My first stop was the Lake Isabela area of the southern Sierra Nevada.
The Kern River is a beautiful valley with several riparian wildlife preserves upstream of the lake, and flanked by 7000 ft. mountains in the southern Sierra. A nice mix of ecosystems for birding.
(click on a frame to enlarge)
Passed through Bakersfield on the way to Monterey Bay, of course I had to play some Buck Owens.
Awesome images, Buck. Really nice! Happy to see some of that country comin’ out of you, too. The other Buck (Owens that is) and Dwight Yokum also recorded Streets of Bakersfield as a duet.