A Mammoth Day

Back in the early 70's to late 80's we would spend 2-3 weeks a year snow skiing at Mammoth Mountain in California.  At the time we lived in Pasadena, CA and the 300 mile drive to Mammoth would take 5-6 hours.  Then in the early 90's I got tired of waiting in lift lines, and got caught up in the mountain bike craze.....there were no lift lines....there was no waiting, and it didn't cost $60 per person to do it each day.  Over the years of our marriage we have spent just as much time, if not more, in Mammoth as Lake Tahoe.  With the advent of mountain biking many ski areas built "bike parks" for mountain bike riders to use during the summer months, and Mammoth built one of the best.  Even though you ride a gondola, or chair lift to the top of the  mountain to begin riding, there were no lift lines, and as we used to say, the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park is better than an "E" ticket ride at Disneyland.  Many of you will recall that back in the early years of Disneyland they sold you a book of tickets for the rides.  Each ride (depending on its popularity) was rated "A" to "E"...."E" being the most desirable.   Typically in a given day my friends and I would cover 50-60 miles of downhill trails at Mammoth on our bikes.  Needless to say I have shed a lot of blood on this mountain over the years, and like Lake Tahoe, memories are planted deep here for both TLE and I.

Tuesday dawned with a heavy cloud cover, but no forecast of precipitation of either the liquid, or frozen variety, also the over night temps got into the low 20's....yep, winter will be here soon.  Instead of driving around town like we usually do when we are up here, we decided to just take off walking to see what had changed, and what was the same.  Our first stop was the Breakfast Club, a very popular local breakfast eatery where we have had many breakfasts over the years.  It is just a short walk from the RV park, and this is one place I am glad has not changed.....the food is simple, but delicious.

After eating we walked up the main drag to the outlet stores where I found a pair of Teva sandals at a bargan basement price at Value Sports where we have shopped often over the years, and TLE found a pair of wonderful slippers at the Bass Shoe Outlet store.  We walked up Old Mammoth road and window shopped for a while.  As we expected, not much has changed in the past two years since we were here last.  On Wednesday TLE will run up to the Schat's Bakery to pick up some bread.

 The RV park in the distance

Mammoth Mountain.....has about 18" of snow at the top right now.

After walking just over 3.5 miles we headed back "home" to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.  We planned to leave around 4 pm to drive over to the June Lake Loop to have dinner at one of our all time favorite eastern Sierra restaurants.....The Carson Peak Inn.

The drive over to June Lake was uneventful, but we found a road block with a detour sign taking us around the backside of the lake due to some road construction.  As a result, we just missed the sun going down behind the high mountain peaks......sunset occurs a little earlier in the high mountain country.  This was what I was able to get from the parking lot of the Heidelberg Inn.....another place we have frequented often over the years.  We love the enormous fireplace in the lobby.

TLE and the Heidelberg Inn

Since the Carson Peak Inn doesn't open until 5 pm, and it was only 4:30 at this time we drove down the "Loop" road past Silver Lake just taking in the beauty of this drive.  It was just past dusk there, but the views were striking nevertheless.

Silver Lake at dusk

Taking a picture of the picture taker

TLE's panorama shot of Silver Lake

By the time we finished with our picture taking it was almost 5 pm, so we headed back to the "Inn" for our 5 pm reservation.   As it turned out, and we should have know better, we are in between seasons with the summer revelers long gone, so we were the only customers at opening time.  Frankly I kind of liked having it all to ourselves.  Our server, Janice, asked us what kind of music we would like to listen to on XM/Sirrious Radio, and we asked for Sirriusly Sinatra (channel 71).  We enjoyed our conversation with Janice, who has been a June lake resident for over 34 years.  I told her I have been coming to the Carson Peak Inn since 1963 (with my parents) and have been here dozens of times over the years.  The interior has not changed much, but it has been refreshed over the years a few times....I love the rich wood paneling, and the eclectic collection of lamps that provide light for the diners.

