Instagram- AdamTheWooATW Feels weird heading back to LA areas now that I no longer live there

You take us with you to places that 99% of us would never see if it wasn't for these vlogs. I watch these everyday and it's like being on vacation even though I'm at work. Thanks, Adam

So the abandoned buildings were actually homes for farm workers that used to live on the ranch. That ranch used to be called Blue Moon Ranch. I worked on that ranch in the mid-90s. A friend of mines Dad owned it. A lot of fun times out there. Also the factory you saw in Buttonwillow was a cotton gin. Safe travels.

A lot of people think that the San Joaquin valley was always a desert, which is a untrue assumption.. the San Joaquin valley is a man-made desert in which all of the water that comes out of the Sierra Nevada from the snow melt is managed and has been since the early 1900's.. consumerican valley at one time had three major lakes in the south near Bakersfield in Tulare.. the three major lakes were Kern lake at the base of the grapevine, Buena Vista lake near Taft, and Tulare lake just west of Tulare.. and a lot of people don't know that Tulare California is named Tulare because of the Thule reads that used to grow wild around that area because of all the water from the Kings River and the kawea river flowing into Tulare lake.. Back When Padre Fagas first discovered the silicon valley on his Trek from the Los Angeles area over what we call the ridge route now the San Joaquin valley in the south was a marshland with water sometimes being only a couple feet deep but covered much of the valley.. a lot of people also don't realize that Fresno California is not the original location of Fresno... Original settlement of Fresno City was near modern-day San Joaquin California and tranquility California... And if you go back far enough in time the San Joaquin valley was an inland salt water sea which is why you can find mega amounts of sea shells, old fossils, and Old shark's teeth near Bakersfield near a Hill called sharks tooth Hill...

Those old houses are part the headquarters for the Blue Moon Ranch. Back in the day it was one of the most prominent cotton farms in the Buttonwillow community. The ranch grew 1,000 acres of cotton, alfalfa hay and wheat. My brother-in-law and his family owned the ranch during the 1950's - 1990's. There were three larger homes, an office and several shops that aren't shown in the video. I spent a great deal of time at the ranch when I was a teenager, staying and working there with my sister and my brother-in-law. It was a magnificent oasis at one time with green pastures, green lawns and the houses were freshly painted and nicely maintained. My sister and brother-in-law also owned the Spicer City Market at one time. I have many great memories from those days and will always cherish the Blue Moon Ranch.

I believe that coyote @14:48 was headed to the post office @13:40 in Tubman to pick up a package from the Acme Co.

I had the privilege of running into Adam the woo yesterday and he could not have been nicer. Keep up the good work my friend, your awesome

My family lived on Twisselman Rd until I was about 15yrs old. I am 50yrs old now. Loved seeing all of those fields and lonely roads again, I still have dreams of my years out there. Thank you for this video!

The road less travelled is sooo much more interesting. This man is a natural you tuber, he goes down the back roads and looks at interesting things like old coke signs so you don't have to. On many a rainy day I've discovered things like giant burgers and the world's largest ball of elastic bands. There's no where quite like small town USA. Thank you Mr Woo and keep up the good work.

Yes, those white boxes are filled with bees. The bees are used to polinate the vaious orchards in the area. When pollination is done in that area, the bees are moved to a new location.

Those trees may have been almond tree farms. California is the worlds biggest producer of almonds. The bees are being utilized to pollinate them

I live in Santa Clarita and spend as much time as possible in these "desolate" areas - I photograph the oil / ag fields and find a lot of solace in those places. Mckittrick, Buttonwillow, Maricopa, Taft, west Bakersfield, etc...

The empty mailboxes, a powerful clue of the emptying out of rural America. It's been going on for a few decades now. Little towns who used to have their own stores. Now they're lucky to have a Walmart in the county seat, 50 mile round-trip drive 🚗.

You're the best at making me feel peaceful and reminding me to enjoy the moment. Love your work Adam!

My Dad was born in Mckittrick, a small Oil workers town. His Dad worked the Union Oil Fields, by working the boilers to create steam to assist the thick crude to move through the many miles of pipes all the way to Port San Luis to load onto ships offshore.

I worked home health and hospice in Bakersfield and saw patients all over these areas. I would get directions like “ go past the two oil rigs, over the open canal, past two almond orchards and you will see the house”. It could get a little spooky when having to go out on calls in the middle of the night, lol. Some of the farm worker places were almost uninhabitable but almost always immaculate. Despite these things, I have fond memories of those days.

