This morning at 6:00 AM the coach trembled and there was a loud explosion followed by three more a few seconds apart. Caliente has a tradition of starting the 4th of July with setting off sticks dynamite at 6:00 AM. The awakening call is followed by a pancake breakfast.
At 11:00 AM there was the traditional small town parade.
We attended the parade and then return to the RV Park for lunch.
After lunch we drove to Kershaw-Ryan State Park. The park is just a few miles from Caliente. The canyon was settled in 1873 by Samuel and Hannah Kershaw, who operated a ranch called the Meadow Va
lley Wash Ranch. In 1904 they sold the property to rancher James Ryan; The Ryan’s donated the land to the state in 1926 to be a public park. They felt that more people could enjoy the canyon if it was a state park. The Civilian Conservation Corps developed visitor amenities in 1934. Kershaw–Ryan State Park was officially established the following year.
The park hosts four distinct plant communities, the riparian along the cool, moist canyon floor; the mountain brush which is found in shady pockets on the canyon walls; the cool desert shrub which includes sagebrush and rabbit brush found in dry areas and the pinion-juniper woodlands found in higher elevations. Gambel’s oak occurs in small groves near the pond along with apple, pear, and plum trees from the orchard planted by the Kershaw’s in the late 1800s.
At 9:00 PM, Caliente had their fireworks show that we were able to watch from the RV Park.
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