Bishop to Hollister

1728 miles in six days and we're back home. While we saw some beautiful and magnificant places, we were ready to be home. Living out of suitcases gets old.

Again, we were up early and after visiting a nearby Starbucks for oatmeal, tea (for Diane) and coffee, we were on the road out of Bishop. During previous visits we had thought it would be nice to live in Bishop. But after having a chance to walk around town and in some of the neighborhoods, we've had second thoughts. We realized we're more in love with the surrounding mountains than the town itself. However, on the way out we did see some very nice neighborhoods, particularly the closer we got to Mammoth Lakes.

Heading out of Bishop.

On a whim, we decided to leave Highway 395 and head into Mammoth, mainly because I wanted to see a rock formation called the Devil's Postpile. It took a bit of driving on a very curvy one-lane road, but after we got there we found it was well worth the detour. We went on a file mile hike to see Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls.

All those broken rocks are from Devil's Postpile above

where Diane is walking.

Devil's Postpile resulted from basalt lava coming up

from volcanic vents. Their smooth surface is from glaciers.

Besides the fascinating rock formation of Devil's Postpile, the history of the location is fascinating. In 1905 the area was removed from Yosemite's protective bounderies because mining companies wanted to build a dam that would be built after the formation was blown up. Concerned citizens and the Sierra Club convinced President Taft to declare the area a national monument in 1911 and it was transferred to the National Park Service in 1933. On seeing the formation, we're happy for once that environmentalists won out.

Some of the pieces broken off from Devil's Postpile

were so perfectly shaped and smooth they looked

like they had been shaped by stone cutters.

There were streams everywhere.

Sad on one level, but very much a part of nature, we saw

the results of a 1992 fire started by lightning that burned

8,000 acres. New growth was already covering the hills.

Rainbow Falls.

We were several hours too early to see why they're

called Rainbow Falls. The sun has to be high to create

the rainbow effect.

The hike was rough on Diane's knee, but she declared she was glad we saw the formation, as well as Rainbow Falls and a meadow where we saw people flyfishing and read that it is the origination point of the American River.

One of the hurdles for a bad knee. But

Diane was game for the entire hike.

Later, we headed out of Mammoth a climbed steadily until we reached Highway 120 at Lee Vining and turned into Yosemite National Park for a twisting shortcut down into the San Juaquine Valley and home. Apparently thousands of others had the same idea. It was a very slow trip across some of the most beautiful scenery in California.

The wildest wildlife we saw the entire hike, even

though signs everywhere declared this was bear country.

Flyfishing in a meadow that is the headwaters for the

American River.

By the time we reached the western entrance to the park, we were more than ready to get home, but it was still another two hours of driving through small towns, farm lands and vineyards.

Taking a shortcut through Yosemite.

Way bigger than it looks. It's several thousand feet high.

Last look at the river coming out of Yosemite, back

in the car and no stopping until we reached Hollister.

Great trip!

As we approached Hollister we thanked God for a safe trip, the glories that we saw and the interesting people we met along the way.

Las Vegas to Bishop

There's no reason to travel along Highway 95 out of Las Vegas unless you have a definite destination in mind, because there's a heck of a lot of nothing for miles and miles. At first, I did not think there would be very many photo opportunities along the way, but found out if you're willing to pull off the road at the first sign - literally a sign - then there's all kinds of interesting things to see.

As I said before, we've been hitting the road earlier every day. Today, we were headed out of town by 7 a.m. because we wanted to get to Bishop early enough to locate the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. We saw them about nine years ago, but we couldn't remember how we got there, other than the forest was near Bishop.

The day started off with a beautiful sunrise, as it seems most are over the desert. As deserts go, the Amargosa Desert is pretty empty. Always on the lookout for wildlife, we spotted one skinny coyote, not out in the bushes, but crossing the road. After 80 or so miles we pulled into a gas station/store called Fort Amargosa. The only comment: the filthiest bathroom and stale candy (Dots).

Sunrise over Vegas

On the road again!

Filthy bathrooms and stale candy. Great stop.

I mentioned that Jerome, AZ had 14 brothels, all long gone. Nevada has the real thing, two in fact, along 95, the Angel's Ladies, which offers free all-night parking for truckers, and down the road the Shady Girls Bordello (a romantic name for a very sad desperate occupation).