How many times have I driven I5, seen that Tule Elk Reserve sign, and never pulled off. Thanks for this cool drive into our hidden backroads. Fun video. Great job.

I have a great amount of nostalgia for the stretch of I5 from Sacramento to LA. It’s not much to look at but if you’ve driven it enough there’s something cathartic about it. I used to drive it almost on a weekly basis between the age of 18-21 before I moved out there. Honestly these last few videos have all been pretty nostalgic/relatable from Reno, where I live now, to the Bay Area and up the 5 all places I’ve spent a lot of my life in and have fond memories of. Been missing them a lot lately, thanks Adam.

Thanks for letting me join you on your adventures Adam. I'm not feeling that well right now and these videos make me feel better. Hopefully I'll be able to go out traveling soon.

When Adam says “I’m parked in the middle of the road, nobody around here, no one” …just then a lawnmower starts up 😂😂😂 j/k 😜

Those small houses at around 8 min mark were homes for the farmers. My uncle used to live in the first house. We used to go visit him almost every weekend. Thise big trees in the back are walnut trees. That place is actually called Blue Moon Ranch. I have a lot of good memories theres from my childhood

There is nothing Better than Adam on a Road Trip !

Love your conversation with the animals its always great love these back roads its great enjoy your trip my brother !😃

It's fun to see you back in the areas of your old haunts. Thank you, Adam!

You're the "bee's knees" when it comes to these off road exploration videos! Thanks, appreciate it!

OMG I used to work there at the refinery in Tupman for 18 years. The post office there handles all the mail for that large oil field (which used to be the nation’s second largest oil reserve). The elk you saw are called Tule Elk and came from that oil field mountain. The oil field is called Elk Hills

These backroads can't be beaten. I'm totally enjoying your roadtrip, Adam. 👏🤠👏

Really nice. When I go to Northern California (San Jose), sometimes I take 33 instead of 5. There is also 166. It's amazing. Thank you for a good virtual trip.

The area is in Kern County, the Southern beginning of the ''Big Valley'' and known for oil, mining and agriculture. Just North of 146 is the city of Delano. It is famous in US Labor History as site of the United Farm Workers grape strike of 1965. Labor leaders Cesar Chavez and Larry Itliong joined forces and fought for better wages and working conditions. As a child worker, my family and I would later benefit from those labor wins. I would get a few more pennies for the basket of grapes we picked. Thank you for your vlog TDW. It took me back when we worked the fields near 146. As I understand, the Tule Elk is endanger of extinction - again, gracias for the memories.

Hey Adam, you always find some of the coolest things on your trips! Thanks so much and stay safe!

The elk are Tule Elk. Those large reeds in the marsh you were photographing over to see the elk are called tules. For long term residents (I'm 4th generation) the term for being out in the middle of nowhere is "out in the tules". Durng the wet season there can be incredibly dense fogs that come out of tule marshes called "tule fog". I've been in some where day turned into blackest might and I literally could not see my hand in front of my face. Very dangerous to drive in. Better to pull to the far side of the road and pray somebody doesn't drive into you. The buildings were probably a labor camp for farmworkers in the area. You came a few weeks too late as the landscape was probably still green at the beginning of April. Ours turned to brown in mid-April in the LA area. The "factory" near Buttonwillow was most likely a seasonally used agricultural packing house. They're all over farming areas. The bee hives are called apiaries and moved around seasonally for crop pollination. The bees are busy working and unlikely to sting you if you don't bother them. California still sits on a vast ocean of oil. I grew up in a beach suburb south of LAX. We were still an oilfield. We had two pumps on our block alone and when I went to bed as a kid I could hear the creak of the walking beams along with the bell of the local harbor buoy. A major refinary was a short distance away and the night sky was lit up by the flareoffs of excess gas. Oil still naturally seeps from the ground and even the offshore seafloor. We were always having to clean it off as kids and learned to spot and avoid it. I still see natural seeps and globlets from ocean seeps still float in on the beaches. The industry is just more visible in the southern San Joaquin Valley where you were.

I love this kind of eerie yet austere and beautiful desolation. Wish I could have joined you on that journey!

I’ve driven that lovely stretch of the 5 many times to Frisco, but I cut across toward Gilroy so I can stop at Casa de Fruita and it’s other stores. It’s very desolate. Great to see the almond trees are flourishing, nice & green & full.

Low producing oil wells often have timers. They'll pump for a few hours, then stop. This lets oil seep into the well bore.

