5-29-13 Update

Hello Again!

This has been a fantastic week.  With the long weekend we were very fortunate to have family from the Central Valley come over the pass and spend some time with us.

My mom and step-dad spent a week here before heading to Nevada and then to Arizona to complete their trip.  Also, my sister, brother-in-law and two nephews came over for the weekend.

After a nice dinner there was the obligatory roasting of marshmallows for s'mores

On Saturday we all headed down to Bishop for Mule Days.
The parade was great.  The weather was perfect.

After the parade we made our way down to the Rodeo grounds for the afternoon festivities.

At the Rodeo grounds there were a variety of games.  The highlight for us was a children's dance contest - they selected four kids age 10 or younger.  My nephew Michael was the first selected.

He is the boy with the red t-shirt and blue and red baseball cap.

It wasn't even close.................  Michael crushed the competition and he won a pair of Justin boots.  I wish we had better pictures to share with you, but we were in the stands and the people coordinating the events were in the way of Jon's camera shots.

It was a great day,  Fun in the sun with family.  On the way home as we were traveling North on Highway 395 we looked up and saw this..............

It was an awesome sight.  

On Sunday we drove to Mammoth Lakes.  My daughter Sara was in the area rock climbing with friends.  We were fortunate to get to spend a couple of hours with her.  She picked a mexican restaurant and it just happened to be happy hour.  I will admit that I love a good Margarita. (or in the case of Sunday four margaritas)  I confiscated Jon's camera - no need for proof of that.    It was a great time.  I finally found out that my love of margaritas are hereditary.  My mom took one sip of her margarita and wanted to know what time it was was?  We told her and asked why?  She said she wanted to know how HAPPY we could get.  Gotta love it....

We have enjoyed our time on the Eastern side of the Sierra's.  But we are ready to move on.  We are leaving the area on Sunday and going to make our way across Nevada and into Utah.  I can't wait until next Wednesday to share with you our new adventure.

We love our life.  I hope to encourage all of you to find what makes you happy!

5-22-13 Update

Hello All

This week Jon and I have been spending our time on the 395 corridor between Mammoth Lakes and Bridgeport.  Hwy 395 runs along the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains from the Mojave Desert to the Canadian border.   Growing up in the Central Valley of California, I have spent years of my life traveling on some highway or another.  The location is near perfect for proximity to all that California has to offer.   The Coast just a couple of hours to the West, San Francisco to the North, Los Angeles and San Diego to the South and the mountains and Yosemite just to the East.

Until a couple of years ago, with one exception in the 80's while I was in college (that is another story), I had never been to the Eastern Sierra's.  Living the majority of my life within one hour of Yosemite in all of its magnificence, I never considered what lay on the other side of the mountains.

So this week for me, has been about the Road Less Traveled...... Frost got it right, it has made all the difference.

The distance between Mammoth and Bridgeport is approximately 55 miles.  In previous blogs, I have shared  about Bodie and Mono Lake - these are two of the more famous locals along this route.  This week we sought out the less known and in some cases previously unknown to us.

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 My hope is that these pictures entice you to find your own road less traveled.

05-15-13 Update

Time for another update:


On Thursday we visited Mono Lake.  We spent an hour or so in the Visitor's Center and then the rest of the afternoon hiking around the lake.

Mono Lake covers approximately 65 square miles.  It is an ancient lake, over 1 million years old.  That makes it one of the oldest lakes in North America.  Another unique feature is this large lake doesn't have an outlet to the ocean.  There are several creeks that flow into the lake but there isn't any way for the water to leave.  This results in an accumulation of salt.  Mono Lake at first glace appears to be a dead lake.  But it is in fact home to trillions of brine shrimp.  Trillions.... estimates are somewhere between 4 and 6 trillion brine shrimp live in this lake.  The brine shrimp ability to live in extremely salty environments coupled with the fact that that the shrimps natural predators, fish, cannot make this an ideal habitat for these tiny creatures. 

The above pictures are of Tufa Towers in and around the lake.  Tufa towers are formed at the intersection of  freshwater springs and alkaline lake water.  A nature preserve was established to preserve these spectacular towers.

A swim in the lake is a unique experience.  The lake is about 2 1/2 times more salty than the ocean, that makes the water denser.  You remain very buoyant.  Old timers say that a dip in the water will cure almost anything.

Mono Lake has two major islands.  These islands are volcanic and the last eruption formed Paoha Island, this occurred within the last 250 years. You have an interesting mix of ancient lake with very recent volcanic activity.  (Photo isn't ideal but it does show the islands in the lake if you look close)

Millions of migratory birds use Mono Lake as a stopover in their travels and feed on the brine shrimp and the Alkali flies that live in and around the lake.  Birdwatchers will find this an ideal location.  Guided bird-watching tours are given on Fridays and Sundays (Seasonal).

Mono Lake has been an unwilling participant in the Los Angeles water wars.  In 1941 the City of Los Angeles started diverting water from the creeks that flow into Mono Lake.  This continued until the early 1989 when a judge ordered a temporary halt of the water diversion to evaluate the environmental studies.  The water level dropped by 41 feet and the salinity doubled.  It was reported that the lake would be completely depleted by the year 2000.  There has been a settlement and LA is still getting water, but it is being carefully monitored and the lake level is rising.

The ecology and the geology of this unique lake is complex and above my purpose here.  Hopefully I have peaked your interest and you will find out for yourself the uniqueness of this incredible lake.

