Cloudy skies were a welcome sight yesterday. We’ve had clear skies with intense sunshine since we arrived in Bakersfield. The heat has been relentless with daytime highs around 100 degrees and overnight lows of 70. The overnight low doesn’t occur until 6 or 7am. For most of the night, the outside temperature is in the 80s.

Donna took advantage of the cloud cover by going out on her bike in the morning. She followed the same route across town that she took on Saturday. This time, she rode the Kern River Parkway Trail in the opposite direction from Saturday’s ride. This was a shorter route. She had a good ride and covered 26 miles.

I’m still having issues with over-the-air TV reception. I don’t understand the problem. In our current location, I can pull in 20 strong stations, but they’re all analog broadcasts. I cannot receive any digital HD signals. I broke out the ladder and climbed on the roof to check the antenna. I cleaned the coax connections with electrical contact cleaner. They had some corrosion. I couldn’t think of anything else to do. The analog reception is good, but a digital HD image would be better. Maybe I need a new antenna or booster.

I took a walk through the RV park. It isn’t as large as some of the parks we’ve been in, but I was able to get some exercise. While I was out, I could smell rain. It was virga (I wrote about that here). The rain was evaporating before it hit the ground.

The park we’re in, Bakersfield Palms RV Resort, is split into two sections. The larger section is for long-term (one month or more) residents. The section we’re in is called the overnight area. There are only a handful of RVs in the overnight section, which is comprised of 20 large pull-through sites. Only three of us have been here for more than a day. Most of the RVers are using the park for an overnight stay as they travel through central California.

Yesterday, a class C rental RV pulled into the site next to us. There are two couples in the RV. They appear to be European. They’ve kept to themselves, so we haven’t had an opportunity to talk to them. We’ve met many Europeans on extended vacations in RV parks. Some of them have exhausting itineraries as they try to see all of the sights in the USA in four or five weeks. Others keep returning to complete their travels and do their sightseeing at a more reasonable pace.

A few of the European travelers we’ve met have their own RV that they store in the USA when they return home. Then they come back to continue their RV adventure. We met a Swiss couple that did this when we were in Mesa, Arizona. Their rig is pictured in this post. We met a couple from Austria in Salt Lake City that were traveling the country in their RV. They planned to end their adventure, which began in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in Alaska and maybe sell the RV there.

Class C rental RV

I would have liked to meet the people in the rig next to us, but they packed up and left as I’m typing this. Traveling to a foreign country and renting an RV has to be a real challenge. The thought of heading out in a rental RV is scary enough. There are so many things to learn in an RV, and most of us learn a few things the hard way.

I’ve driven cars in Europe many times. I know that driving where you may not fully understand the customs and laws can be stressful. I’m fine in Germany and Austria, but places like France, Slovakia and Italy give me heartburn.

And then there’s the whole issue of being in unfamiliar territory. Getting onto Fairview Avenue from the RV park is a bit confusing. I noticed that the rental RV that just left exited to the left, which would send them in the wrong direction if they were trying to reach the highway.

Clouds last evening

Yesterday’s cloud cover is long gone. Today, we have clear skies and the thermometer will reach north of 90 degrees. I don’t have a plan, other than to go grocery shopping with Donna later.