Notice the crashed plane behind the sign. Don't know

the significance of it, if any, but an unusual way to

attract business to a brothel.

A third brothel, long closed marked the turnoff on Highway 266 to Bishop. One thing we've discovered on this trip, or rather were reminded of, no matter how empty or destitute looking the land is, someone has been here before and many worked, lived and died here. There are countless ruins of mining towns and homesteads out there and we stopped to see a few.

When we reached where Highway 168 intersects 266 what a surprise was in store. We saw perhaps 100 cyclists coming down the steep mountain road and for the next 49 miles they kept coming. Two things were amazing: all these men and women were riding their bikes in the desert (though the weather was mild) and this was about 7,000 feet elevation. They had a long climb up and then a very fast descent.

No place to break down. No cell signal, no help.

The abandoned mining camp, Palmetto, where up to 200

miners dug for silver from 1866 to 1906.

Nice stone work.

It was on 168 that we discovered the turnoff to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Ten miles up a very twisty road and we came on them and they are magnificent. The forest is at 10,000 feet altitude; it was crystal clear and cold. What makes the Bristlecone Pine particularly fascinating is that a number of them are over 4,000 years old, and the oldest one found, called Methuselah, is 4,800 years old, making it the oldest living tree on earth - as far as anyone knows, I suppose. The forestry department does not say which tree is Methuselah to prevent it from being damaged. We saw baby Bristlecone trees only five or six feet tall that were 80 years old. One dead tree is believed to have fallen in the year 1654 and was already several thousand years old when it died.

From counting growth rings and carbon dating, scientist

believe this tree fell in the 1600s and was a couple

thousand years old when it died.

This tree is perhaps more than 4,000 years old.

Two giant Bristlecone Pines. In the background what we

thought was just a bit of remaining snow in the mountains are

actually glaciers left from the last ice age, 10,000 years ago.

While driving up to the Bristlecones we pulled off at a campsite and discovered a number of people with telescopes. We stopped and asked what they were looking at and it was Venus. Some of them had driving from the Los Angeles area. They said you can see Venus at night from anywhere, but if you want to see it really clear this was the place to come. We were at 9,000 feet then. They let us look through the telescope and by gosh there it was, like we've never seen it before. Really fascinating.

Amateur (we think) astronomers study Venus from 9,000 feet.

We came across a couple ghost towns and one little town with people still living in it called Lida. We fell in love and want to move there (LOL). Not really.

A little fixer-upper we're thinking of making an offer for

if the price is right.

In the home stretch.

Bishop is full of people. It always seems to be, no matter what time of the year. We were going to stay through Sunday in order to see the trees, but since we've already done that, we're leaving tomorrow morning. We hope to see some more sights and put them up to close out our little adventure.

Sedona to Vegas

Every day we seem to be getting on the road sooner than the day before. After breakfast and a stop at Safeway to fill the ice chest with fruit and ice we were off and running along Highway 93 to take a little loop down toward Prescott and them back up to Interstate 40 just west of Williams.

I had read a bit about Jerome, an old copper/gold/silver mining town, which has been designated a historical monument. This was one detour well worth the taking and we recommend it to anyone who wants to see a fascinating little town that once had 25 saloons and 14 brothels. There are still a couple saloons, but the brothels are long gone. But where one used to be we found a real treat. The owner billed it as the second largest kaleidoscopes store in the U.S., and she had some beautiful specimens.

The real treat, however, was in meeting 93-year-old Marquerite Haskins, who was in the shop, Nellie Bly, which in a former life was known as Jennie's Place, the most successful of the bordellos. Marquerite had lived in Jerome as a girl during the town's heyday and said she often saw the working girls, but wasn't sure how they worked. From her father's photographs she has produces a series of watercolors and was selling cards in the shop. She was sharp as a tack and loved to tell stories of living in Jerome and how as a young woman she went to Honolulu for a visit and ended up living there for 30 years. She now lives in Laguna Beach, but likes to come back to Jerome to visit friends and do a little business. Oh, we did buy one of her cards, only after she signed it for us.

The Hotel Connor, Jerome, AZ

A glass blower lives and works behind these bars. A sign

stating his working hours are 12-ish to 5-ish.