Every time I come to the Carson Peak Inn I have their Filet Mignon.....still one of the top 3 I have ever had.  We ordered a bottle of BV Coastal Pinot Noir to go with our 3 course meal.  TLE had pan fried rainbow trout....everything was perfect, and we had a wonderful time.

The 18 mile drive home was uneventful.....just as we like it.....and we arrived back "home" around 6:45.  Tuesday night is NCIS, NCIS L.A., and Person of Interest night.....as usual, all three shows were great, and we headed off to dreamland around 11.....well, TLE did.  I was having trouble updating one of the apps on my laptop, and it took until about 12:15 am for me to finish it.  Normally that would bug me, but since every day is like Saturday now.....no BIG deal....:D

Wednesday we will slip down Sherwin Grade into Bishop, CA and then on south to our next destination of Lone Pine, CA.....we're almost home kids.....just a couple more days!  Your patience is appreciated!

Thanks for stopping by!

Homeward Bound....

Monday we knew we would would re-enter California for the first time since we left almost 21 months ago.  Our destination was Mammoth Lakes, CA.....just about 128 miles to the south of Carson City, NV.  Just 29 miles distant was the California border, and the California Inspection Station, which we have passed through dozens of times over the years we have transversed this section of US HWY 395 north and south.   This stretch of US HWY 395 between Carson City and Mammoth Lakes is one of our favorite stretches of blue highway in the U.S......and for us it has been like a second home.

The California Port of Entry is right on the shores of Topaz Lake, and is quite small, but every time we pass through this inspection station I am always concerned about what questions they will ask.....almost as much as when we entered Canada last July.  The last time we were asked if we had any Christmas trees with us.....wait, what?  This time the one and only question we were asked was if we had any firewood.  Sometimes  the questioning is quite extensive, but this time all I had to do was answer "no firewood sir", and we were on our way back into the not so "Golden State".  

We glided through Coleville, Topaz, Walker, and Bridgeport.  We like Bridgeport, and had planned to stop here for lunch, but parking along the street was impossible this Monday, and I didn't want to venture on to any side streets in this very small town.  TLE managed to snap a couple of pictures as we passed through.

 County Court House

 Ranch land just north of Bridgeport....I love this view every time we pass this way.

About 15 miles south of Bridgeport is Conway Summit, which at 8,138' is the highest elevation point along US HWY 395......we have been stopping here for the obligatory picture of Mono Lake for decades.......I can remember stopping here with my parents back in the 50's as we headed home from our Lake Tahoe vacations each summer.  The view is big, long and spectacular, and was no less impressive on Monday.  We dawdled around at the summit for about 30 minutes just enjoying the view.  The climb up to this summit from the north is a long grinding climb......from the south you gain 1,500' elevation in just 4 miles.

TLE's panorama shot....you can almost see our lunch stop, Lee Vining, in the distance.

 TLE lining up her panorama shot

Another thing we almost always do going north, or south through Lee Vining is to stop and have breakfast, or lunch at Nicely's Restaurant......Monday it was lunch.  Again, in town, the parking lanes were just not wide enough for us, so we drove about a 1/4 mile south of town and parked the coach, then walked back into town for lunch....by this time it was 1:30 and I was getting famished.

There "she" is just south of Lee Vining patiently awaiting our imminent return.

The food, as always, was good.....TLE had her customary Rueben sandwich, and I had another French Dip.

Just a few short miles south of Lee Vining is the northern entrance to the June Lake Loop road, which we love, but was not in the cards for us today.  You can see the June Mountain Ski area in the distance.

Back in the 60's when we were on our way up to Lake Tahoe we would almost always spend a night near June Lake before continuing on to Lake Tahoe.  I love the June Lake Loop, and if you ever get a chance drive it....you will not be disappointed, no matter the season.

