Fall Trip North - Day 8

I woke up beautiful day here in Lundy Canyon.  The area was so quite last night that I was not disturbed until the birds started in around 7:00.  This campground is a jewel and this time of year nearly deserted.

 

For $12.00 a day (no discounts for seniors) it is a great place and it has bathrooms.  The evening before I spent some time visiting with a couple from Germany who were camper near the campground entrance.  Very enjoyable since they had a fire and had invited me for drinks (I brought my own, a bicycle water bottle).  They were traveling around the states  for a month in a small (rented) motor home and the husband spoke good English (that was nice since I do not speak any German). 
I spent a hour taking more pictures in the canyon before heading to the Mono Lake visitor`s center parking lot near Lee Vining to catch up on my blog.

This was my camp spot which is in from the gravel road through the cmpground.  Shaded, which would be great in the summer but meant it was cold in this "fall" morning.  I could see my breath inside the camper before I turned on the heater.  Great sleeping weather though.

The ground is covered with Aspen leaves and they make a beautifully colored carpet.

At about 8:00 it was still cool enough to have on several layers.  All of these Aspen trees had already dropped their leaves but are beautiful in their way.  I had my own path into the trees which lead to a nice creek that lulled me to sleep.

And there it is, my own little creek with a collection of fall leaves in the middle.

Above is some more of the great Aspen trees getting ready for winter.  Below is the same shot but with my glasses clip-on in front of the lense.  As I was driving, this what I would see but when I went to take the picture it was different, now I know why......... No brains, no headackes.

While parked in the visitors lot, catching up on my blog, another "Four Wheel Pop Up" camper came by and we compared note on the rigs.  His is about 3-4 years old and it was interesting to see the changes since then.  His is a little shorter due to a full crew cab truck but it is wider since his is a full size vehicle. 

Well, I think that is enough blogging for one day.  At least I am cought up, so I can remember where I have been. 
Tomorrow I might be headed to my brother`s place in northern Neveda and might take a few days off  from blogging.  After that, I am planning to visit Great Basin National Park in east central Nevada.

For now I will say goodby and good luck.

Fall Trip North - Day 7

Another day and more to see.......
I had never been up to Glacier Point which overlooks the Yosemite Valley.  It also is an excellent place to view Half Dome from almost the same elevation.

Just to the right of Half Dome is another view of Clouds Rest (the small dark ridge next to the peak). 

Above is a wider look at the country to the right of Half Dome.  It shows Vernal (elevation 5,044` almost in the shade below) & Nevada (elevation 5,907`) Falls above to the right.  These are on the hike we made several years ago to the top of Half Dome. 

Looking around to the left I got this picture of upper & lower Yosemite Falls.  There is a good flow on both now but in the spring they really increase.

Just in case you were thinking that I was home and having some else take these pictures, no I was there.  What would a trip be if I couldn`t get someone to take my picture in front on something recognizable?

After that I headed for the valley and some more fall colors.

These two pictures above are on the valley drive which really was beautiful. 

As I started to leave the valley on my way back east across the park, I could not help one last picture of the fall colors along Crane Creek. 
I then drove over the high country and back east to Hwy. 395.  I found a great campground up Lundy Canyon just north of Mono Lake.  The Aspen trees were stunning.
Having toooo much fun.  Hasta La Vista, baby.

Fall Trip North - Day 6

As you may notice I have am a few days behind in my blog.  Reception of a signal is to blame and not that I am having so much fun, which I am!

Day 6 (Sunday) was a drive into Yosemite National Park and then a visit to Hetch Hetchy Valley Reservoir.  Driving up Tioga Pass (the eastern entrance to the park) goes from about 6,500` to 9,945` in elevation in about 16 miles - can you say "steep".  Of course it is worth it as you will see (for those of you that have never been there).

This is Ellery Lake elevation 9,538` - looking west and still on the climb up Tioga Pass.

A view of Tenaya Lake.

As I was driving through the high country, I could not help getting a picture of Clouds Rest  from a side view.

Next was another (I`ve never been there trip) to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir which is a long and winding 17 mile road. 

On top is a view from about half way out the drive to the reservoir and the bottom is from the dam looking east.

There is a hiking trail around the side of the reservoir (you have to go through a long tunnel of solid rock) that gives you a different view of the dam (at the right center of the shot).

This taken from the end of my hike and shows Kolana Rock with a look back up the reservoir.

I found this sign at the point I turned around,  it shows some of the places we hope to hike next year.

I camped at Hodgdon Meadows, one of the only open campground inside the park.  It was fine except several of the groups (those young people) stayed up a little late.

A great day any more to come.  That`s all folks

Fall Trip North - Day 5

It is now Saturday 10/22 and I spent most of the day catching up on emails and stuff.  I finally hit the road about 2:30 from Mammoth and drove to Lee Vining (just outside the east entrance to Yosemite National Park).  No major hiking or cycling but I did check out Mono Lake and the "tufas".  A "tufa" is calcium carbonate formation that have bubbled up through the very salty water of the lake.  Mono Lake is many times saltier than the ocean due to high rate of evaporation.  I know, "don`t make this a geology lesson & no, there will not be a test at the end".
But first a picture of my camper trying to hind behind a large pine tree.  Actually this is my camping spot a Twin Lakes - up the hill from Mammoth Lakes, Ca.   Ha, ha.

