Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)'s photos

The road that goes along most of the top of the Oroville Dam for close to a mile, taken from an observation point above the dam. This picture of the dam were taken much later than I had planned, due to a traffic accident that had closed down part of the freeway for about an hour much earlier in the day.

I often tell friends that Sacramento is one of my favorite cities, to which most are astounded. In a state with major thriving cultural centers along the coast, people can’t understand how anyone would like a large inland city whose major industry is government. I first got to know Sacramento when I was lobbying the legislature for my faculty union and was surprised that it had an architecturally interesting Midtown surrounding the Capitol, and that there was an active gay community. Over time I grew to like it even more as I realized the large number of neighborhoods like this that felt much like the neighborhoods I knew in the East. Neighborhoods with moderate size houses on streets that don’t look like everyone is trying to make a statement about success, with people out walking on the streets that say ‘hi’. This particular neighborhood is just happenstance -- I needed a break from freeway driving and just decided to wander into a neighborhood. I stopped because the fall leaf colors were bright! I intentionally did not put a GPS but will note that Google maps lists the area as Curtis Park, 1.5 miles from the Capitol.

I couldn’t find specifics on the buildings in this picture, but the company itself is the last family-owned flour mill in California and has been in business since 1887 and at the same location for a large part of those years. There’s a very nice history of the company in the Hanford Sentinel that describes how the company started out milling Central Valley wheat for multiple products but with competition from the big companies, has narrowed to being a significant producer of tortilla flour that is preferred by tortilla manufacturing plants across California. The article mentioned above was written in 2010, so I checked on the current status of the company and found it listed as current with the local chamber of commerce – and you could hear the hum of the mill (it’s close to downtown).

Opened in 1916 as the U.S. Post Office , used by the county from the early 1960’s until 1977, and now a bank.

Downtown Hanford on Saturday morning. The downtown is well-maintained and surprisingly busy (the retail sections are behind me, I wanted to include that tree!)

The courthouse opened in 1896 and served as courthouse until 1976; it now houses offices and retail space. I realize the palm trees are historic, but I’d eliminate some to better show off the building’s architecture :) Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_County_Courthouse_(California)

An abandoned grain elevator, near the Amtrak station in Corcoran, with an Amtrak San Joaquin headed south. Corcoran seems to be thriving, so I don’t know the history of the grain elevator that’s been abandoned for multiple years.

Amtrak San Joaquin arriving in Corcoran, CA. This would have been train #714 that left the SF Bay Area (Oakland) at 11:36am -- faster than I could have driven it! From what I could see when the train left, there appeared to be about 10 passengers getting off in Corcoran. That no one was getting on is not surprising since the next stop (Bakersfield) is the end of the line.

Amtrak San Joaquin departing Corcoran, CA., with power on the rear of the train. I’ve ridden the San Joaquin a couple of times in the past, the equipment looked more beat-up this time than I remembered.

What I was not able to photograph when here in 2021, a conventional BNSF freight headed under the High-Speed Rail (HSR) Wasco Viaduct. Click here for more information/reflection on the HSR.

What I was not able to photograph when here in 2021, a conventional BNSF freight headed under the High-Speed Rail (HSR) Wasco Viaduct. Click here for more information/reflection on the HSR.

More evidence of progress in this picture since July of 2021 . Click here for more information/reflection on the HSR.

The Wasco Viaduct of the California High-Speed Rail project. In the 16 months since I was last at about this spot, there doesn’t seem to have been a lot of progress. Click here for more information/reflection on the HSR.

Pictures of the Holiday Parade in Hanford, CA. None of these pictures are great, and some are fairly weak, but I wanted to show a holiday celebration in what is a relatively large farm city in California’s Central Valley. This is nowhere near the number of floats/contingents. The paraded lasted an hour and there were no empty spots, there must have been 100 or more entries. What impressed me was how many spectators there were, how much they enjoyed it, and how much it was very much a down-to-earth event. The spectators were a very mixed group with many who looked like they worked in the local agricultural industry. Very many of the floats were pick-up trucks pulling flat-bed trailers, or just a flat-bed trucks. NOTHING that looked like it had been put together by professionals. I hadn’t gone to Hanford for the parade, but considering how negative the world has been these days, it was quite encouraging to see such a large and happy crowd.

Pictures of the Holiday Parade in Hanford, CA. None of these pictures are great, and some are fairly weak, but I wanted to show a holiday celebration in what is a relatively large farm city in California’s Central Valley. This is nowhere near the number of floats/contingents. The paraded last an hour and there were no empty spots, there must have been 100 or more entries. What impressed me was how many spectators there were, how much they enjoyed it, and how much it was very much a down-to-earth event. The spectators were a very mixed group with many who looked like they worked in the local agricultural industry. Very many of the floats were pick-up trucks pulling flat-bed trailers, or just a flat-bed trucks. NOTHING that looked like it had been put together by professionals. I hadn’t gone to Hanford for the parade, but considering how negative the world has been these days, it was quite encouraging to see such a large and happy crowd.

Nice looking 1957 Ford convertible! Pictures of the Holiday Parade in Hanford, CA. None of these pictures are great, and some are fairly weak, but I wanted to show a holiday celebration in what is a relatively large farm city in California’s Central Valley. This is nowhere near the number of floats/contingents. The paraded last an hour and there were no empty spots, there must have been 100 or more entries. What impressed me was how many spectators there were, how much they enjoyed it, and how much it was very much a down-to-earth event. The spectators were a very mixed group with many who looked like they worked in the local agricultural industry. Very many of the floats were pick-up trucks pulling flat-bed trailers, or just a flat-bed trucks. NOTHING that looked like it had been put together by professionals. I hadn’t gone to Hanford for the parade, but considering how negative the world has been these days, it was quite encouraging to see such a large and happy crowd.

Sorry for the blur, it's a flatbed operated by a towing company. Pictures of the Holiday Parade in Hanford, CA. None of these pictures are great, and some are fairly weak, but I wanted to show a holiday celebration in what is a relatively large farm city in California’s Central Valley. This is nowhere near the number of floats/contingents. The paraded last an hour and there were no empty spots, there must have been 100 or more entries. What impressed me was how many spectators there were, how much they enjoyed it, and how much it was very much a down-to-earth event. The spectators were a very mixed group with many who looked like they worked in the local agricultural industry. Very many of the floats were pick-up trucks pulling flat-bed trailers, or just a flat-bed trucks. NOTHING that looked like it had been put together by professionals. I hadn’t gone to Hanford for the parade, but considering how negative the world has been these days, it was quite encouraging to see such a large and happy crowd.