DocOwens.net

Lake Tahoe is beautiful, but not as much in the summertime as I would bet it is in winter.  Nestled among the mountains of the high Serra Nevada Range centered on the border between California and Nevada, it is an amazing color blue with the mountains as a backdrop.

Of course, there are dozens of resorts, a half dozen casinos on the Nevada side, shops and restaurants galore.

If you like to hike, or like to bike, this is a great place to be.  The weather is temperate, there are trails almost completely encircling the lake, countless acres of National Forest land and State Parks.  If I had not already been spoiled by Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, the Tetons and Yosemite parks, this would have been a great place to spend a week or more hiking and biking.

Although I was still feeling some of the aftereffects on my ailments from late last week, I still managed to get in a couple of short hikes and bike rides.

One of the highlights of the week was walking through camp in the early evening and spotting a coyote trotting along with one of the thousands of squirrels inhabiting the campground dangling from his jaws on his way to dinner.  What amazes me is that many of my fellow campers had no idea what a coyote looks like.  If you live west of the Mississippi, you really should know your neighbors.
 

That first Glimpse and Emerald Bay

Lake Tahoe State Park & Sunset over Lake Tahoe

 
Dusk over Lake Tahoe and my view from Camp Belongamik

TWO months on the road now.  Here are the stats for your edification.

States – 17 (see note below)
Miles – 6900
Fuel – $2200
Dining Out – $400
Groceries – $775
Camp Fees – $1500
National Parks – 5
National Forests – 9
Photos Taken – 2000
Books Read – 7

Note on the states.  Last week when I crossed over into Nevada, I have now visited at some point in my life, 40 of these United States.  With California I am now at 41.

Day61 Ely NV to Lee Vining CA – Jul 10
Drove US-50 from Ely NV to Eureka, then south to Tonopah on the recommendation of an RVing friend.  Not much to see enroute, but again some amazing vistas.  Got to Tonopah and had a late lunch.  Took a look around and decided that this was not the place for me.  The best looking RV park in town was the Ramada Inn Casino, Hotel and RV Park.  This was just a paved parking lot out back and wasn’t even level at that.  As it was still early afternoon, I decided that I could move on and make California well before night fall.

Crossing into California was a bit of a challenge for my little rig.  It was quite hot and there were a couple of pretty good pulls headed up into the Inyo Range.  Finally made it into town in the early evening and was fortunate to locate a camp site right away.  Made camp and had dinner.

On my way over the mountain I passed over the Owens River.  Looked that up and here is the information I found on the river, the lake and the valley. “Owens Lake was named for Richard Owens a member of John C. Fremont’s 1845 exploration party which included Kit Carson and Ed Kern. Later the entire valley became known as The Owens Valley. The Paiute Indians called Owens Lake by the name of “Pacheta” and the Owens River” Wakopee.”

How about that Dickie?!?

Day62 Yosemite NP – Jul 11
Lee Vining Ca is just outside the east entrance to Yosemite National Park.  It’s a short but spectacular drive up the road about 20 minutes through the Inyo National Forest.  As I drove up on Friday, I was amazed at the views and the sheer drop off of the cliffs and mountains around the valley.  Unfortunately, again, the haze was too much to allow for a good photo opportunity.

I went into the park extra early Friday, so I could head across the park to Yosemite Valley which was about a 90-minute drive.  The valley are where the signature Yosemite NP sites are.  Yosemite Falls (upper and lower), Half Dome and El Capitan.  Once into the valley, you cannot turn around without seeing another absolutely spectacular vista.

I quickly discovered that they have 12 miles of biking trail right in the valley and I took definite advantage of that.  I spent about four hours riding around the area and taking in all of the sites including the aforementioned icons as well as the museum, visitors center, Ansel Adams Studio and an arts center.

Scenes from Yellowstone Valley including the Lower Falls, Yellowstone Creek, the Valley Church and the Upper Falls

Apparently, they are having problems with Bears speeding . . . . AND looks like they’ve been trying to steal the signs too!!!

Actually, a Red Bear is a Dead Bear in Yosemite.  Anywhere you see these signs, means a bear has died in this location.  Oddly enough every sign that I saw was adjacent to a developed portion of the park.  More people, more food, more opportunities for a dead bear.  I saw at least a half dozen of these signs.

This park really gets a lot of traffic, especially on the weekends.  It is in close proximity of a number of major California metropolitan population centers and you can certainly tell.  It almost reminded me of a typical city park on a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon.

Started feeling the ill effects of whatever has been bothering me lately, so by early afternoon was headed back up the mountain and back to camp.  The trip was not as easy as I had hoped, and I felt progressively worse as I went along.  Got back to camp Friday night and made arrangements to stay a couple of more days.  Also got information on the closest medical facility.

Day63 Mammoth Lakes – Jul 12
Saturday morning did the 45-minute drive into town to find a doctor and determine what it is that has been bothering me for the last couple of weeks.  Had a very long interview with the physician and she had lots of pointed questions that had all occurred to me at one time or another over the last two weeks.  When all was said and done, she ran a battery of lab tests to determine exactly what the culprit might be.  Results are still outstanding, and we hope to have a better idea in a few days.