Thank you for tiding me over til I can finally return to the desert 🏜 Always watching Adam!!

Cool travels Adam, thanks for taking us with you! 🙂👏🏻

Thanks Adam-great backroads coverage. Multiple times a year I’m driving the California 46 (Paso Robles HWY) during road-trips between Bend, Oregon and Thousand Oaks, California.

Fun Fact. You found what looks like motel rooms. Well more like homes for the workers on the farms when it's time to harvest. The oil pumps go on for many many more miles. The fields are divided up and the military has a large section for fueling ships and other important stuff to protect the country. Much in another area has been pumped for over 50 years and the ground level has subsided 60 feet as the oil has been removed. The earth in that area is like sand and as oil is removed the sand compresses.

Adam Thank You for the travels

That probably wasn't a motel, it was most likely one of those places where migrants that worked farms lived at. It would be why you see the large fields next to it

Adam.... why do our rural towns continue to die as our overcrowded metropolitan areas continue to implode with crime and violence? Mind boggling to this old guy

A new Woo adventure! Thanks for another great ride into the blue horizon, Adam.

Great video as always. Glad you are enjoying life and doing your thing.

Crazy areas you are at. Kinda of spooky. To quiet. You love LA. Great video ❤️❤️👍

These are the kind of backroads i would travel with my Dad when he would need to travel out and work on Vapor saving machines for gas stations

There's a lot of places like Spicer City in Ca. Lancaster which is only 30 minutes away from LA has a lot of desolated trailers and abandoned houses and tumbleweeds. But I enjoyed this video. Shows diversity in California.

so lovely and inspiring! all the sand and telephone poles and noow and then then metal boxes and empty garages and interesting road signs!!

Thanks for the tour😎👍🏻.

I had an amphibian apocalyptic encounter in Buttonwillow one time. After a rainstorm one evening, I opened my hotel door and there were literally thousands of toads hopping around everywhere. Bufo perplexus I believe!?

Love when you are here in LA, you're our new Huell Howser :)

Was it a “Wile E. Coyote “ 🤣. Yes I am here all week 🥁🎤 👍

Missed out on an opportunity to prove to the world of bees truly do have knees lol… Good stuff… Thanks for sharing.

Nice to see you back in California.Severe drought out west.Could be a busy fire season.🥵🤷‍♂️

I wish that I could clean up those calico cats and bring them home! My first cat was Coco the Calico!🐈😸

Thank you for taking us with you mr..woo

It's a real pleasure when you go off the freeway to Real Amerika. Reminds me of better times back in the 70s. There was far more traffic way out there between Kettleman City and Bakersfield. Thanks for the update.

One almond requires 10 gallons of water to come into existence. ONE. Multiply by a million almonds. Now tell us why our California Republic is restricting water use in private homes? More than 80 gallons a month puts a water restrictor on homes, by Law. That is 8 almonds.

Under $6 a gallon in Cali. Sad times indeed when gas costs us an arm and a leg! Happy trails Adam the Woo!

Great travel video! Thanks!

Yes i,m enjoying you trip,,,,,many thanks

Spent most of the 80’s working in those oilfields on the west side of Kern.

Yes those are honeybees used to pollinate crops. The beekeepers transport them for farmers who pay for that service. Beehive theft is a big problem in CA.

Lovely 👌 thank you for sharing 👍

Enjoyed this! When I have time , I always like to get off the beaten path , take the roads less traveled, the scenic routes.....thanks, stay safe always...God bless you..🙏❤

The town of buttonwillow gets its name from the button willow tree to the north of the town that is still alive today where native American Indians used to meet with settlers and they would trade under the tree.. the tree is still there... Also, the town of Tupman was built on leased land from oil companies to house Oil workers back in the 1920s and has a school that is still in use built around that time... There used to be a town to the north of buttonwillow but to the South of highway 46 just off of highway 33 that was called Bell ridge it was owned by Royal Dutch Shell and I have metal detected out in that area and found all kinds of old coins jewelry an interesting metal objects...

You should try the 33 high way from Maricopa to OJai/Ventura

So many memories of these quiet towns. My grandfather worked the oil fields and occasionally would take us with him to work. Our family lives in Teviston which is north of Bakersfield. This is home. Thanks for this post.

Interesting side-tracks! Everyone should be immensely thankful for those crates of bees - those insects are vital to our lives on earth!!!!!

