Day61 Ely NV to Lee Vining CA – Jul 10
Drove US-50 from Ely NV to Eureka, then south to Tonopah on the recommendation of an RVing friend. Not much to see enroute, but again some amazing vistas. Got to Tonopah and had a late lunch. Took a look around and decided that this was not the place for me. The best looking RV park in town was the Ramada Inn Casino, Hotel and RV Park. This was just a paved parking lot out back and wasn’t even level at that. As it was still early afternoon, I decided that I could move on and make California well before night fall.
Crossing into California was a bit of a challenge for my little rig. It was quite hot and there were a couple of pretty good pulls headed up into the Inyo Range. Finally made it into town in the early evening and was fortunate to locate a camp site right away. Made camp and had dinner.
On my way over the mountain I passed over the Owens River. Looked that up and here is the information I found on the river, the lake and the valley. “Owens Lake was named for Richard Owens a member of John C. Fremont’s 1845 exploration party which included Kit Carson and Ed Kern. Later the entire valley became known as The Owens Valley. The Paiute Indians called Owens Lake by the name of “Pacheta” and the Owens River” Wakopee.”
How about that Dickie?!?
Day62 Yosemite NP – Jul 11
Lee Vining Ca is just outside the east entrance to Yosemite National Park. It’s a short but spectacular drive up the road about 20 minutes through the Inyo National Forest. As I drove up on Friday, I was amazed at the views and the sheer drop off of the cliffs and mountains around the valley. Unfortunately, again, the haze was too much to allow for a good photo opportunity.
I went into the park extra early Friday, so I could head across the park to Yosemite Valley which was about a 90-minute drive. The valley are where the signature Yosemite NP sites are. Yosemite Falls (upper and lower), Half Dome and El Capitan. Once into the valley, you cannot turn around without seeing another absolutely spectacular vista.
I quickly discovered that they have 12 miles of biking trail right in the valley and I took definite advantage of that. I spent about four hours riding around the area and taking in all of the sites including the aforementioned icons as well as the museum, visitors center, Ansel Adams Studio and an arts center.
Scenes from Yellowstone Valley including the Lower Falls, Yellowstone Creek, the Valley Church and the Upper Falls
Apparently, they are having problems with Bears speeding . . . . AND looks like they’ve been trying to steal the signs too!!!
Actually, a Red Bear is a Dead Bear in Yosemite. Anywhere you see these signs, means a bear has died in this location. Oddly enough every sign that I saw was adjacent to a developed portion of the park. More people, more food, more opportunities for a dead bear. I saw at least a half dozen of these signs.
This park really gets a lot of traffic, especially on the weekends. It is in close proximity of a number of major California metropolitan population centers and you can certainly tell. It almost reminded me of a typical city park on a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon.
Started feeling the ill effects of whatever has been bothering me lately, so by early afternoon was headed back up the mountain and back to camp. The trip was not as easy as I had hoped, and I felt progressively worse as I went along. Got back to camp Friday night and made arrangements to stay a couple of more days. Also got information on the closest medical facility.
Day63 Mammoth Lakes – Jul 12
Saturday morning did the 45-minute drive into town to find a doctor and determine what it is that has been bothering me for the last couple of weeks. Had a very long interview with the physician and she had lots of pointed questions that had all occurred to me at one time or another over the last two weeks. When all was said and done, she ran a battery of lab tests to determine exactly what the culprit might be. Results are still outstanding, and we hope to have a better idea in a few days.
In the meantime I will be holding here until Tuesday at least. Not sure if I will move to another local camp at that time or head up the road a bit further. Will all depend on how I feel and the results of the lab work.
Day65 Yosemite NP – Jul 14
After spending the day recuperating yesterday, and basically going stir crazy, I decide to make a quick run up to Yosemite and tour the eastern segment of the park that I just passed by on Friday. The main feature of this part of the park is Tuolomne Meadows which is absolutely beautiful this time of the year. Probably the greenest part of this end of the state at this point.
I hiked about 5 miles down along Dana Fork past some waterfalls, then to two bridges over the Toulomne River and then followed that back towards the parking area. Managed to hike AND take photos and still get done in less than two hours. Checked my GPS and my average moving speed was about 3.5 miles an hour. That’s moving right along for me, especially in the wilderness. Felt good though.
The better part of the loop hike involved segments of both the John Muir Trail, and more importantly the Pacific Crest Trail. This makes five (5) of the eight National Scenic Trails.
Did a little souvenir shopping and still made it back base camp well before lunch. Incidentally, the photo of the mountain side of Inyo National Forest is just a very small sampling of the spectacular views here. At one point you can look down and see the valley floor about 2,000 feet below. Holy crap!!!
Inyo National Forest and falls on Dana Fork of the Toulomne River
Took a short break and this was my view of the Toulomne River and a picture postcard view of Lembert Dome