The Cinder Cone at Fossil Falls
Hello Everyone!
Greetings from Gardnerville, Nevada! I have popped out of California for a few minutes on my way through the Carson Valley and am overjoyed to see gas prices that start with a 3 instead of a 4 or 5 which is the hardest part about traveling in California. It’s a bit gloomy out today and the temperature is hovering just above freezing, so it’s a perfect day to hunker down and get this post written. It’s been a wonderful week out here on the road, slowly making my way up California 395 on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I’ve driven this road dozens of times between Yosemite and Las Vegas or Death Valley, but I have usually had to make it all the way between the two in a day which doesn’t leave much time for exploring. Being able to stop off and see the sights and do some hiking and take my time is what this trip is all about and I’ve definitely enjoyed doing just that this week. In the beginning of the week, it was pretty hot out during the day, but the nights were cool and pleasant and seeing snowy mountains out my driver’s side window was been amazing. Towards the end of the week I made my way into those mountains and even saw some snow.
I left you last week in Ridgecrest, a nice little military support community near the China Lake Naval Weapons Center. After I finished this post, I ran across the street to the little Maturango Museum which had a small but wonderful collection of local artifacts. They highlighted the plentiful petroglyphs (ancient rock carvings) in the area as well as the natural history of the local desert environment. The museum had some wonderful photos on display, both recent ones from a National Geographic bird photography competition and some great old ones from the area which had been taken by naval photographers practicing for their official duties in the local community. Perhaps best of all, the museum also served as the local visitor’s center and the ladies there gave me some wonderful ideas for my trip north. When they closed up for the day I went across the street to a very nice park where I cooked up some dinner and read my book before calling it an early night.
Wednesday morning I was up and off nice and early and made my first stop at Fossil Falls. This small recreational site is in the shadow of an ancient cinder cone and there is plentiful evidence of the area’s volcanic past. During the last ice age, the snowmelt fed into a river and that river ran over Fossil Falls. There hasn’t been any water there in a very long time, but you can still see where the water flowed over the rock on its downhill trajectory. From Fossil Falls I headed on to Lone Pine and stopped in at the Museum of Western Film History on the edge of town. The nearby Alabama Hills have served as the setting for over a hundred movies in the last hundred years, with their wonderfully textured western landscape and the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. While most of these films were made before my time, names like The Lone Ranger and Hopalong Cassidy were certainly familiar to me. In more modern times Tremors and Django Unchained were filmed in the area. The Alabama Hills have filled in for other countries as well in films like Gunga Din and even other planets in several science fiction films. The museum has a wonderful collection of artifacts, but could definitely use a little updating since most of the films on display are from before I was born. The town of Lone Pine really grew because of the film industry and the money it brought in and it is a pretty cool little town today. When I left the museum, I headed up into the hills to do some hiking. I really enjoyed visiting Mobius Arch and just wandering through the massive boulders which make up the Alabama Hills. It was also nice to spend so much time looking up at Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental United States (and only 80 miles, as the crow flies, from the country’s lowest point at Badwater in Death Valley). After my hike I stopped into Jake’s Saloon for a nice cold beer and loved pushing my way through the batwing doors into this old western bar. I spent the night just south of town at the lovely Diaz Lake Campground, surrounded by mountains and very content.
On Thursday I headed just up the road to Manzanar National Historic Site. I had been to Manzanar before, but many years ago when they were just starting to build the interpretive areas of the park and I hadn’t had as much time as I wanted there. Manzanar was one of ten major relocation centers to which West Coast Japanese Americans were moved in the months following Pearl Harbor. Many of the people who were sent to these centers had been born in the United States and were American citizens. The majority were children. It was a horrible and disgraceful chapter in this country’s history. I am glad the National Park Service is charged with interpreting this site as they always offer a truly educated and unbiased look at the real history of our country, for better and for worse. Ronald Reagan made an official apology for Japanese internment in 1988 so at least we have taken ownership of this tragic occurrence but that couldn’t give back the time these people spent there. The one thing which stood out to me, as always seems to when I visit places like Manzanar, is that even though the people interred there had lost everything they had ever had, it didn’t break their spirits. People still laughed and children still played. People got married, celebrated birthdays, graduated from high school and played music. I admire the tenacity of the human spirit which can push through the worst of times.