Sweet kitties😻 Sometimes it's nice to be all alone in nowhere😻

You're always interesting and fun with a great humor about you, Adam!! Subscribed years ago and still lovin your vids! Thanks for the adventures and all of the Comic Relief in this messed up world..

My old stomping ground ... Lived in Northridge, Tustin and Newport Beach. Cousins in Landcaster. Loved picking cherries at the farms back in the day.

Lots of fun!😊 Yep, always good idea to have water on hand.

Adam can't see without his sunglasses 😆 7:22

Adam, you are so blessed to be able to see the new areas in the US. I am so jelly! Thanks for sharing with us. Travel safely, my friend.

So glad you are doing road shows again really enjoyed it stay safe.

Great video.. MORE of California 🏖

I didn’t know about the Lost Boys train track bridge in Valencia. I thought it was all done in Santa Cruz at the bridge by the beach boardwalk. I assume they used both. Thanks for sharing. 👍🏻

Lots and lots of Almond trees. I am sure some citrus too. The bees won’t bother you because they are working.

I grew up in the Glendora region of L.A. county. I enjoy seeing the area through your videos. Thank you.

Adam.... thank you so much, keep livin the dream and thanks for the ride... the wonderlust to roam is calling, feed it brother!

Interesting area with orchards of almonds and pistachios. I used to drive a tractor which towed a mechanical shredder which shreds or mulches the brush from the trees that were trimmed after harvest. They used to burn those trimmings. Can't anymore. A century ago that whole area of the Southern San Joaquin Valley was a vast shallow lake and wetlands area. How time has changed it all.

If you want more California desolation, drive out through Imperial County.

It’s great to see you back in The OC. 😊👍🏻

I just subscribed. I love back roads. Nowadays, if I am going someplace far away, I always allow a few extra days of travel so I can take the back roads.

The oil Jack pumps were quite the eyesore, Orange Blossom honey is something I really do miss from living in California and the smell of the Orange Grove blossoms can be intoxicating. And I think those little houses were probably for the migrant workers and their families. I'm surprised Magic Mountain is still open went there as a kid when it was brand new first ride was the spin out Barrel ride and up came my grand slam Denny's breakfast I was miserable the rest of the day for hash browns were stuck in my sinuses ugh. Thanks for sharing it's been a long long time since I was in California left for Texas in 1980

You were right in my backyard. That area has thousands of acres of Almond and Pistachio trees. That abandoned set of identical buildings would be farm labor housing. They are scattered throughout central California . Safe Travels Amigo. Next time you pass through Kettleman stop into Bravo Farms.

Thanks for sharing…!

It’s always a great day. When we see big the foot !! Another classic ATW

When I was a kid growing up in Long Beach, the City of Signal Hill used to have a lot of those oil pumps called “Pumpjacks” or nicknamed “Nodding or Bobbing Donkey’s” because they look like a donkey’s head going up and down.

Adore your vlogs and try and keep up with as many as possible. We all love and know “Big The Foot”, but what happened to “Woobraham Lincoln”??!!😂

I enjoyed your video. I live kind of in this area, but I was not aware of the elk reservation. Thank you for the nice video.

Always love the vids!

Dude, been following this road trip and funny you passed right thru my area. The oil field area you went thru is the sunset midway strip and is a significant production area. The bees are to pollinate the almond orchards. The big metal building behind the spicer market is a juicing plant where the pomegranate juice commonly sold all over the nation is made. The “ motel” is old farm labor housing. The old metal building near Buttonwillow is the old cotton gin. Huell howser did an entire episode out there years ago that I believe included the old “ haunted” fellows motel.

Instead of guard dogs, houses should have cases of bees on their front yard. Guard bees. That should keep any potential prowler away

I just discovered your videos, their really great and your really funny too! Thanks 🙂

Love the cats! Nice video.

I’m a Californian… now living on another coast… but since I grew up in the Golden State, graduated from university there, started my career there (in one of those famous hi-rise office buildings)… I’m familiar with those long stretches of backroads crossing the state… and I still have a great deal of affection for Callie… so this video visit made me nostalgic. Here’s a link to some soundtrack for this visit… kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fdScn8WdvdO5pJ8.html John Stewart’s classic tune ‘CALIFORNIA BLOODLINES’ - Be sure to check it out.

You moved to Florida but here you are going back to LA you miss living in Los Angeles don't you Adam .

I enjoyed watching the desolate areas of southern California. ❤

Thank you so very much,I grew up in O.C. Anaheim and haven't been back in over 20 years. So it was really cool to see your videos. Thank you again and God bless you.