Pretty soon we had reached the last summit of the day, Dead Man's Summit, just a few miles north of Mammoth Lakes.  By 2:30 we had arrived at Mammoth Mountain RV Park located just on the outskirts of Mammoth Lakes Village.  We have stayed here often over the years.  It is quite expensive at $45 per night, but it is the only game in town right now.....everything else is "closed for the season".  This RV park is pretty empty as we are in between seasons here.  There were probably less than 10 RV's in the entire park, so we pretty much had our pick of spots, and chose a water/electric site on the pavement so we would not have to unhook our trailer for the two days we will be here.

I know, we're kind of stretched across several sites, but that's the advantage of being here in the off season.....plenty of room for us.

Around 5:30 we drove into the "Village" for some drinks and an appetizer at Gomez' Mexican Restaurant.....one of our favorite dinning places in Mammoth......and whenever we are in Mammoth we have a meal here.

Well, that's it.....we are officially back in California, if only for 2 months, but we have returned, and I know our kids and grand kids are waiting for us to get it into gear and just finish the drive home.....right now we are about 300 miles from home, and it looks like it will take until Friday for us to cover that distance.

Thanks for stopping by!

That's what I'm talking about!

Sunday was a day that symbolizes what our journey is all about......what it has become over time....it is about the people pure and simple.  Sunday we spent time with my cousin Lois, and her father, my Uncle Bob......my mother's brother.  Of course their significant others were there.....John, Lois' husband of 47 years, and Jane, Uncle Bob's wife of over 40 years.

Cousin Lois and her husband John

Uncle Bob and Aunt Jane

I have not seen Uncle Bob since 2003, and Lois since 2007.  When I was young my Dad would drive us down to Manhattan Beach to spend the night some weekends with Uncle Bob and his family....there was Lois, the oldest, Liz and Bobby my cousins.  I have a lot of great memories of those times, and it was good to spend time with Uncle Bob and Cousin Lois again.  

Red's Old 395 Grill

We met for lunch at Red's Old 395 Grill in downtown Carson City......recommended by several friends........everybody was on time.  From the time we sat down until we left 2 hours later the conversation did not stop except for a few minutes when we had to focus on our menus and make our orders.  I got the Thunder Humper Chili Hamburger.....wow....what a great burger cooked just like I asked....medium rare.

Lois and John have a travel trailer, and Lois is quite interested in the nomadic lifestyle.  They are looking for a 5th wheel to use when they begin to travel within the next year.   After lunch we headed back to the Newell so everyone could see her in person, and we spent another hour and a half talking about everything under the sun.  

The great thing is we will be back in Lake Tahoe in six months, and will be able to spend more time with them......life is good.....and life is about the people in your life.  Today was a good day......a good day spent with good people......good people I am proud to say I have in my life.  The glow of the day has still not worn off even now as I write hours later.  I don't think you could slap the smile off my face if you tried.....:D

After everyone left I spent the rest of the day with TLE watching NFL football, and relaxing......to be honest I watched, and TLE read.  Monday we will roll our wheels once again southward to Mammoth Mountain....another place in the Eastern Sierra full of good memories of snow skiing, mountain biking, tennis and time spent with family going back to 1972.

Thanks for stopping by!

Time Machine

For TLE and I Lake Tahoe is like a time machine.  My history with "The Lake" (Tahoe is from the Washoe Indian Tribe language which simply means "The Lake") began in 1954, and  TLE's in 1967.  For us coming to Lake Tahoe is like coming home.   Memories are planted all around this lake as thick as the squaw cabbage that grows wherever civilization has not yet encroached.    In August of 1971 we spent our honeymoon on the south shore of this amazing lake, and we have been back often in winter, spring, summer and fall.  Each of my brothers spent their honeymoons here, also.  

Saturday we decided to drive up US HWY 50 into the Tahoe Basin to drive around its 72 mile circumference.  We started our journey back in time around 10:15 am and caught our first glimpse of Tahoe around 10:45.  As we wound our way around the southern end of the lake through Stateline, South Lake Tahoe and then up to Emerald Bay we marveled at how little has seemingly changed since 1971.  Nothing better than to take this drive on a clear fall day.