I was at Manzanar for the better part of the day but in the late afternoon I pushed just up the road to Independence to see the Museum of the Eastern Sierras. This is an old but excellent museum known for their incredible collection of Shoshone and Paiute baskets which did not disappoint. They also had a great collection of Edward S. Curtis photos on the wall which, of course, made me smile because my van is named Shadow Catcher which was the name given to Curtis by the Indians. The museum also had a nice collection of art created at Manzanar and a tribute to mountaineer Edward Clyde who made first assents on over a hundred mountains in the area. They had a dress which had belonged to Amelia Earhart and a set of dentures someone had made for himself using coyote teeth and melted plastic from old toothbrushes. When I finally left the museum, I took a little wander around town to see where author Mary Austin had once lived and to take a peek at the Winnedumah Hotel which hosted many a Hollywood star during the heyday of film production in the area. Of course you can’t miss the county courthouse in Independence which looks somewhat out of place in the mountains of California but reminded me of many small county courthouses I have visited in my travels. From Independence I headed up the road to Big Pine and got a nice little campsite at Glacier View Campground and a much needed shower. I cooked dinner looking up at the beautiful mountains and called it another early night.
On Friday I headed just up the road to Bishop which is the biggest town in the region and one I’ve been to several times before but usually after a long drive in the heat of summer. The best thing about Bishop is the much loved Erick Schatt’s Bakery which was my first stop when I pulled into town. I love their pastries which aren’t too sweet like many bakeries produce these days and their simple Sheepherder Bread is a California classic. With a smile on my face, I headed down to the little library in town to get some work done. I spent the rest of the day meandering around town, trying to stay cool and out of the sun as it does get quite hot in Bishop during the day. In the late afternoon I headed out to the fairgrounds to see the first show of Bishop’s summer concert series. The headliner was Gabby Barrett who had some pretty big hits on her debut album and put on a good show. She played some of her new as-yet-unreleased songs which was great and sang some good cover songs as well. While she performed I enjoyed some dinner from the food trucks and some serious people watching. It is always nice to go to a busy small town event and see the locals enjoying themselves. The show finished just after dark and I followed the crowd down to Rusty’s in town for a beer but made an early exit as I wanted to get up and do some hiking in the morning.
Saturday morning I did get up and out pretty early and drove just outside of town to hike to the Druid Stones. Unfortunately many of the most beautiful hikes in Bishop are still under a lot of snow, but this was definitely a nice hike and I enjoyed it. I was on the trail before 8 and it was already pretty hot out and the trail was exposed much of the way so I was definitely happy for the early start. It was also a pretty decent climb, ascending 2,000’ in a little over 2 miles. It was nice to get my heart pumping and it was definitely nice to be on the trail. The Druid Stones are enormous upright boulders standing on a high ridge with the mountains as a backdrop and are also apparently a popular rock climbing area. They were definitely cool to see. I continued on up the trail for a little ways and found a nice ridge to sit on and take in the view of the mountains. I headed down around noon and was surprised at the people who were on their way up in the heat of the day. I hope they had plenty of water with them. I went back to Schatt’s Bakery for lunch and then took a nice nap in the shade in the city park. I spent much of the afternoon reading a book about an early San Francisco character named Sam Brannan and then went out to the casino when the sun started to drop. Many years ago I had an incredible night at the casino in Bishop where I simply couldn’t lose. I was there for 45 minutes and walked out with almost $900. It seems as though they’ve tightened up their slots quite a bit in the intervening years and I gave them a tiny percentage of that back that night, but I was really there for the prime rib special which was very good. After dinner I went to see some live music by Oregon based singer-songwriter Kyle Glenn on the back porch at Black Sheep Coffee Roasters. I’m always happy to see some live music and I also think it’s also nice when it’s happening somewhere other than a bar.
On Sunday morning I drove just a couple of miles out of Bishop to the Laws Train Museum in the old town of Laws, California which I really enjoyed. They had the original train station, tracks and station master’s house and had brought in other houses and buildings from around the region. One side of the property was dedicated to the mining history of the area with some old buildings dating back to the Gold Rush. The other side had more modern buildings and some great artifacts carefully placed for maximum effect. I was there for way longer than I had planned to be, but I was really glad I went. From there I headed north on 395 and pulled off for a quick stop at Convict Lake. I visited this beautiful high mountain lake several times last summer and wanted to see what it looked like iced over. It was awesome. It was also the first weekend of fishing season and many of the fishermen and women were not to be deterred by a little snow and ice. They were definitely out there, some in boats slaloming around the icebergs. It was amusing to see and everyone seemed to be having a good time which was the most important thing. On top of seeing the lake, I also wanted to grab a shower and knew I could get one at the lodge there for just $3 which is a bargain for sure. It was hot and delightful and made me feel like a new man as I set off for Mammoth Lakes. I spent a bit of time in Mammoth last summer too, and it is a whole different town under a blanket of snow. I had come up in altitude significantly from Bishop and there was a ton of snow still on the ground. I had a nice little wander around the village and enjoyed some delicious tacos at the little brewery in town. It was not easy to find a spot to park overnight in Mammoth, but I did eventually find somewhere out of the way. It was considerably cooler up there than it has been in a while so I slept really well.
