Unexpected Trip to Fresno

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Hi Blog!

We are camped near the entrance of Kings Canyon National Park. Last night, Kathy's laptop computer died. It was sudden and unexpected. As luck would have it, we are only about an hour away from Fresno, California. We found a computer repair place, Nerds on Call, that would be willing to take a look at the laptop and give us their opinion on whether it can be brought back to life.

While visiting Fresno was not on our list, we decided that, since we have to go, we might as well make the best of it. After yesterday's serious hike, we thought perhaps a leisurely stroll was in order. We found Woodward Park in downtown Fresno.

The late Ralph Woodward, a long-time Fresno resident, bequeathed the major portion of his estate in 1968 to provide a regional park and bird sanctuary on the South bank of the San Joaquin River. The initial 235 acres, combined with additional acres acquired later by the City brings the park to 300 acres. Much like Central Park in New York, Woodward Park has loads of facilities including a concert hall, Japanese Gardens, a dog park, disc golf, BMX bike park and miles of hiking of trails. The centerpiece of the park is the lake.  We walked over to the lake and spent a few minutes admiring it and some of the informal stone sculpture sprinkled around it:

We started our stroll with a walk around the lake. While the far side of the lake is off limits as a bird sanctuary, the front part of the lake is available for strolling and picnicing. However, someone forgot to tell the snowbirds.

This grey goose was very possessive of his picnic table.

This Moscovy Duck stands in stark contrast to his white feathered friends. Did you know that Aztec rulers wore cloaks made from the feathers of the Muscovy Duck, which was considered the totem animal of the Wind God, Ehecatl.

As we continued around the lake, we encountered a gang of Canadian snowbirds. Like many Canadian RVers, they like to spend the winter in Southern California!

As a family of bikers approached, they took flight.

Splash landing!

Part of our walk was along the Lewis S. Eaton Trail, a six mile bike trail along the San Joaquin River.

We enjoyed the fall weather and nature-made artwork.

There was also plenty of man-made art, too.

While sitting next to this babbling brook, it's hard to believe we are in the middle of California's fifth largest city.

While we enjoyed our stroll this morning, we must warn you, the park has a panhandling problem. We were approached several times by fowl feathered friends looking for a handout.

As we made our way back to the Jeep, we watched this hawk swoop down and chase a ground squirrel. Luckily, the little furry thing got away.

While the hawk missed out on lunch, we made a stop at Sequoia Brewing Company. Kathy just can't resist hugging the Sequoia!

For want of a nail the shoe was lost;

For want of a shoe the horse was lost;

For want of a horse the battle was lost;

For the failure of battle the kingdom was lost—

All for the want of a nail.

Well, in the case of Kathy's laptop it wasn't a nail that was lost, it was the tiny pin that sits inside the DC power jack. Without the pin, the power cord cannot connect. Without power the battery dies. No battery, no laptop.

Unfortunately, we don't have enough time here in Fresno for the Nerds on Call to order the replacement part. We are hoping that, by the time we get to Riverside, we'll be able to get the part ordered and delivered before we leave for Arizona. Stay tuned.