We stopped off briefly at a local RV park where we hope to spend next summer (2014) doing a workamping gig.  It has always been a dream of ours to spend an entire summer at Lake Tahoe, and now it appears that dream will come to fruition next May!  We found out about this opportunity from our nomadic friends Debby and Bill (Bill and Debby's Wild Ride) this past summer.  They spent the summer of 2013 at this same RV park, and recommended it very highly.  We met with Billy, one of the owner/managers, for about 15 minutes, and are very excited about being back here next summer....YAY!!

By this time it was around 11:30 we began our journey up HWY 89 toward Emerald Bay.  As we passed by historic Camp Richardson we talked about stopping in Tahoe City to have lunch at the Bridgetender Tavern where we have had many meals over the years.  This restaurant sits right on the banks of the Truckee River, and right next to the famous "Fanny Bridge".  Fanny Bridge got its name from all the tourists who lean over the railings of the bridge to see the enormous rainbow trout swimming below.  From the street all you can see is Fanny's during the summer months.

Internet photo....I don't know any of these people....lol.

However, once again I get a little ahead of myself......we first stopped off at Emerald Bay for our usual picture with Tea Island in the background.

Emerald Bay - 1974

 Emerald Bay - 2013

We've been taking pictures at this spot since the early 70's.....the first one above was taken in 1974.  Even in late Fall there were a lot of people at this spot Saturday taking pictures.  It is one of our favorites spots at Lake Tahoe where we return without fail every time we visit Lake Tahoe.

From there we continued our drive on past Rubicon Bay to Meeks Bay.....unfortunately the Meeks Bay Resort was closed for the season so I snapped this picture.  We have camped at Meeks Bay often over the years.  By the time we decided to press on it was warm enough to drop the top on the 'Bird and enjoy the crisp autumn air!

We then passed on through Tahoma, Homewood, Tahoe Vista, and Tahoe Taverns eventually finding ourselves on the shores of the Truckee River.  We parked in the visitors lot across from the Bridgetender Tavern and walked in around 12:30 on the dot, and not a moment too soon.  Within minutes after we were seated it was SRO in the restaurant.  I ordered my ususal Blue Cheese Bacon Burger and chased it with a pint of Moose Drool.  TLE ordered their Clam Chowder and also chased it with a Moose Drool.  I love continuity, and Saturday was about continuity for us us right down to the Blue Cheese Bacon Burger......life is good.

 "Fanny Bridge" - built in 1928

Truckee River outlet at Tahoe City

While we were sitting there reminiscing I got a message on Facebook from my good friend Don Neff, who in his later years has become quite an artist, saying that the gallery he shows his pictures at was just a couple of miles further down the road.  So, after finishing our lunch we drove over to the James-Harold Galleries on the east side of Tahoe City to see some of Don's work (you can find more of his paintings at  http://www.donaldneff.com).  I have only seen photographs of Don's work, so it was a treat to see them in person.  I took pictures of a few of my favorites.......of course most of his pictures are my favorites, because they are of places I love in the Eastern Sierra....Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Squaw Valley, Truckee, etc.

 Yosemite Valley

 Lake Tahoe

 Truckee River in downtown Truckee

A scene above Squaw Valley as seen from the gondola

The gallery is right next door to the Safeway Supermarket that has been there for as long as I can remember......and it is still there, and is still a Safeway.....as I said....CONTINUITY!

We journeyed on south through Carnelian Bay, Kings Beach, Crystal Bay, Sand Harbor, Spooner Lake,  and on back the over the hill on US HWY 50 to Carson City arriving home around 2:30 pm having covered just over 110 miles.....it did not seem that far, or long.  

It was a great day for memories, and just enjoying one of the most beautiful areas of our great country.

Later that evening we hooked up again with our long time college friend, Terri, who brought a nice bottle of wine over.  We talked for several hours before we agreed we were too old to be up this late and said our "until next times".

