As usual, we were late getting packed up and trying to leave the big magnetic pull that is the ranch. By 2 pm we knew we would not make it all the way to Bishop that day, so we considered leaving the next day. The only problem with that is overcoming the inertia caused by the aforementioned ranch's magnetic pull... so we decided to at least get the hell out of the valley. One phone call to Susan to find her and Scott were still visiting her parents in Tahoe and... could we crash there? So by 9 we got to Tahoe and by 10 the next day we were off on our voyage to Bishop. The scenic route around the lake was well worth it.
Then, driving on 395 and descending into the valley, every turnoff was a photo op. The light, the snow, the mountains. We stopped a few times and I snapped some pictures. None of them can really show the beauty though.
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| Oh Tahoe, you are beautiful |
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| on 395, Anton |
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| Please, look at this picture in full screen |
We arrived in Bishop mid afternoon and got reacquainted with our hosts. Anton and Steven are good friends and have known each other since Anton was just a kid, but I had met him and Catherine only
once ten years ago, for only a short while, so it was good to meet her again and get to know her better. I knew we would get along great when she offered to take me for a long walk around the neighborhood. It was exactly what my legs needed after hours in the car.
Our gracious hosts fed us in style that night (and the entire time we were there). Turns out we have lots in common, beginning from our love for local ethical food, to yoga and bicycling and hiking, to chickens and drying fruit, and a myriad of other world views and attitudes about life.
We spent the next day hiking up a canyon off highway 6 which involved some scrambling (my first time) and lots of petroglyphs.
My iphone and Topp maps app performed better than both the boys' GPS. Though there was a fain amount of geeking out with gadgets and technology.
The day was cold but dry, sunny with amazing cloud patterns.
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| petroglyphs |
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| Geeks |
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| More Petroglyphs |
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| What a sky |
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| Steve |
That night the weather turned much colder and a storm set in with a smattering of snow even at
such low elevation as Bishop. Besides the weather, Catherine was working the next day, and Steven, who went in for back surgery the day after we left, was sore from the hike, so Anton and I borrowed their truck and drove to Eureka Sand Dunes in Death valley. The weather there was warm and sunny and Anton and I had a grand time hiking the dunes, taking silly pictures, enjoying the views and the rock formations. On our way out of Eureka Dunes the wind picked up and we drove through a sand storm. But by the time we returned to Bishop the weather had cleared up and there was sunshine expected for the next day.
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| stick figures |
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| We had to, we could not resist |
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| Well, what can I say? |
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| Dune walking |
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| Arduous walking in sand |
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| Check out the dune on the left: looks as straight as a house covered in sand |
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| You get the idea of the size of the dunes |
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| Rock formations from the Dunes |
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| on the way back from Eureka Dunes: snow and Joshua Trees |
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