Lee Vining

Sep 13     Bishop - Lee Vining     66 miles     2 hours

We continued on Hwy 395 to Lee Vining. It took us a long time because we stopped at a rest stop for lunch. The quaint town of Lee Vining is at a higher elevation and a lot cooler here. We're staying at Mono Vista RV Park for 5 nights, water and electric for $34.72 per night. Very crowded here, they really pack everyone in. After 2 nights we'll be moving sites. It's so busy, we can't get 5 nights in the same site. The location is perfect. Lots to explore in the area.

Our site for 2 nights

Silver Lake

Sep 14   We took a drive out to June Lake Loop today. A scenic 16 mile loop around four glistening lakes. Autumn brings a phenomenal display of colorful aspens along the loop, unfortunately, we're a couple weeks early. Still very scenic, beautiful drive.

Grant Lake

We checked out Oh Ridge Campground. Very nice campground overlooking June Lake. Dry camping for $27.50 per night.

The beach at June Lake

Wouldn't mind staying here next time we're in the area.

June Lake

Another view of June Lake

Hard to see the waterfall

Mono Lake was our next stop. One of the oldest

View of Mono Lake from the visitors center

lakes in the western hemisphere, Mono Lake is hauntingly beautiful.

The lakes most distinctive feature is its eerie tufa towers. We did the one-mile trail winding along the shoreline and among the tufa towers.

Tufas

California gulls

It's also a sanctuary for birds. Tiny green plants called algae capture the sun's energy, then become food for millions of alkali flies and trillions of brine shrimp. Over a million birds feast on the shrimp and flies.

We stopped at Whoa Nellie Deli's for lunch. Excellent food and lots of souvenirs for the surrounding area.


Last stop was a store in town to buy some much needed rugs for the RV. We're real happy with the purchase, beautiful!








Sep 15     We had to change sites today, so we had a late start this morning.

Our new site for the next 3 days

We went to Bodie State Historic Park, about a 40 minute drive from Lee Vining.

Methodist church built in 1882

Memories of California's wild gold mining days come alive on Bodie's long abandoned dirt streets, with 170 of the town's relic buildings preserved in a state of "arrested decay."

 From 1877-1888 Bodie had an estimated 10,000 residents and produced more that $35 million in gold and silver.

Inside one of the houses built in 1900

We spent about an hour touring the area. They charge $8 per person and $2 for a map of Bodie.

Swasey Hotel 1894

Stamp Mill

Schoolhouse

Inside the schoolhouse

This house had 5 children, notice the rocking horse

Travertine Hotsprings

After we had lunch we drove to Travertine Hot Springs. Kind of small with 3 pools.

As we approached, an older, fat, naked guy started talking to some other people around the pools. He wasn't in the pool, he was standing outside...in all his glory! Everyone else was stripping down and getting in.

Very uncomfortable for us, needless to say, we decided not to go  in.

Old naked guy standing outside the pools

Rock Creek Lake & Hotsprings

Sept 12     Today we drove out to Rock Creek Canyon. One of the highest paved roads in California leads the Rock Creek visitor to an alpine setting over 10,000 feet in elevation. Surrounded by John Muir Wilderness with views of 13,000 foot peaks from anywhere in the canyon, this area is about as far as you can get from the city's hustle-bustle.

We did a two mile hike around Rock Creek Lake. Fall color is vibrant in Red Rock Canyon but we're about two weeks early. Still very beautiful. 

After the hike we found a picnic area and had lunch right alongside the lake. We got to rest, eat, and marvel at the lakes beauty.

The we went hunting for the hot springs that I read about. We found Wild Willys Hot Springs. Out in the boonies, in a remote area, in the middle of a cow pasture. What a welcoming sight...I was so excited! 

Cows all around us

Two good size pools. One was lukewarm and the other hot. Two guys were there in their underwear but they were ready to leave. There was a girl that arrived the same time as us. We got to enjoy the pools for almost an hour before anyone else came. We were in heaven, soaking in a hot tub with beautiful views. 

All of a sudden a lot of people started coming. Good timing for us, we were just about ready to leave.

So relaxing

I really enjoyed our soak, so relaxing. The best part was it was free! If we ever come through Hwy 395 this is a definite stop.

Convict Lake & Mammoth Lakes

Sep 11     We drove out to Mammoth Lakes Basin Area today. The drive from Bishop took us about 1 hour. The elevation in this area is about 8900. The fresh, crisp mountain air and beautiful scenery was really, really awesome. Twin Lakes was our first stop. Absolutely breathtaking...

Twin Lakes

There were some people fishing using floaties. Kind of strange. They wear waders underneath and paddle around with their legs.










Continued on to see Horseshoe Lake, drove around Lake Mary and then parked by Lake Mamie. It was good timing because while we were there, a truck stopped and started planting trout in the lake. We've never seen this before, the guy climbed on the back of his truck with a big scoop net and started scooping fish from a big tank on the back of his truck.

Horseshoe Lake

Lake Mary

Lake Mamie

Planting trout in the lake

We were at the top of Twin Lake Falls overlooking Twin Lakes, such a beautiful site.

Waterfall in background

We took a drive to Upper Twin Lakes to see the waterfall from the ground. We discovered there's a campground there and found that there were sites that our motorhome would fit in. That's good because I wouldn't mind spending some time here. There's also a nice walking/bike path that goes around the whole area. Lots of people around getting some exercise.

First wildlife sighting

Our next stop was Convict Lake. So we drove out of Mammoth down to Hwy 395 and traveled for about 1/2 hour. Another beautiful lake. We did a hike around the lake, about 3 miles. The elevation here is about 7850 and we got pretty winded hiking but we just took our time and enjoyed the scenery.

