Funky, Kitschy Bishop.......

In all the years we have driven through Bishop, and even, on occasion, stayed overnight in Bishop, we have NEVER gotten off the main drag.....serious.  Why I have no idea.  After all, I do have some history with this northern Owens Valley town.....my grandmother Cornelia was born in Bishop in the early 1900's back in the day when the only way you could visit Bishop was via the train.  Speaking of trains, another thing we have never done in all the decades passing through Bishop was to visit the Laws Railroad Museum on the outskirts of town.  As I think back on Monday it was indeed a day spent exploring the funky, kitschy side of Bishop, CA.

We left our coach around 0930 to drive over to Laws to take the 'nickle' tour, and to check out a few potential 'boondock' sites for future reference.....we had planned to do some boondocking on the outskirts of Bishop until the weather turned quite chilly, but would like to do so in the future when the temps are more appealing.  Since Laws does not open for tours until 1000 hours we took time to drive up Silver Canyon Road past Laws to investigate one such spot before opening time.....

.....we determined in pretty short order that none of the possible parking spots on Silver Canyon Road would work for us, but the view of the valley was enthralling, so I snapped a picture.  I could see us spending time there if only there was something long enough to accommodate our length.  Then it was time to visit Laws Railroad Museum....

Laws is open every day of the week from 10 am to 4 pm, and there is no charge, but donations are appreciated.  Now, I don't know about you, but when I see a sign that says "Laws Railroad Museum" I immediately think, and have thought so all these decades, that I will see a lot of trains.....especially locomotives.......that's a reasonable assumption is it not?

Essentially Laws is a history museum containing artifacts from those who lived in and around Bishop, CA and the surround Owens Valley area during the 1800's and early 1900's, as well as a lot of ancient mining equipment.  There is only one locomotive, a number of passenger cars, and numerous cabooses.

What railroad stuff they had was interesting, such as the original 1883 locomotive turntable pictured above.......in it's day when operational it only took four men to manually turn an 800 ton locomotive 180 degrees using this turn table.  Below is the only locomotive at the museum.  All that being said, as a museum this is a great museum.....TLE and I wandered from exhibit to exhibit for close to two hours.

 The one complete train at Laws

 A whole building dedicated to colored glass bottles

After leaving Laws we proceed up Casa Diablo Road to check out another recommended boondock site in the Volcanic Tablelands.  We have friends who have boondocked here in large Class A motorhomes, and if that was all we were it would probably work for us, but with the extra 26' of trailer added to our length, we only saw one site that would work for us, and that would be a tight squeeze.....we'll have to see what the future brings.

Another local place we had never gone to visit was Keough's Hot Springs located just a mile off US 395 about 6 miles south of Bishop...an easy 10 minute drive.  Again, we have driven past the sign for this hot springs for decades, but had never checked it out.  At the urging of our friend Kirsty whom we met at our Amazon gig a year ago, we decided this was the day to get a little more off the beaten path and check it out.

We arrived at this funky, run down at the heels place just before 1230 hours, paid our $10/person entrance fee, changed into our swim suits and were quickly enjoying the 104 degree hot pool.

The main pool - kept at 85-90 degrees depending on the time of year

 The 'hot' pool - kept at 104 degrees

TLE caught me in a moment of total relaxation......even though this place is a little run down....it was originally built in 1919, and doesn't look like any updating has occurred in the 96 years since then......we loved it.  The pools are clean, the water crystal clear, and the temperature is remains a steady 104 degrees.  TLE was done after 45 minutes, but I stayed in for one hour.

Keough's has a small RV park.....I think about 10 sites......with 30 amp electric, and water only......no sewer, and no dump.  It would work for small trailers, and motorhomes, but once again I do not think we would fit.  If you stay in the RV park I believe there is no charge to use the hot pools.

From Keough's we headed to another Bishop institution that is also off the main drag a mile, or so......Burger Barn......located north of US 395 on Line Street!  Yelp gives them 4.5 stars on 296 reviews.....that is amazing.....and so are their burgers!  TLE and I both ordered 'Ryan's Good Burger' with bacon and bleu cheese, and a large basket of fries....OMG!  This, too, is a very funky, kitschy place.....our kind of place.  It only took one bite of the burger, and a couple of fries to understand why this place gets such a high rating.....we would give it a solid 5 star rating....they even have a drive through lane if you are in a hurry, but I would encourage you to take your time, sit down and just enjoy the alfresco ambiance and amazing food.

We arrived home a little after 1500 stuffed to the gills with burgers and fries, and ready for a nap......that one hour soak combined with one of the best burgers I have ever had put me in the mood for a nap......I woke up just before 1630....the sun was down and the end of another amazing day filled with new experiences.

Thanks for stopping by!