Coaling Station A

A man needs to travel, and if he can't go to Mauritius he'll go to Puerto Penasco (as a substitute), and if he can't go there he'll go to Coalinga. So today I went to Coalinga, as a substitute, as revenge. Hotter than all hell. Now I know why the Central Valley people like Monterey. As soon as you cross into Fresno County the temperature goes up twenty degrees, and there is a faint smell of excrement (which may be caused by the cattle operation I saw at the I-5). But on the up side the semi-desert geologic wonders seen from route 198 exceeded my expectations. There are some regional parks and BLM lands that may provide some new hikes. The town itself: bigger than expected. A Starbucks, a Kmart, and a decent supermarket called Save-Mart. A nice downtown walking area with historic plaques. The museum was closed. Real estate is a lot cheaper there and some of the houses I saw along the back streets were nice. Still, this is a backwater and a blast furnace with oil derricks in the background.