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zBrown
Ice climber
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Jul 22, 2015 - 09:33am PT
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The Balckboard was cool back in the fifties.
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lithomancer
Social climber
slc
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 22, 2015 - 10:03am PT
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Thanks for the beta, it seems pretty much as I expected. One last question, how are the schools and is it an "unsafe" place to raise a kid? We'd be moving for an oil job, so we wouldn't be poor.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Jul 22, 2015 - 10:09am PT
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The schools are no different from any other place - it depends on which school. My wife has three cousins who grew up in Bakersfield, went to Bakersfield High, and then on to college and career. The oldest became a teacher, but her daughter is a full prof at University of Washington. The middle just retired as a professor of vetrinary medicine at Virginia Tech, and the youngest is the department chair (I can't remember precisely which department) at UCSF, so - based on a very small sample size - the schools seem to prepare their students adequately for academic careers.
John
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jfailing
Trad climber
part Texas, part Oman
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Jul 22, 2015 - 10:17am PT
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I worked the oil patch near Bakersfield for over a year, and climbed extensively during that time. I was mostly based out of Taft, which is way worse than Bakersfield. Most of the locals are pretty ridiculous, but there are plenty of normal folks working for O&G companies. So if you're gettin an oil job there, you'll probably mostly interact with your co-workers/peers.
All the great climbing areas are within four hours or less - the Valley, Sierra East-side, J-tree... I mudlogged at Elk Hills for my time there and had a 2 week on, 1 week off schedule. Most O&G companies in Bako rock the 9/80 schedule and everyone clears out on weekends.
There's a tiny little gym that's alright, but honestly there's enough climbing outside nearby that I wouldn't even bother.
Overall, it's very centrally located and great if you want to climb, and is actually pretty livable. People love to bash Bako because it is pretty bashable, but it's really not as bad as people make it out to be. The air quality is terrible however.
There's a killer Thai restaurant in Taft if you ever make the mistake of going to that awful town...
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Old5Ten
Trad climber
Berkeley and Sunny Slopes, CA
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Jul 25, 2015 - 11:16pm PT
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i was pleasantly surprised that there's some great cycling nearby. caliente up to walker basin then out toward bodfish and up breckenridge. one of my favorite rides anywhere and the friendliest locals (walker basin area) anywhere.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
Shitalkqua, WA
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Jul 26, 2015 - 12:12am PT
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I always liked how you drive east a few miles, and BAM there is the mountains and river in all her glory.
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Bad Climber
climber
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Jul 26, 2015 - 06:12am PT
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Never have I had more mediocre lamb chops on a plate in front of me than at a Basque restaurant in the SJ Valley.
Hah! Classic stuff right there.
Hey, that Lion's Trail/Walker Basin ride is one of the best bike rides anywhere. If you do the loop from Caliente, it's about 45 miles and 4,400 ft. of climbing. No matter which direction you do it, the last long set of miles is virtually all downhill to the car. That ride in the late/winter spring when, for about three weeks the hills are green, is very special indeed.
Yeah, the profs at Bakersfield College are top notch, with many coming from the best schools, which I think is mostly a reflection on how hard it is to get full time academic work. I've got colleagues with sheep skins from Harvard, Yale, and Vanderbilt. Go figer.
96 deg. F. in Bako today; 80 deg. F. in Tehachistan. Breezy right now up here. I'm off for a hike on our local mountain. I'll start at about 5,300 ft. and go from there. Oh, and we've got a Gran Fondo bike event going down up here in Sept., too, the second annual running of the cyclists. It was a great event last year. C'mon up!
BAd
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Damn this looks high
Trad climber
California
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Jul 27, 2015 - 10:24am PT
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DON'T GO!
I grew up there and the place is a pit.
But if you have to, check out Dewar's Ice Cream shop on California Ave--near Bakersfield High (not the new one--Jesus, not the new one). It's the only reason to go there.
Jim
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Jul 27, 2015 - 12:47pm PT
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Lived there for a couple of years back in the 80's. Amazing how much bigger it is.
Schools can be good or bad, pay attention to where you are. I worked at the ER in Taft for awhile. Delano, Wasco, other tiny places. Hmmmm. Definitely lots of knife and gun action....but seemed limited to certain groups.
Half our patients in the peds ward at Kern Medical Center were Valley Fever.
Ultimately, people are people.
You'll love air conditioning. Too damn hot for me. Didn't like the air.
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