I, apparently, fell asleep in my recliner watching the UCLA football game, waking up just in time to seem them clinch victory  over the Arizona Wildcats by 5 poinnts with 60 seconds to go.  USC won their game big (62-28) over Cal.

Another day lived well........thanks for stopping by!

Where have we been?

Our friend, Cherie of "Tales from Technomadia" put a link up on Facebook yesterday to a USA/Canada map where you create your own map to show where you have been on your travels....if you are interested in creating your own click here.  This is what ours looks like after 21 months of travel.  

Orange - spent several days

Pink - spent a day

Green - a whole lot of time, and know it very well

Blue - spent time, and know it pretty well

We still have a bunch of those states up in the northeastern corner of the US to visit, but the time is coming in a couple of summers when we will transverse Canada from the Pacific to the Atlantic and then visit those northeastern states.  You will note I highlighted Hawaii......of course we didn't take the motorhome there, but we spent our 20th wedding anniversary there, and the same for Quebec.....a few years before we started our journey we flew there to take a multi day bike tour.   Otherwise we have been to all the other states in our coach that we have highlighted.  We need to spend more time in those orange states, too!

Yesterday I published a sunset picture I had taken on our drive from Fallon to Carson City.  I hadn't seen TLE's pictures of the same sunset yet, and I wish now I had used hers.....they are both spectacular......in fact so much so that I am putting them up today.  The first one is my favorite.....click on it to make it larger and see what I mean!

I think TLE's sunset pictures from Thursday are way better than mine so I'm putting them up a day late.....the top one is just simply amazing!  The clouds look like islands floating in the sky.

Friday morning was probably the warmest morning we have had in a long time, and before the day would be over we would have our highest high temperature in a couple of months.  I puttered around outside in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt putting out the patio awning (with TLE"s help), the window awnings, and hooking up the water and sewer connections....the coach is facing north and south so both sides of the coach are getting direct sunlight at one point during the day.  We even ended up opening some of the windows  as it was getting warm inside without the aid of heaters!

Around 12:15 we headed into town to El Charro's Avitia Mexican Restaurant to meet a college friend, Terri, for lunch.  We last saw Terri on a multi day bike trip TLE and I did with her down the California Coastline to San Diego about 3 years ago.  We had a delightful 2 hour lunch answering questions about our lifestyle, as well as just talking about the nomadic lifestyle with Terri and her friend Jerry.  I've eaten at El Charro's a couple of times before, and would give them 4 stars on a 5 star scale.  Yelp gives them 3.5.....and I would probably agree, but they do have Negra Modelo on tap, which is rare, so for that they get the 4.

TLE and Terri in Dana Point on our bike ride in November of 2010

We made plans to meet up with Terri again in a couple of days before we leave, and then headed into town to the local Goodwill to make a donation of another large bag of clothing I culled out while we were at my brother's home just a few days ago.  TLE managed to find a couple of new outfits for about $10, but I found nothing I could not live without.

Then we headed back south of US HWY 395 to the local Trader Joe's.....what a delight it was to find one so close to where we are staying!  We filled our basket with food, wine and beer and headed for the checkout stand.  It seems that about every 6 months our bank's computer system decides we are not where we are supposed to be and puts a hold on our debit cards......Friday was the magic day for us again.  After TLE's and my cards were both declined I used a regular credit card to pay, knowing there was plenty of money in our account, so it was just a matter of calling them and letting them know we really were in Carson City, NV.  

In talking with our bank representative I was able to get a direct "800" number to the fraud department which will enable us, in the future, to get the holds released within a couple of minutes, instead of the usual 30 minutes of being transferred three times.  I used it and it worked just as it should.  It is always puzzling to me why we can go 6 months without a hiccup from the bank, and then suddenly in some random place the computer "wakes up" and decides something is wrong.....it could be for a small Starbuck's transaction of $8.50, or a large fuel bill of $650......it seems to have nothing to do with the amount or the location, or even the frequency of the use of the card.  Anyway, it's a small inconvenience to live this nomadic life.

