Many people drive from Bakersfield, CA to points further east, to Las Vegas or Salt Lake City. Others drive from Bakersfield, CA to a city 100 miles to the south, to Los Angeles. Still others drive 300 miles north and west to Sacramento, CA. Each of those drives begins at this city in the desert. A number of different desert paths cross in Bakersfield, CA

One noteworthy group of musicians had their start in Bakersfield, CA. Those musicians introduced a new type of music. Their music blended the beat of rock and roll with the heartthrob of country music. At one time thousands and thousands of teens listened to the music of Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Wynn Stewart, never knowing that that trio came from Bakersfield. Only gradually did Bakersfield gain acclaim, an acclaim that somehow never managed to match the recognition given to Nashville, TN.

Many off-highway vehicle enthusiasts spend much of their free time in Bakersfield, CA. The desert paths that lie just outside of Bakersfield provide those enthusiasts with a great spot for driving an off-highway vehicle. The proximity of Bakersfield assures those riders of a good meal once their yearning for desert driving has been satisfied.

There are many Basque restaurants in Bakersfield, CA. Still the people of Bakersfield do not depend on tourists as a major source of income. The economy of Bakersfield has been built on the money from agriculture and from the extraction and refining of petroleum.

The thriving economy in Bakersfield, CA helped to make it California's third largest inland city. Only Fresno and Sacramento can lay claim to a faster-growing group of Californians than the one that exists within the borders of Bakersfield.

Some of the people who once lived in Bakersfield, CA have now gained international renown. In 1949 a man named George H. W. Bush lived in Bakersfield with his family. His sons, including the son named George W. Bush, played on Bakersfield's Monterrey Street.

Hollywood has made some popular movies in Bakersfield, CA. Actors, actresses and crew members from Hollywood descended on Bakersfield during the filming of The Cell, X-Files, North by Northwest, Thelma and Louise, Wag the Dog and Psycho. One Hollywood movie was based on the infamous Onion Field murders. Those murders created a grisly scene on the outskirts of Bakersfield.

Some students at Cal State University, Bakersfield have read the book about those murders. The horror of the story must increase when one needs to read it where it happened, there at the County seat of Kern County, CA. A night spent reading a murder story like that might cause a student to seek a form of release. Where would a student find such release in Bakersfield?

In the springtime Cal State students can obtain some release by attending games played by the Bakersfield Blaze. This is a Minor League baseball team found in Bakersfield. Blaze players who show on the Bakersfield baseball field that they have potential frequently move on to play for the Texas Rangers.