Earthquake Fault (Fissure) near Mammoth Lakes

The town of Mammoth Lakes is located within an ancient caldera, and signs of volcanic activity are everywhere - cinder cones, lava flows, hot springs, tuff, pumice, ryolite, and constant earthquake activity. On Minaret Road there's even a good-sized fissure in the earth. Geologists argue as to whether it's a fault or just a fissure - but either way, it's interesting to look at.






I thought this old snag looked pretty cool!

Hello again, Sierras!

This was the view from our campsite at Oh! Ridge Campground on June Lake. This is one of our favorite places, because of the unlimited fishing possibilities, the views, and the nice spacious campground. We stayed here for 7 nights, and I'm now typing this from an RV park in Bridgeport (because now I have electricity and WiFi).


One of our day trips was up Tioga Pass towards Yosemite, where we intended to go to Saddlebag Lake. Once we got up there, though, we discovered that the road to the lake was closed because the lake is still frozen over. The creek here was not, so Don was able to put on his waders and go try a 2-mile stretch of it that runs between Saddlebag and Ellery Lakes.


I just put my chair out next to the truck, grabbed my stitching stuff, and had a wonderful day.

John Muir Wilderness

Yesterday we hiked into the John Muir Wilderness. It's a fairly easy hike - only a few small hills and minor elevation gain. I was at the end of my cold, so I just walked slowly, rested often, and enjoyed sitting at the lakes where we stopped so Don could fish.

Hot Creek

East of Mammoth Lakes is the Hot Creek Geological Area, along with a stretch of the creek that is considered trophy trout water. The first part of it is privately owned, but there's a one-mile stretch open to the public. Pretty, yes?

What a wonderful weekend

We spent 5 nights in East Fork Campground on Rock Creek at 7800' in the eastern Sierras. Don fished the creek, Rock Creek Lake, and 4 small lakes in the John Muir Wilderness. I stitched, read, hiked, and had a totally relaxing time - except for the fact that I had a really bad cold the whole time. I still insisted on yesterday's hike - the elevation gain wasn't that much, and I knew I could walk slowly. I ended up with great pictures and sunburned legs!

Fishing the Lower Owens River

For 95 years, the Owens River below Bishop was dry - the water was diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct. In 2006, the LADWP began letting water flow in the river channel again, and the Owens is slowly coming back to life. It is definitely fishable now - so Don and I went in search of places to give it a try. This spot on the right is below Tinnemaha Reservoir - nice clear water flowing out of the dam. Not much to catch, though.




This spot was east of Big Pine, and Don had better luck here. All three photos are the same area.

Lone Pine Campground

In case you're not familiar with this iconic image, the peak in the middle of this shot is Mount Whitney - the highest mountain in the lower 48 states (14,495'). Believe it or not, this was the view from the front door of our trailer. We could look right up through Whitney Portal from our campground. The large window on the side of our trailer had a nice view as well - down past the Alabama Hills into the Owens Valley and across to the White Mountains. Really, it didn't matter which way you looked, it was all lovely.

These mountains are to the south of Mount Whitney - I just wanted to show our trailer and campsite.

The third day at Lone Pine we experienced high winds - I heard on the radio that gusts across the high ridges were up to 100 miles per hour.

Sierra Vista

We thought we'd try to go up to the Bristlecone Pine Forest - the roads were clear up to 10,000 feet. However, there was a locked gate about 4 miles short of the grove and visitors' center, so we turned around and had a picnic lunch at the Sierra Vista viewpoint. These are shots looking west towards the High Sierras above Independence and Lone Pine.

Exploring Joshua Tree National Park - Desert Queen Mine

The park has a great mining history, and numerous mines can be found-both accessible to the public and in areas that are closed to the public. One that is easily accessible is the Desert Queen Mine. A good dirt road goes about 2 miles to the trailhead, and then a very easy, short hike takes you to an overlook above a pretty deep canyon. Across the canyon is the mine - and you can see at least 3 of the mine shafts. This mine was worked as recently as the late 1960s.

Don is at the overlook, standing next to one of the old cyanide tanks.

A trail leads down to the canyon bottom and then up to the mine.

Don almost stepped on this tarantula, right in the middle of the trail! He (she?) was about 5 inches wide.

Just above the overlook are the ruins of what looked like a big winch for hauling ore and/or supplies up from the mine.

Don is walking down towards the remains of a rock cabin.

Exploring Joshua Tree National Park - Live Oak and Ivanpah Tank

The desert DOES have water; and there are enough rains to support all kinds of vegetation. The early settlers figured out that if they dammed up the larger washes, they could hold enough water to support cattle or farming. This large tree is a live oak, which is a rare thing to find in a desert. It grows where it is because it gets enough water in the wash. As you hike downstream from the live oak, you come to the first little tank, which looked to be about the size of a backyard swimming pool, but only a few feet deep.