We also have taken several motorcycle rides this past week.  On Saturday we rode over the Sonora Pass - there are several passes that cross over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.  We have been fortunate enough to cross over all of them.  The Sonora Pass was the last remaining pass we hadn't traveled.  We can now cross that off the list of things we wanted to do.

Jon is still fishing every chance he gets and we are enjoying the area.   Every day is a good day when you get to enjoy the outdoors.

Until next time.

05/08/13 - Update

Hello -I have another update.

This past week has been very busy.  We said good-bye to Reno.  I enjoyed my time here very much.  I am looking forward to coming back again.

 I took this picture with my cell phone from the back of Jon's motorcycle in moving traffic.... 

Not a bad shot, if I have to say so myself.

Last Friday we moved south and are in a RV Park just outside of  the small town of Bridgeport CA on the Nevada/California border.  Bridgeport is an area known for great fishing.  Jon has been out several times already.  He has caught and released several fish.  I won't report any fish tales here ---- I don't have picture evidence to substantiate the claims  :)

These are pictures from Bridgeport - The top is the County Courthouse and the second photo is of what is left of the original settlement of this area from the late 1800's.

On Monday we drove to Bodie.  If you haven't had the opportunity, I feel this is a must see.  I admit that I love history and not everyone shares my passion, however, Bodie is a fairly well preserved ghost town that once held 10,000 residents in 1879.  Places like Bodie show the history of California and the Gold Rush.

I think most people associate the Gold Rush to San Francisco, but it was these small mining towns that hold the "real" story of how the miners and their families lived.  It was a hard life - it has been reported that a murder occurred in Bodie almost daily.  If you weren't murdered you would have to survive the harsh winters.  Bodie's elevation is approximately 8000 feet.  This town is in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and it is still advised to visit in the summer months, as the road to Bodie may not be passable in the winter.

Only about 5% of the original structures are still standing.  

Bodie was great adventure, hopefully the first of many while we are in the area.  We are going to spend some time on the motorcycle - this is an area that has a lot of great places to ride.  

I have had some requests for interior shots of the 5th Wheel - here are some for you.

It takes a bit of getting used to, but I am truly enjoying this experience.

That is all I have for now.  Until next time......

May 1, 2013 Update

Hello - it is time for another update.

We have been relaxing and enjoying the Reno Nevada area for nearly four weeks.  In my last post I said we were leaving this area on Friday and heading East.  We have changed our plans - we are still leaving on Friday, but we are heading South.  The spring weather is still a bit unpredictable and since our schedule is our own, we have decided to take another month here on the West Coast before we head East for our Summer in Idaho, Wyoming, and South Dakota areas.

This past week week we spent one day in the historic downtown of Truckee California.

Truckee is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range just 20 miles or so from the Nevada border.

This area really has it all.  The close proximity to Lake Tahoe and Reno makes this small mountain community an ideal location for enjoying nature all year round.

Historic Downtown has been restored and it is like many other communities in that it caters to tourists.

The above photo is my favorite.  This is a vintage gas station restored and is now a Real Estate Office.  If I was in the market to buy real estate - I would definitely choose this office to start my property search.

 Downtown Truckee was an enjoyable day in our new adventure filled life.

If you asked Jon what was his favorite part of Truckee, he would say the Ice Cream Sundae that we had at the old fashioned Soda Fountain.

Truckee is located just East of the Donner Pass on Highway 80.   This is the area where the tragic Donner Party was trapped in the 22 feet of snow the winter of 1846.  There are reminders of the tragedy everywhere. There is a memorial park, that includes a museum.   There are walking trails that have markers along the way to point out significant points of interest as well as providing details of their ordeal. 

This week we also took a motorcycle ride to Pyramid Lake.  The lake is located on a Paiute Indian Reservation and is about 40 miles or so Northeast of Reno.

On the surface, the lake isn't much to look at.  But if you are an angler of know someone who is, this is a bucket list fishing lake.

The world record Lahontan Cutthroat Trout was caught in this lake - 41 pounds.   WOW that is one big fish.  To fish is this lake however,  you need a Nevada State Fishing License as well as a Permit from the Indian Tribe.  The daily rate for a permit is approximately $9.00.  But if the fishing is as good as it is reported to be, it is well worth the extra money.

The area has a small RV Park with hookups.  We also saw several RV's dry-camping right on the beach.  The area also has a museum as well as fisheries.  Jon would love to fish in the lake and I would like to hike and spend time in the museum and other areas.  We are already planning on coming back in the future and spending a few days here.

Yesterday we spent the day driving around exploring the area - no destination in mind.  We found a couple of reservoirs.  The Boca reservoir was created for a log holding pond during the time when the first transcontinental railroad was being built.  I found this interesting because this was nothing more than a railroad camp, but in the winter the water froze and the entrepreneurs of the time saw enormous potential to sell the ice.  There is a lot of history and more to the story, but the long and short of it is that the Boca Ice Company sold ice to railroad and for the first time the vast agricultural goods from California could be sent back east.

We took a day trip to the Rocklin Campworld.  We bought a new BBQ.  I love this purchase!

Yesterday we got back to the 5th Wheel and I prepped the veggies and seasoned the steak and sent Jon outside to COOK.  What a concept, I kicked back on the leather reclining couch with a beer.  I have to say there isn't anything about my new life that I don't absolutely love.

Benji enjoys the couch too.

Well that is enough for today.  I hope you all enjoy reading the blog as much I enjoy writing it.

Until next time..................