn't seem as clean as the rest areas in other parts of the country)

We hope you enjoyed our California Travel Tail,  next week we'll be telling you all about our travel through Nevada!!