As we continued the hike downstream, Don noticed this little arch.


















About a quarter mile below Live Oak Tank (which I forgot to photograph) we came to Ivanpah Tank. It had a dam that was much larger - perhaps 30 feet wide and about 10 feet high on this side. On the downstream side it was about 15 feet high. So the body of water that backed up behind it would have been probably 40 yards wide and up to 10 feet deep at its deepest. We saw evidence that it had held water recently - the datura plants were in abundance and there were some small damp mud flats.

One thing you can see in this photo is something we could never escape - the contrails of all the airplanes flying overhead to and from Los Angeles, Ontario, and San Diego.

Exploring Joshua Tree National Park - Arch Rock

No, this isn't Arch Rock - it's a cool-looking rock on the Arch Rock trail. It's been weathered by wind and water and looks to me like a giant eye.













This is Arch Rock, visible from the mid-point of the trail.

Me!

I love these rocks.

Exploring Joshua Tree National Park - The Oasis of Mara

Our next stop was the Visitors' Center near the North Entrance in 29 Palms. Behind the Visitors' Center is another nature trail that goes around the Oasis of Mara. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s this was a lush oasis, with water gushing out hundreds of gallons a minute. Since most oases are along fault lines, this was no exception. The Pinto Mountain Fault runs underneath, and when it shifted, the water source was redirected. There's still some water, enough to support the fan palms, but it's all well under the ground.

Exploring Joshua Tree National Park - Indian Cove

We took the trailer to Joshua Tree National Park this week, and camped at Black Canyon Campground. The campground is a really nice one - isolated from the town of Yucca Valley but close enough if you need to go into town for supplies. There are lots of roomy sites that are big enough for trailers and RVs, including 6 nice pull-throughs in the middle. We decided to try as many little hikes as we could to get some good exercise and to see the variety of sights in JTNP.

Our first hike was the nature trail at Indian Cove, which is surrounded by mountains made of granite boulders.









We saw quite a few of these odd features, and it was only after we stopped and looked closely that we saw thousands of ants coming to and from the center holes. We learned at the visitor center that the ants drag seeds down into the hole, and then take the empty husks back outside, making the mounds.

It's Been A Long Wait

In January of 2005, I put this bracelet on. It says THINK BLUE 11/04/08. I've never taken it off - and have proudly explained to anyone and everyone who asked about it what it said and meant. I told myself that eventually I could take it off for the right reason - President Barack Obama.











I told my sister this morning that I'd have a "ceremonial removal of the wristband," and would cut it into little pieces. So, there it is.







I can't wait to see how our country changes and how the world reacts to this. I really don't know what else to say - except that watching Jesse Jackson cry tears of joy said it all just now. I am so proud to be an American.

Bachelor Loop

As you head north out of Creede up the Willow Creek Canyon, the first stop on the Bachelor Loop is the confluence of East and West Willow Creeks. This is where the original town of Creede was located. At right are the ruins of the old Creede jail.

This is a view uphill at the Commodore Mine, which has 5 different levels spread out over 200 miles underground. The mine is the southernmost mine along the Amethyst Vein, which runs for many miles north of Creede. Ore production here ran from 1891 all the way to 1976. When I visited Creede in 1976, it was the last year of the mine's operation.

Looking north up the canyon towards more of the Commodore Mine.

This is a view up towards the two richest silver-producing mines of the Creede district during the 1890's. The lower buildings are the ore house and main support buildings of the 5th level of the Amethyst Mine. Uphill are several buildings of the Last Chance Mine. This area was also the location of the town of Weaverville. It's weird to think that thousands of people lived and worked up here.

This was perhaps someone's home or business in Weaverville.

At the northernmost end of the Amethyst Vein is the Equity Mine - which is close to the Continental Divide and sits at nearly 11,000'. Production here was from 1912 to 1970.





















High up above Creede, spread across a wide "park," is the townsite of Bachelor. It is estimated that around 1200 people lived here - there were are dozen saloons, 4 hotels, 5 grocery stores, a meat market, 2 barber shops, 2 bakeries, several restaurants, a school, a jail, city hall, and a Catholic church with a parsonage.

As you look west from the parking area, this is one of the few remaining ruins left in Bachelor.

Looking south across the Bachelor townsite, I snapped this photo of a building thunderstorm. By the time we got back to Creede, it had moved northward and was raining on the town.

Don looks for more ruins in Bachelor.