Eastern Sierras 2011 - Part IV of IV

Fall color on the way to Bridgeport

Today was a great day mostly due to the spectacular fall colors. I wish I could tell you what kind of trees we've been appreciating, but I am not good at identifying trees...yet. We drove up to Bodie, a really interesting ghost town. We saw flocks of sheep on the way up, which is always a treat for us city folks.  The last few miles of the road are dirt and pretty rough, which isn't such a treat (except for Wade!). We've been to Bodie many times before, but today we went to some parts that we hadn't checked out in the past. It involved quite a bit of walking (a big deal only because we were at 8000' + feet altitude. But good exercise!). We also had a nice picnic. The weather was clear and cool.

After leaving Bodie, we drove north to Bridgeport and checked out some campgrounds for next year. We stopped along 395 and took a lot of pictures of all the beautiful trees and vistas. Yes, Wade actually stopped the truck so I could take photos! Later we visited our favorite Mexican Restaurant for a delicious dinner. Driving back to our campground, we watched a beautiful sunset over Mono Lake as we descended from the Bridgeport area. The colors were indescribable. They are NOT in the PMS book! Those of you of the Graphics persuasion will know what I mean.

Tomorrow we are headed south, back to Tuttle Creek Campground outside Lone Pine and then home on October 28th. It's been a memorable trip; we've enjoyed camping in our new rig and we've seen so many beautiful vistas, birds, sunsets and other aspects of nature. Oh, and add the very recognizable Magpie to the bird list.

Thanks for checking out my blog. See below for photos.....




 

Bodie Ghost Town





Resting in front of the Bodie Museum



Fall color



This photo doesn't do the sunset justice - but you get the idea.



This says it all!

Eastern Sierras - Part III

Fall color along Hwy. 395



Left Grandview on the 20th and drove to Mono Lake, marveling at the fall colors all way up 395. We drove past a fairly large fire, that turned out to be a controlled burn (that looked like maybe it became uncontrolled) which unfortunately marred the usually incredible views of Mono Lake. But by the next day, most of the smoke and haze had dissipated. We are camping in luxury again at Mono Vista RV park.

Yesterday we went to the Visitor Center (highly recommended if you are ever in the area) and then took a drive to the south end of the lake, stopping at Panum Crater, the area's youngest volcanic crater. It's about 1 mile off of 120. From the parking lot, it didn't look like much, but we took a trail up to the top and were rewarded with fabulous views of Mono Lake and the snow dusted Sierras. Keeva liked the hike also, well, actually the ground squirrels. It was interesting to see all the formations of volcanic rock, pumice, obsidian, etc. Very impressive.

Then on to the South Tufa area where we again had beautiful views of the lake and surrounding area. Lots of Eared Grebes are here now, stopping to feed and gain strength for the rest of their migration, eating enough insects to add 15% of their body weight. The ranger said there are now 500,000+ Grebes here and I believe it. I looked through my binoculars and was amazed at the sight. I have never seen so many birds of one species!

Today I did some birding in several spots around the lake. So far the Mono Lake list includes: Ruddy Duck, White Pelican, Woodpecker (Downey I think), Song Sparrow, Brewer's Blackbird, Coot, Gull, Western Grebe, Eared Grebe, Audubon's Warbler, Avocets, and Stellar's Jay. The ranger told me I just missed seeing 200+ Pinyon Jays at the County Park.

Sadly, I just discovered that Mono Lake South Tufa Area (and perhaps the Visitor Center) is on the State closure list. This would be a tragedy. PLEASE write your elected officials to protest.

Tomorrow we are going up to Bridgeport and Bodie (ghost town) for a day trip. Weather and fall colors have been spectacular.

See photos below.



Controlled burn



Our Campground

Panum Crater

South Tufa Reserve



View from Panum Crater trail.



Wetlands surrounding Mono Lake





Eastern Sierras 2011 - Part II

View from Tuttle Creek Camp - Mount Whitney Vicinity

Our next stop was the Visitor Center at the Bristlecone Pines in the White Mountains at about 9000 ft. elevation! There was still snow on the ground. We camped at Grandview Campground about 3 miles down the mountain, elevation 8600 ft. It was a primitive campground with breathtaking views. Very few people. Again, we were dry camping and this time we were also "off the grid" - no cell phone coverage. A very unique experience, but kinda liberating!

The habitat was oak/conifer/juniper/sage. We saw Mountain Bluebird, Mountain Chickadee, Scrub Jay, Clarks Nutcracker, Titmouse, White Breasted Nuthatch, Red-Tail Hawk, and an unidentified Falcon type bird. The first night we were sitting outside enjoying a glass of Zinfandel and a Nuthatch flew right down on the table to investigate Wade's wine; not timid at all. It was amazing!

We spent the next few days just relaxing, walking, birdwatching and enjoying ourselves. The weather was very clear and cool in the daytime - in the 60's, but REALLY cold at night, in the 20's. Our heater worked great and kept us comfy. Love those solar panels! We stayed there through October 20th and are now camping near Mono Lake in a private campground with hookups! Living large! Will write again in a few days. See pictures below.




We are happy campers!

  



Why the Campground is named Grandview!




Solar Panels which allow us to dry camp longer -
much better than a generator!

 









Our campsite

 

A beautiful sunset for our last night at Grandview.



 



Keeva is a happy camper too!



Eastern Sierras - October 10-16, 2011

Space #48 at Tuttle Creek Campground

We arrived in Lone Pine on October 10, 2011 at about 3:30 p.m. The weather was clear and warm. We stayed at Boulder Creek RV Park for the first 2 nights while we scouted the area for our next campsite. We chose to stay at Tuttle Creek Campground a few miles outside of  Lone Pine, in the foothills of Mount Whitney. There is a creek (surprisingly enough called Tuttle Creek) that runs right through the campground, which should also be good for birding.This is our first attempt at dry camping (no hookups) with our trailer, so should be interesting. We will stay here until Oct. 15 or we run out of water and/or battery power. It is also very uncrowded which is nice! Stay tuned.


Oct. 14th. Dry camping has been successful. My high tech husband is feeling very proud of himself! Haven't seen as many birds as I had hoped, but the list includes: Red Tail Hawk, Goldfinch, (unidentified) Wren, Roadrunner, Shrike, White Crowned Sparrow, (unidentified) Warblers, Say's Phoebe (?) and Raven. I can hear a lot more birds than I can see in the dense riparian habitat!

View from Camp

Another highlight of the time here was watching the full moon rise every night and cast its light on the snow-capped peak of Mt. Whitney. Tomorrow we head back to Boulder Creek to prepare for our next campsite which will be up in the White Mountains near the Bristlecone Pines.

Oct. 15. Add to bird list: Bewick's Wren, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Northern Flicker and Quail. We like it here so much we've decided to stay here one more day.

Will post again from our next campground!