And now for some pictures of Mono Lake and the "tufa" mounds rising out of the water.

These are about 10` tall .

This one is about 20` tall & great reflections in the still water.

Lots of water birds dining on the brine shrimp in the water. 

Sunset over the lake with some of the tufa formations visible at the lower left.  This is looking northeast.

Just to end on a bright note, here is a bee doing what bees do best - when they are not stinging people.
I think that is enough for this blog, so until tomorrow, Adios

Fall Trip North - Day 4

A few last pictures from the morning at Convict Lake.  I just had to check out the lake early (8:30 - that`s early for me, after all I am retired), plus the mornings are quite cold - 39 degrees last night.  Now I am headed to Mammoth Lakes area.

I am now in the Mammoth area and was able to do a hike to Duck lake yesterday.  This hike was inspired my my neighbors who made part of the same hike recently.  Yes, Jim & Julie, this is for you.  I did not get a early start and it was a good thing since it was still cool on the first shaded part of the hike.  The lake are stunning with the new snow and clear water.
First lake you see is Arrowhead Lake which is small and right beside the trail.
Next is Barney Lake (actually several small lakes connected) at 2.5 miles up the trail.  Below is a panorama (l - r) with the reflections of the show in the water.

Next is a view for the lake from half way up the trail to Duck Pass.  This is a view that you`ll did not get to see.

The trail comes into this lake at the far end and you can see Heart & Arrowhead Lakes to the right in distance.  The next shots are of Duck Lake (elevation over 10,000` but I am not sure of the exact height). 
There are two pictures that are l -r.

This is the same shot but using the telephoto feature and with the lake surface effected by the sun & wind.  You are looking toward the outflow of the lake as it flows down to Purple Lake (which is on the John Muir Trail).

I found the perfect little Christmas tree and it a fresh blanket of snow at the base.  The only trouble is that by Christmas time it will be completely covered with a deep pack of snow. 

Today has turned out to be a rest day and it was necessary to catch up on things.  I may stay here another night and head for Yosemite tomarrow.  An open schedule (whatever that is) seem to be a good thing. 
Greetings from "Bicycle Bob".

Fall Trip North - Day 3

I am camped at Convict Lake (south of Mammoth Lakes - on Hwy. 395).  Last night was cold (about 37 degrees) but I was very comfortable in my camper.  That is until I had to get out of bed and get dressed.  I set off on my hike around the lake and up toward Mildred & Dorothy Lakes.  I intended to get to Dorothy but that is a 12 mile (round trip) hike and about 3,000` of elevation.  My start at 9:30 and the shorter days made me turn around at Milderd Lake (10 mile round trip and about 2,200` of elevation).  Great hike and again the Aspen trees are in full color.

A look at the trail and the Aspen trees.  My destination is above where the two sides meet in the distance.

This is about the 9,000` elevation mark and as you can see the trail has some good patches of snow (which you have to cover since there is no way around).  They had a two foot snow several weeks ago and this is some of what is leftover.

First view of Mildred Lake (just part of it) and Red Slate Mountain in the distance (it is the one at center with the vertical snow line down it).  Actually it has that snow feature all year round.  Still a lot of snow up there.

the right half of Mildred Lake with the reflection of the mountains beyond, really clear water & cold.

Convict Lake on my return, My campground is in the distance to the right.  You can see the White Mountains in the very far distance & they still have a good bit of snow as well.
My hike was 3 1/2 hours up and 2 1/2 hours down, with great weather the whole day.
On my return to camp, I decided to get cleaned up and refreshed by taking a dip in the lake.  Yes, it is quite cold but felt good. 
Off to Mammoth high country and a hike to Lake Virginia (a lake we passed on the John Muir Trail several years ago).  It is a stunning lake and I think it within a days hike - we`ll see.

More stuff to come.  Good night

Fall Trip North -Day 2

I will start off saying that staying in an RV park is not ideal.  The reason is that so many people are jammed into a small space.  Most have the monstrous motor home and have a "dust mop" size dog that barks all night.  Of course they have taken their hearing aids out, so they don`t hear anything.  Ok, I got that out but the hookups are the reason to use a RV park most of the time.
Wednesday started out with a drive north on Hwy, 395 to Tom`s Place at the top of the Sherwin Grade out of Bishop.
I found a book about great bicycle rides up & down the Sierras.  One ride starts at the highway and goes up to the end of Rock Creek Road / Mosquito Flat.  The ride starts at 7,040` elevation and ends at 10,300` elevation over a distance of 10.5 miles with a total elevation gain (gains & loses) of 3,500`.
So I decided to ride it & got started about 11:00, due to the drive.  Beautiful fall colors in the Aspen trees and other plants.

It was a good road and very little traffic.

The Aspen trees are in their prime.

This is near the top of the road & a nice view of the mountains which had just had 2` of snow about a week ago.

Back at the truck with a cleanup and stow the bicycle.  Headed for Mammoth Lakes & a late lunch (Mexican food - my favorite).  Then headed south (a little) to Convict Lake where I will camp for the night - elevation7,850`.
Here are a few shots of Convict Lake where I plan to start my hike tomorrow.

These are for Mary - just few pictures of "stuff".

This is on the bridge at the out flow from Convict Lake - elevation 7,850`.

That is it for now.  Traveling Fool