Desert Sightems

Off Road Entry Point - Inyo National Forest  2024

Fritos and Beer - Inyo National Forest  2024

I had lunch at an entry point for off-road adventures. The dirt road curved invitingly around some low hills towards . . . ? 

Had the place to myself, no cars passed by on the main road.

Saline Valley Road

Road Sign - Owens Valley  2024

Saline Valley Road - Owens Valley  2024

The sign shows that Scotty's Castle is "closed." But is it the road that's closed, or the castle itself? I visited Scotty's Castle in 1980.

Monday Dog Blogging

Dogs - Sierra Nevada  2024

Dogs (and Mike) out for an early morning walk around the campground loop. 

Eureka Valley Road

Eureka Valley Road - Owens Valley  2024

There's an earlier 2009 blog post concerning Eureka Valley Road. This time, the sun was out, the weather was warm and the contrasting desert light was somewhat flat. 

Hills, Erosion - Owens Valley  2024

Owens River

Owens River, Trees, Mountains - Owens Valley  2024

I had some clouds last year for a photo in the same area, but this year the weather was cloudless, sunny and warm.

I used a Nikon Z7II with a 24-200mm zoom lens.

Little Lakes Valley Hike - 4

Foxtail Pine - Sierra Nevada  2024

Fritos and Beer - Sierra Nevada  2024

Around noon I located a pleasant, shady, somewhat level spot and settled in for my lunch. 

Unlike my 2013 hike, I didn't feel the need to go to the end of the trail at Morgan Pass.

Little Lakes Valley Hike - 3

Lake, Mountains - Sierra Nevada  2024

Lake - Sierra Nevada  2024

Postcard ready! 

Little Lakes Valley Hike - 2

Mountains, Trees - Sierra Nevada  2024

A cloudless day, bright and sunny and ideal for hiking. But not so ideal for my style of photos. I've been converting a lot of photos taken during to my trip to black and white. 

This one taken with a Nikon Z7II / 24-200mm lens combo.

Little Lakes Valley Hike - 1

Grass, Lake, Mountains - Sierra Nevada  2024

Little Lakes Valley / Mono Pass Sign - Sierra Nevada  2024

The last time I hiked up here was in September, 2013. This time I didn't have any particular goal in mind, just wanted to do a non-strenuous day hike.

I hadn't remembered, though, just how far the trailhead is from highway 395 . . . quite a long drive! Once past Rock Creek Stables there's a dirt road to the trailhead parking lot (which was full).

Pack Station - Sierra Nevada  2024

Monday Chipmunk Blogging

Chipmunk on Tire - Sierra Nevada  2024

Chipmunk Scampering Off - Sierra Nevada  2024

I was sitting in my camp chair when this creature walked by. When I stomped my feet it gave out a startled squeak and hopped up onto the right front tire of the Toyota. Finally managed to scamper off after several nervous peeks back at me.

Campground Sightems - 2

Berries - Sierra Nevada  2024

Tree Rings - Sierra Nevada  2024

Photos taken on an abandoned dirt road leading out of the campground. The iPhone couldn't help with berry identification . . . too many possibilities! There's probably some story around the fallen tree that's lost in the mists of time.

Campground Sightems - 1

Rabbitbrush - Sierra Nevada  2024

Ridge (Morning) - Sierra Nevada  2024

The iPhone gave me the plant ID. As it turns out, I have an earlier photo of rabbitbrush taken in Canyonlands National Park. Although, there are probably more photos on the blog under the "sage" title.

Campsite

Campsite (Big Trees Campground) - Sierra Nevada  2024

I last camped in this area in 2017.  Then, as now, the drive from Marin County to the campgrounds west of Bishop was quite long and tiring. (And this year I wasn't able to enter Yosemite until noon - a further delay.)

Back in 2017 I found a nice campsite in the Forks Campground. So I drove there first. But this year the campsites were either taken or reserved. Yikes! So I followed my pre-trip plan and drove down to the next campground. This was the Big Trees Campground and . . . I found a fairly pleasant campsite!

But then: registration, setting up of the tent, blowing up the Thermarest, getting out the sleeping bag, loading groceries into the bear box . . . lots to do. The camp host had to help me figure out the tent's rain fly pole; I had forgotten that it had an odd configuration (back to front.)

Photo was taken with the iPhone at 7:30 in the morning, the campground still in shade but the sun hitting the mountains in the distance.

Scenic View / Bishop

Mt. Tom - Sierra Nevada  2024

Junipers, Sierra Crest - Sierra Nevada  2024

Although I was trying to make it to the campgrounds by a decent hour, I managed to at least pull off at the highway 395 scenic overlook just prior to the abrupt descent towards Bishop. 

Then, the drive through Bishop, turning right on Line Street heading towards the campgrounds. This was around 3:00 PM.

Welcome to Bishop - Owens Valley  2024