I didn't know how long it would take to reach Fresno. I took lunch in a McDonald's as I didn't recognise the other chains I encountered. It felt great to come down out of the hills and out of the cold. This trip is meant to be about escaping the winter. I could have planned a little better but no regrets about that.
I stopped off to walk along the San Joaquin River after trying and failing to see the closed Friant dam just north of Fresno. The river was a nice quiet place to walk and see some wildlife, mostly birds but a fair number of gophers and squirrels as well. Gophers are funny animals. They closely resemble squirrels but run down holes instead of trees when you approach.
A Mexican/American family turned up before dusk to cook a barbecue. It looked like a good time was about to unfold but I was off to meet my host Steve at his work place, a large car/ motorcycle maintenance and sales lot. He showed me what he had been working on, a spider three wheeled motorbike.
They had vehicles I'd never even seen on TV before, and the lot itself was huge, one massive building for car sales and repairs, and the same sized building again concerned with motorbikes and everything else motorised. And there are a lot of types of the "everything else" type in the US.
I followed his truck back to his good sized bungalow in a suburban cul-de-sac and was shown to my room, a luxurious affair by my standards. The bed actually had four posts.
Steve is a football fan, supporting West Ham United, so we headed to the local "Arsenal" bar in downtown Fresno. I was expecting to see at least some red, or a shirt or a photo of the team, but all they had was a black and white drawing of the gunners emblem and nothing else. They watch the games in there though, so that's the main thing. I thought about making some suggestions to the barkeep, perhaps getting something to pep up the Arsenal theme a little more, but actually decide it wasn't me place to tell them how to go about their business. I'll save that for the homelessness situation, which I'm done with now, by the way.
At one point, while we were eating our supper, Steve spotted a guy partially dressed in civilian camouflage, walk into the bar holding a 9-inch knife in it's scabbard. He walked right behind me and looked behind a fridge holding the usual soda etc. Behind the fridge. Into a gap behind the fridge? Then he walked straight out. The bar staff didn't even notice. Apparently, it'll be illegal to conceal such a weapon but fine to carry it around like that. Weird. There's no way I would have sat with my back to him if I'd known. No wonder everyone is initially so guarded here. I would be too.
A fusball game was arranged regularly by Pedro, a contact of Steve's and a readily went along to join in the fun. The teams consisted of Pedro myself and the real stars: a collection of Mexican/American teenage boys aged from 13/14 to 17. I arrived a little early and walked about a little to see if I could work out the meeting spot. It was clearly a sketchy area. As I walked along a street bordering the park, I saw some kind of deal going down. I walked on walking my very best, 'I'm not a tourist walk' and looked unbothered by the potential BS. Within five minutes a police helicopter appeared overhead and began circling, it's powerful searchlight scanning the area around and near the small park. This went on for about ten minutes at least. The helicopters in the US, (or in Fresno at least), fly much closer to the ground than those in the UK. Surprisingly close. And it's intimidating, which is likely the idea. They fly two thirds closer to the ground! I hung around the park looking innocent and unconcerned until the guys turned up in a pick up truck with homemade goal posts in the back. I met with Pedro and helped unload the plastic pipes that made up the perfectly functional goals, and we set fitting and taping them together under the guidance of Pedro. Of course, many of the lads didn't help, due to being teenagers but they were all really great kids as I discovered as the night went on.
The games started and I was part of an unbeaten team that night, often as goalie as I grew weary. The guys on my team made me look good. In truth, two of my number were talented players and helped us win the night. It was great fun under the lights. The entire evening we played along side some older Korean kids playing volleyball at what seemed to me to be a relatively high level. College sports level I'm guessing. By the end of the night, I wanted to follow the progress of my fellow fusballers. Such a shame I couldn't get back to play every week. I could do with some fitness training as well.
The next day, I went to try and extend my car hire for a few days or weeks. Everyone I spoke to gave a different answer from; it's not possible, to yeah sure, just do it the day you want to extend it. Some time later, I actually just did it over the phone contrary to what two other advisors had told me. It was a simple affair in the end, but the staff in the various offices all had very different ideas concerning which hoops you need to jump through to give them more money. The car hire was a good experience overall, and really cheap too.
I met my host Steve for lunch at a diner, that's some good unhealthy American food there. Perfect. Another tick in the box!
The day after that was Steve's day off and we went together with his lovely Mother to Sequoia National Park an hour or so to the East.
To see those famous large trees was a treat. It was a little icy in the area because of the elevation, and consequently it had received some light snowfall for us to deal with, but the trees are magnificent and it wasn't particularly cold.
The views along the road into the park are breathtaking. Steve explained why there are so many dead trees. A huge percentage have died due to the drought conditions experienced over the last few years. The figure quoted was 70%, and everywhere you look, you see trees entirely covered in dead and dry pine needles. The fire risk, which is high outside winter, now has an unimaginable amount of fuel. Disaster waits just around the corner. The sheer number of dead trees, as well as the difficulty getting into the deep forest to take down problems, makes it impossible to remove all the dead ones. There are millions. All they can do is watch and wait, and hope. The lumberjacks will be busy in the areas along the roads over the next few years. Those are the priorities for removal. More bad news for the environment.
On the final night, Steve made a glorious home cooked steak with veg, by far the best meal I'd had in the US to date. What a great host. He hosts a fair number of people through the couchsurfing website. Each time someone new comes to stay, his little daughter places a pin on the map of the world. It's getting quite crowded up on that wall. Experiences like this, and the good people I meet along the way, really make the trip.
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