Our last stop for the day was finding this hot springs that I read about. It's out in the boonies but pretty popular so a lot of people go there. Well, we found it but it was very small. There was another couple already in the tub...butt naked....so we didn't want to get in with them. There was another one in the area but Joe had enough. I was kind of tired too, maybe we'll try again tomorrow.

Bishop, CA

Sep 09     Pahrump, NV - Bishop, CA     213 miles     4 hours 45 minutes

We drove from Pahrump to Bishop, CA. This is the eastern side of California. The plan is to travel on Hwy 395 up to Lee Vining. The route we took was north on 95, hwy 266, then hwy 168 to hwy 395. We went through 3 mountain passes. We were not expecting that. We knew there was one on hwy 266, the summit over 7000 feet. The other 2 was unexpected and they were over 7000 feet also. It was a very long drive today, Joe didn't stop for any breaks.

One lane road over the pass

We're staying at the Bishop RV Park at Tri-County Fairgrounds. $35 per night for full hook ups. Nothing fancy here but good location to see the sights.

After having lunch and settling in, we went to the Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce and visitors center. The man that helped us gave us a lot of good information on the area. Looks like we'll be spending a few days here.

Then we walked to Schat's Bakkery. A European-style bakery and deli offering sweets, specialty breads and sandwiches. We bought their famous apple strudel, a pumpkin loaf, and cheese bread. All very good.

Sep 10   Bishop Creek Canyon

This morning we got an early start and took a drive to Bishop Creek Canyon. From downtown Bishop we climbed over 15 miles into the mountains from the valley floor to elevations over 9,000 feet on a well maintained highway. 

First stop was North Lake. Located several miles off the main highway. Steep climb up the mountain on a dirt road. When we got there, was a small lake with some people fishing. 

Was kind of cold

Next was Lake Sabrina, a lake created by damming the middle fork of Bishop Creek.  Beautiful lake, very scenic with lots of people fishing. We walked along the edge of the dam. 

Lake Sabrina

Last stop was South Lake. The drive up Bishop Creek Canyon to South Lake is mesmerizing. Quaking Aspen, Lodgepole pine and willows carpet the canyon floor and hillsides. We're a little early for the fall colors but it's still very scenic. We did a short hike up the side of a mountain, both of us gasping....the altitude plus being out of shape!  

We were back at camp by 11am to watch some football.

Pahrump

Sep 07     Las Vegas - Pahrump      72 miles     1 hour 30 minutes

We drove to Pahrump today to stay at our favorite resort, Nevada Treasure RV Resort. Last year, we spent a whole month here. It'a real nice with the swimming pools, hot tubs, and fitness center. We're staying only 2 nights this time and planned to use our discount with Passport America. This discount normally would be 50% off rates. This resort changed the rules and now if using Passport America, the first night is full price and the second night is 50% off. When checking in, the office staff was kind of rude so we're thinking maybe next time we'll try something different.

Our spot for 2 nights

We had a nice afternoon. Went to the pool, did some laundry, and had hamburgers on the grill. Watched football tonight, first game of the season. Patriots vs Chiefs, paying attention because I got 5 parlays going on this weekend.

Sep 08     This morning we drove back to Vegas to pick up an extra filter for the generator. Joe forgot to get it when we were there. No problem, I got to buy some much needed underwear at Victoria's Secret.

Joe making last minute check on the generator

Lunch was at Cracker Barrel then we headed back to Pahrump. Today Las Vegas was very rainy and stormy but the drive was nice. When we got back to Pahrump, we couldn't do much because it was rainy and stormy too. That's okay, we just stayed in and caught up with some small stuff and watched some football.

Hopefully it clears up tomorrow. We're supposed to be heading out to Bishop on hwy 395.

Fall 2017

We begin another RV adventure. We'll be away

from home for about 7 weeks and will miss our family, especially our grandchildren. JJ is now 2 1/2 years old and Jade just turned 1. They are so much fun, we really enjoy them.

On this trip we plan to travel hwy 395 from Bishop to Lee Vining, CA. From there we head to Boise, ID for a wedding. Then back to Vegas on hwy 93, visiting Ely and Great Basin National Park. Should be fun.

Las Vegas

Sept 04   We arrived in Las Vegas this morning and our friend Winky picked us up. As always, our first stop was breakfast. A new place this time, Mimi's Cafe on Stephanie in Henderson. It's near our hotel Sunset Station. Breakfast was real good. Besides our regular breakfast, we had a pumpkin muffin with cream cheese filling...so good!

We went to the storage to pick up the car and start the RV. Both started right away so that was good. After Winky left us, we started the generator. It started right up but after a few minutes, it died out. We kept running it but it kept dying out after a few minutes. We'll need to wait till tomorrow to fix it because today is Labor day.

We're staying 3 nights at Sunset Station. Got lucky with comp rooms. We like this hotel, very convenient to our storage. For dinner we met Winky & Leslie and their friends Pua & Richard at Tata's Asian Grill on Stephanie in Henderson. Was pretty good, especially the Japanese combo. The tempura was excellent. Afterwards, we all went back to Sunset Station and did a little gambling. Always a blast to hang out with Winky & Leslie.

Sept 05   Today we did some maintenance on the RV. We had an appointment at Camping World to install the vent in the bathroom. Joe checked with them about fixing our generator. We had to pick up the fuel pump and filter across town and bring it back to Camping World so they could install it for us. We got everything fixed and our final bill was $624. Hopefully, nothing else gives us problems.

We spent some time at the pool today. Very nice pool here, wish I had more time to enjoy it. Especially in this heat! It's been real hot...over 100 degrees.

Sept 06   Today we continued to get the RV ready so we can leave Las Vegas tomorrow. We gassed up, shopped for food and supplies, and did some light maintenance. In the afternoon, we went to the pool again, so nice.