After clearing up the bank issue I retrieved the BBQ from basement storage, set it up and lit it in anticipation of cooking some Cajun Spiced Salmon we bought at TJ's.  TLE prepared some sauteed mushrooms, and a wonderful salad using heirloom tomatoes, blue cheese, and spinach greens.  That was an amazing dinner, and an amazing salad!

Ironically, after dinner we watched the finale of Master Chef Junior, and marveled at what these 12 and 13 year old finalists whipped up in 90 minutes.  Nevertheless, I loved our dinner, and that salmon was delicious!

Saturday we will take the top off the 'Bird and drive into the Lake Tahoe Basin for the day....we haven't been to Lake Tahoe together for a number of years.....it is one of our favorite places on earth where we have spent a lot of time over the years of our marriage.  My parents first introduced me to Lake Tahoe back in 1954, and I have been in love ever since.  It is where we spent our honeymoon 42 years ago.

Thanks for stopping by!

The 300

For my sisters-in-law, Phyllis and Lori, we are now in Carson City, NV for four days......so you are now free to move on to more profitable tasks if you do not wish to read the gory details of Thursday's travel....JK....thanks for reading anyway!

I apologize in advance for another movie reference, but I just couldn't resist......it will make sense a little later......please read on.

Mr. Jello made another appearance Thursday morning.  We had a very simple plan....drive 147 miles to Austin, NV and spend the night.  TLE was a little under the weather first thing....I think she had a mild case of my issue a few days before when we were still at my brother's home, but by 10:30 am she was ready to roll.

As a after thought I called the RV park in Austin we had planned to overnight at and left a message......when you get voice mail at 10:30 in the morning at a an RV park it is not usually a good sign.

The overnight temp only got down to 33....quite a bit warmer than we have been used to, but 33 is still cold......nevertheless, it warmed up quickly to over 50 by the time we left at 10:30.  The road continued to be smooth and straight.

 Straight and flat for 20 miles!

 Heading down, down, down out of Austin

Salt flats east of Fallon

About 11:00 I received a return call from the RV park in Austin advising they were "CLOSED FOR THE SEASON"......drat!  There was another park in Austin that we stayed at 5.5 years ago, but it was not nearly big enough for us with a trailer this time, so we said "thank you very much Mr. Jello", and went to discussing plan "B".  There was no plan "B" beforehand, but we came up with it pretty quickly......we decided to just drive the 300+ miles to Carson City and get there a day early.   I has been a while since I drove a 300+ mile day, and I remember now exactly why I don't like to do that.  If I had known we would end up driving all the way to Carson City we would have left 2 hours earlier as I prefer not driving the coach at night, especially in densely populated urban areas, but it is what it was. 

We stopped in Eureka.....about half way to Austin.....for lunch at the Austin Owl Club and Steakhouse.  We stopped there our last time through, and really like the food......we were not disappointed this time either.  I had the French Dip last time, and loved it, so this time we both ordered it.  It was a little cold and blustery outside, and a hot sandwich with coffee seemed just right to me....TLE opted for ice water......brrrrrr!

On Thursday we crossed about 8, or 9 passes ranging from the highest at 7,400' to just over 6,000'.....it was pretty much an "up and down" day, but the DD did her job well.  We got listen to the "jake brake" echoing off the hillsides, mountains, and guard rails all day long.

We took a break at the top of the the pass just before Austin, and then a third break just past Fallon at a Shell Gas Station a little after the sun had set.  Although I really don't like driving the coach at night, if I hadn't been on the road last night I wouldn't have seen this amazing sunset of which my camera phone had a hard time capturing the full magnitude.

We arrived at our RV park around 6:15, and were quickly led to our 70' spot.....this is a Passport America park, so our daily rate is 1/2 the normal rate....total cost....$78!  We will be in Carson City for 4 days visiting friends and relatives (Mom, I am in contact with Lois, and we are getting together Sunday).  The forecast (guess) for the next four days is for highs in the mid to high 60's.....YAY!!!

Thanks for stopping by!