Never seen a woman in a dress and cowboy boots playing

basketball before. There are apparently a lot of "free

spirits" in Jerome.

The former bordello, Nellie Bly, where we met some very

interesting people and learned about Jerome's past.

Marquerite Haskins shared her life stories as well as her art

with us during our visit to Jerome.

We learned anywhere from 1-million to 3-million people (depending on who you ask) visit Jerome every year. The mines closed down in 1958, but not after digging up enough copper to give every human on the planet 30 pounds worth. They also dug up millions in gold and silver. We were told there are over 80 miles of mine tunnels under Jerome and the surrounding hills.

Main Street, Jerome

Jerome Grand Hotel, which was built as the United Verde

Hospital in 1926. It closed in 1950 when the mines began

to close and remained closed for 44 years until renovated in 1994.

We saw some strikingly beautiful country going back up to 40, then we decided to take Historical Highway 66 from Seligman to Kingman. It brought back memories for me (John) of traveling from Missouri to California on the two lanes. A world away from the four-lane Interstate 40 that took away much of 66. There were only a couple small towns, well not even really towns, such as Valentine that I remembered from when Diane, me and the kids (27 years ago, or there abouts) traveled along this very same route.

Imagine driving two lanes for a couple thousand miles. This

is Highway 66, which exists only in a few places today.

Not every day you see a car on top of a building, but

it's not all that uncommon along Route 66.

Something else you won't see anywhere except along

Route 66, Burma Shave signs. Poetry in motion.

We picked up Highway 93 out of Kingman and made good time until we reached Hoover Dam, where they're still doing 9/11-related security checks before allowing you to driver over the dam. Upon reaching Vegas we dropped in on a familiar eatery, Lucille's, a great rib and chicken place.

Hoover Dam

This bridge is being built in order to bypass Hoover Dam. It is

huge by any definition of the word and I suspect it will be as

famous as the dam one of these days.

Another night at Holiday Inn Express and tomorrow we'll be off early for Bishop.

Sedona, AZ

I'd move here in a heartbeat, if I had an extra million or two. The place is fantastically beautiful.

After a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee - tea for Diane - we walked around a bit until it was time to check in at Pink Jeep Tours, where we signed up for the "Broken Arrow" ultimate four-wheel adventure. Believe me, it lived up to its name, which is inspired by the movie, Broken Arrow, with James Stewart and Jeff Chandler (for those old enough to remember those two).

We both highly recommend Pink Jeep Tours for anyone coming to Sedona. Our guide, Tim Munson, has years of experience as a guide in Grand Canyon and Sedona, and we, along with two other couples and a guy named Dave from Wales, benefited from his vast knowledge of geology, plant life, the history of the area and even movie trivia. He made the trip well worth while.

As with the Grand Canyon, photographs cannot do the place justice. After the tour we had lunch at a Mexican restaurant (highly recommended by one of the couples in our Jeep) and it turned out to be very underwhelming. It was bad.

Then we went on our own little tour to a couple locations Tim told use about, one a Catholic church designed inspired by windows in the Empire State Building shortly after it was built in 1931. The woman who was thus inspired wanted to build a remarkable church in Europe, but was stopped by World War II. In the 1950s, she lived in Sedona and after much political fighting was able to get it built here.

As I said before, after Sedona we're going to be winging it. We made up our minds this afternoon where we're going next - Las Vegas (just overnight) then Bishop for a couple days. We're taking some back roads and visiting a ghost town along the way. So, keep coming back, we'll have plenty of pictures to share.

This is what we woke up to, looking from our patio.

One of the hundreds of sculpture around town.

From a distance, we thought it was a real girl.

Where the adventure begins.

Waiting for our ride on Pink Jeap Tours.

Our group during the 2 1/2- hour tour.

Somehow we ended up matching the Jeep and each other.

No ordinary Jeep could make it along these trails.

We got plenty of opportunities to get out and take in the sights.

We had never seen the color green of these trees (which

doesn't really show up in the photograph). They were

tuorquoise green from all the moisture the state has had.

Pink Jeep roundup.

Hanging in there.

Red rocks everywhere.

It was steeper than it looks.

We all took a turn at the steep grade.

Fantastic!

Chapel of the Holy Cross.

The "Two Nuns" near the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

Awesome.

Sunset in Sedona.