Monday morning was the first of May and the ski prices on Mammoth Mountain dropped considerably. My good friend Rob had driven down from Lake Tahoe to meet me and we spent the whole morning on the slopes. It was snowing and foggy and definitely not ideal but it was still a lot of fun to be out there and to have some skis under me again. While Rob does quite a bit of skiing since he is surrounded by amazing mountains in Tahoe, he stuck with me on the intermediate slopes which was kind of him. He even packed a lunch for us which was even better. He had to roll back to Tahoe to take his son to Boy Scouts that evening so he took off around two. I went back up for another half-dozen runs or so and then took a scenic ride in the gondola before calling it a day. I stopped into the bar for a quick beer to toast a safe and enjoyable day and then headed back to town to try and get a few things done at the wonderful little library. There was an open mic night at Distant Brewing Company, and I had a pint of their Elevate Hazy Pale Ale which was one of the best beers I’ve had in a very long time. It was snowing out when I left the bar, and the wind was howling. It was nice to curl up in the back of my warm little van and enjoy the sounds of the storm as I drifted off to sleep.
People Fishing at Convict Lake
I woke up on Tuesday with about an inch of very dry snow on my van. It had apparently snowed about 6 inches at the ski resort which is about 4 miles up the hill from town. It was nice to see and didn’t cause any road problems which was great. I said goodbye to Mammoth and made my way north to the June Lake Loop Road. If I’ve been on that road before, it’s been a while and it was really beautiful under a bit of fresh snow. The road takes you by four mountain lakes on this great little scenic loop. From there I headed up the road to the little town of Lee Vining. I popped into the town visitor’s center to check out their bookstore and ended up having a very nice conversation with the lady who worked there. She was originally from Washington D.C. as well and it’s always fun to chat with someone from back home. She’s out there to do some bird watching and to help educate people about water conservation in California. Then I headed down to the cute little library next to the high school because I wanted to try and learn more about Leroy Vining for whom the town is named. The only thing I really knew was that he came to the area as a prospector and ended up accidentally shooting himself in the groin and bled to death in the street. It took some time and a lot of tiny snippets from a lot of different books, but I slowly got a better idea of who ol’ Leroy was. He had come from Indiana with his brother and was living in Mariposa, California when news of a gold discovery came to town. He hired an Indian scout to take him through the mountains and out to the Mono Basin and ended up establishing himself out there. He built a sawmill to provide building materials to the mining towns in the area and offered rooms to rent on his property and fresh vegetables from his garden. He married a local Paiute woman and seemed to be well regarded in the area. He did, in fact, die of a presumed accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound one night at the Exchange Saloon in Aurora. The town was originally named Poverty Flats and then Lakeview for its views out over Mono Lake. When the Tioga Road was built connecting the area to Yosemite National Park over the mountains, the locals decided to change the name of the town to Lee Vining to give it a little more character. I enjoyed learning more about the man behind the name, and on the way out of town I also learned that one of Kit Carson’s daughters died and is buried in Lee Vining which I definitely did not know.
From there I cruised just up the road to the tiny town of Bridgeport which always looks like an interesting place when I drive through it, but I’ve never had the chance to stop and check it out. It really is a classic little American town with a beautiful little county courthouse and an interesting history as a supply town for the local mines. When the mines closed down, Bridgeport reinvented itself as a tourist town and still has some nice little hotels and motels for people traveling through. I stopped at the little Burger Barn for lunch and their Santa Fe Chicken Sandwich was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. Then I went next door to the Jolly Kone for an ice cream and then took some photos around town before heading out. The clouds were getting darker and I hit some rain as I made my way north and across the border into Nevada. I stopped for a few minutes at Topaz Lake and then continued on to Gardnerville for the night. It was great to just be able to pull into the big casino in the middle of town for the night and know that nobody was going to bother me out there.
And that’s where I am writing this from today. I am just under two weeks away from going back to work and I’m looking forward to guiding some amazing tours of the western United States again this summer. That means it’s time to start getting my van cleaned out and ready to go into storage and I have a bunch of other preparation that needs to get done which I hope to get to in the next few days. I’m going to head up and over the pass this weekend to South Lake Tahoe where I will stay with my friends there for a few days and hopefully get one more day of skiing in before they close down for the year. Then I hope to catch up with some other friends on the north side of the lake and then see some old mining towns on my way back to the Bay Area. I’m not sure exactly where I’ll be at this time next week, but I hope you’ll come back and see what I’ve gotten into. Have a great week out there and I hope to see you here same time next week. Thanks, as always, for reading.
-Mike
Hotel Winnedumah in Independence
Under the Stars at Diaz Lake