Scenic 395 - The Official Guide 2025

24 2025 Scenic 395 By Catherine Stachowiak For Scenic 395 Have you ever fantasized about traveling through time? The thought of time travel is a portal to excitement and adventure. The future is still an unknown mystery. Yet the past is another story…history. Although history cannot be changed, believe it or not, it can be relived. Think about those old western movies you like, or the books you read, about bygone eras. Those types of stories warm the heart and peak one’s curiosity. Well, suppose you could actually go back in time, to the Wild West. What could be more exciting than traveling the U.S., out west, to the wild frontier, where there used to be plentiful cattle ranching, gold mining, black smiths, and horse shoeing, boot legging whisky, mule traveling rather than cars, and people like Buffalo Bill horseback riding the dusty roads in cowboy boots? Wouldn’t it be interesting seeing all these scenes while listen- ing to period correct music, from an immigrant wagon, and drinking ChuckWagon coffee? How about the idea of learning Native American Indian culture through living history? Could you imagine all these things, along with listening to old tales of mining days, right from the history books, and viewing toma- hawk throwing? Apparently all is not lost, friends. Folks can still experience all this adventure, and a lot more, according to the people who bringWhiskey Flat Days and the Whiskey Flat Encampment to the town of Kernville, California. The location is in Kern County, not more than an hour from the cities of Bakersfield and Ridgecrest. The new president of the Kernville Chamber of Commerce, Gary Ananian, previously helped round up volunteers and spon- sors to rebuild the oldWhiskey Flat Encampment area. And after the previous year’s brutal storms, rebuilding the encampment was a daunting task. Founder and Producer of the Whiskey Flat Encampment, Mike Woodward, along with others in the cham- ber and the community, pitched in with heavy equipment and tons of road material to bring the 8-acre Whiskey Flat Encamp- ment back to life. Ananian, a former Whiskey Flat Mayor, told Scenic 395, “The Whiskey Flat Encampment is probably the best representation of OldWildWest heritage and culture here in the Kern River Valley. I think it’s the best attraction that we offer. It’s historical and people get to learn a lot about the history and the culture in the Kern River Valley. I think the encampment is our greatest asset for Whiskey Flat Days. Without the encampment there is noWhiskey Flat Days.” Apparently schoolteachers agree with Ananian about its edu- cational value. The local schools take students for field trips to the encampment. Keeping in mind that upon your travels back in time, to the 68th annual Whiskey Flat Days, Rhinestones &Wranglers event, you will find much more than the Whiskey Flat Encampment. The chamber has prepared other family fun and entertainment, for President’s DayWeekend, February 14 through February 17, 2025. For example you may decide to enjoy a rodeo and a carni- val with rides, or peruse many interesting craft and food ven- L iquor • B eer C eLLar F ishing , C amping h unting e quip . • C Lothing g roCeries • p roduCe F uLL s erviCe m eat C ounter h ot /C oLd d eLi • F ine W ine KERNVILLE • 376-2424 OPEN 7 DAYS • 5am-7pm • ATM OPEN 7 DAYS Mon. - Fri. 6am - 6pm 13426 Sierra Way (On the River) • Kernville Kern River Continued on Page 25 Travel time at Whiskey Flat Days Three men dressed in character interact with a pair of children at a past Whiskey Flat Days event in Kernville. Whiskey Flat Days is held each February. Courtesy of Whiskey Flat Encampment founder, producer Mike Woodward