6/10/2017 - Mountain Drives

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. 

6/9/2017 - Day Trip from Bishop

Friday - Today we made the trip we had planned for yesterday.  I slept well and woke up feeling pretty good.  My arm where I got the tetanus shot was actually more sore than my head injury, for the most part. It still hurts when I lean forward or bend over, I guess I put pressure on it then.  Anyhow, we started with breakfast at "Jack's Bakery."  And word must have gotten out about Joe's situation yesterday.

After breakfast, we headed south to Lone Pine to take the drive through Alabama Hills and the Movie Road, where many old westerns were filmed, including Roy Rogers' first starring feature. However, en route, we came upon a pretty herd of 25-30 burros alongside the road.  Joe had to turn around and come back to them for pictures, but they cooperated and stayed put. 

We always have the snow-topped mountains in sight, so this was a pretty drive. 

 Someone got creative with a paint brush here.

There was a 1 1/2 mile arch loop hike along here so the four of us braved this.  The path was well-marked with rocks, and there were lots of arches to see, supposedly 300 arches are in this area. They began making movies here in 1920, and over 400 movies have been filmed here so we will pay closer attention to the old westerns the next time we watch them. 

It was a pretty easy trail, but a lot of ups and downs, sometimes a little slippery in the loose gravel.

 Getting back to the parking lot and the car was a welcome sight.

From there, we headed to the Japanese Internment Camp called Manzanar where 10,000+ Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants were "relocated" during WWII.  There was a visitors center with exhibits, an interesting 22-minute film of these people telling their stories.  There was a barracks that had been renovated, and a short drive around the encampment with some concrete pads still in place, and a small cemetery.  We saw our second wildlife along here, 2 jackrabbits jumped out in front of us.

We headed back to town and picked up Dave's car, which they had just finished working on.  We got back to the RV about 3:00.  I finally managed to get my laundry done, and we all made trips to the grocery store, there's a good-sized Von's Grocery and a KMart here in town.  Lots of restaurants, some art galleries, sporting good stores, a Penneys that is closing.  A lot of traffic, especially trucks.  Also a lot of hikers are seen around town, many of them hitch-hiking, we assume back to their vehicles, wherever they left them.

We saw one group being picked up, and they were filling the trunk of the car with all their gear.  They are all pretty heavily-laden, would be interesting to know how long they have been up in the mountains.

Tomorrow we intend to drive to some lakes and to the snow.  That will just about finish up Bishop for us, but this is a really pretty little town.