Saturday - It was a chilly 56 degrees when I got up this morning, and we were in some pretty cold weather today. We had two excursions today, back to back. The first was our drive to the snow, to Lake Sabrina and South Lake. We picked up Hwy 168 in town and headed west, to those beautiful snow-capped mountains. We saw two deer on the first drive. The creeks were rushing from the snow melt and we could hear the sound of the water when we stopped at lookout points. Lake Sabina was in the snow, it was very windy, and it didn't take us too long to look at this lake. We saw a couple fishing boats on the lake, but the lake was really choppy.
Coming out of this campground, we saw a fifth wheel with a small work truck parked under the front end -- we all got a laugh out of that.
On our way back down the mountain to the turnoff for South Lake, I spotted some lilacs -- the first at someone's house, but the second was at a little store/gift shop/restaurant where we stopped. I didn't pick any, but I inhaled the scents.
At another pull-off, we watched some fishermen out in the freezing water, but we didn't see them catch anything. I went over to one of the waterfalls and felt the water -- IT WAS COLD! I decided I didn't really need to stick my toes in it.
The parking lot was full here but Joe found a spot right at the edge of the snow. A couple of skiers walked past, getting ready to hike all the way to the top of the mountain, hoping to find some good snow to ski down.
We found the snow!!!!!
A couple fishermen found a big rock to set up on.
This lake can apparently hold a lot more water than is currently in it because the end of the boat ramp was way, way, way out of the water. You can barely see it, the concrete slab on the left side of this next photo.
We drove back down to the valley, then headed south back to Big Pine, where we picked up Hwy 168 again, this time going east, to the Bristlecone Pine Forest. These are the oldest trees in the world, some have been dated back more than 4,500 years. Along the way, we made a little snack stop and let Ar'gent get some exercise.
We stopped at a vista point to view the mountains we had driven up this morning. Beautiful sight! This first picture is a panoramic view.
While we were there, we spotted a glider plane flying over the mountain. As I was taking pictures, it swooshed down over our heads, maybe 30 feet, but it seemed like it was just right over our heads. And I even got a great picture.
Believe me, we ducked!
We checked out the visitor center at the Bristlecone Pine Forest. Joe got the bright idea that we should hike the Discovery Trail, a short (ha ha) interpretive trail that loops through a grove of 3000 to 4000 year-old trees. At an elevation above 9,000 ft. Supposedly is is 3/4 of a mile long (it felt like about 10 miles), and gains then loses about 300 feet in elevation. I complained the entire first half, which was uphill. I did much better coming downhill. Needless to say, the air was a little thin.
Dave and Mazie opted out of this hike (smart people) so we met them back at the car and headed down the mountain, which, by the way, was very, very crooked and curvy. We got back to the campground just after 3:00 p.m. Dave started his laundry, and Joe chauffeured Mazie and me to the Penneys' store to check out their bargains, since it is closing. Joe went back to the car wash while we shopped. On our way home, we checked out several of the Bishop Murals scattered around town, then stopped in at the bowling alley to check out their dinner menu (prime rib). Too pricey, so we decided against that. From there, Mazie and I walked back so MAZIE could stop back at the bakery. I was so good, I didn't even buy anything (I just ate the free samples). The bakery is right next to our campground. Then Joe and I went back out for dinner (not much cooking going on in our Winnebago!) Joe and I were both so tired we could barely move.
We have really enjoyed Bishop, but we feel like we have done it justice and are ready to move on in the morning. The mornings here are chilly but the temperature is usually in the 90s by afternoon. We are headed toward Reno or Carson City, we think.
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