In the meantime I will be holding here until Tuesday at least.  Not sure if I will move to another local camp at that time or head up the road a bit further.  Will all depend on how I feel and the results of the lab work.

Day65 Yosemite NP – Jul 14
After spending the day recuperating yesterday, and basically going stir crazy, I decide to make a quick run up to Yosemite and tour the eastern segment of the park that I just passed by on Friday.  The main feature of this part of the park is Tuolomne Meadows which is absolutely beautiful this time of the year.  Probably the greenest part of this end of the state at this point.

I hiked about 5 miles down along Dana Fork past some waterfalls, then to two bridges over the Toulomne River and then followed that back towards the parking area.  Managed to hike AND take photos and still get done in less than two hours.  Checked my GPS and my average moving speed was about 3.5 miles an hour.  That’s moving right along for me, especially in the wilderness.  Felt good though.

The better part of the loop hike involved segments of both the John Muir Trail, and more importantly the Pacific Crest Trail.  This makes five (5) of the eight National Scenic Trails.

Did a little souvenir shopping and still made it back base camp well before lunch.  Incidentally, the photo of the mountain side of Inyo National Forest is just a very small sampling of the spectacular views here.  At one point you can look down and see the valley floor about 2,000 feet below.  Holy crap!!!

Inyo National Forest and falls on Dana Fork of the Toulomne River

Took a short break and this was my view of the Toulomne River and a picture postcard view of Lembert Dome

What can I say about Ely that has not been said before?  Not sure that there was much to say to begin with.  Ely is this little cowboy/mining town in east central Nevada about 100 miles from anything.  Nice enough town with all of the amenities, but not much more than that.

On my way down from Salt Lake City, I did make a quick stop in Wendover to see the Bonneville Salt Flats.  Another amazing site in a very long list of amazing sites on this trip.  The mountains look to be about a mile or so away but are in fact over ten miles.  I can see where someone could die of thirst walking to a destination and not ever getting there.

I also got a birds eye view of Wendover Field, site of the training program for the B-29 bomber crews that ultimately flew some extremely important missions to Japan.

I am now on Pacific Time and having a heck of a time getting that all sorted out.  Three hours behind all of my friends and family.  You all are getting ready for bed, and I am just starting to think about dinner.

On Wednesday, I made an early run east to visit Great Basin National Park near the Utah border.  Mostly wilderness land with four or five different eco systems varied due to altitude.  I did get some hiking in and it felt good to get up to stride again as it has been a week or more since my last good walk.  Also rode up to Wheeler Peak which is about a 5,000-foot gain from the foot of the basin.  The view is stunning, and of course it is a shear drop off of the shoulder.  Another spectacular view, unfortunately there was enough haze to prevent any really good shots.

Wheeler Peak, 5000 feet above the valley floor and blooming cacti

Tissue paper flowers (not really).  Can anyone remember where we parked the car?!?

One of the primary features of this park is the bristle cone pines that grow in the moraines beneath Wheeler Peak.  Some have been documented as old as 4,000 years.  Think of that.  Happy Birthday!!!

After lunch, I head back to Ely and made a quick visit to the railroad museum in town.  The great part of this museum is that you can actually wander the yards and see all of the equipment they have there including both restored, and original equipment.  You are also allowed to tour the engine house without escort.  Watch your step please!  I got lots of great shots both inside and out.  This was much better than the rope and stanchion type museums that you usually see.  You can also ride the rails for a fee, as well as run the engines.  Seems like the lawyers and insurance companies have yet to catch up to this little treasure. I hope they never change their ways.

Below is a black & white study of the Nevada Northern Railway Museum

Spent a couple of days in Salt Lake City seeing some of the sites, but generally recharging from the 100 degrees days at Antelope Island.  The KOA here is huge, and just a couple of miles from the center of the city.  Lots of permanent and semi-permanent trailers, but the not so nice section is on the east end of the camp while the campers are basically kept on the western edge near all of the amenities.  This place is so big it has two laundry rooms and a car wash in addition to the usual pool, picnic area and game room.

The highlight of the trip came on Sunday, when a local religious organization provided free shuttle service to their temple downtown.  Despite being up all night sick, I dressed at the last second and caught my scheduled ride downtown and boy was it worth the trip.

These people have one heckuva choir . . . . and possibly the biggest organ I have ever seen.

The Mormon Tabernacle has been in existence since 1847 shortly after the arrival of Brigham Young with 146 other Mormons and broadcasting since 1929, which accordingly is the longest running regular broadcast.  They added an orchestra in 1998 (I think) and in all consists of 470 vocalists (360) and musicians (110).  All conducted by a single director.  Being a musician I was dually impressed.  I do not believe that I have ever seen that much talent all on one stage all at one time.  And when the conductor made his movements, they all responded.  It was amazing thing to see.

For those of you who have played or sung in an organized ensemble, it was a funny thing to see the conductor during rehearsal to focus on getting full support for notes that need to be sustained so they won’t tail off.  ‘Keep the air flowing, don’t cut it short and don’t let it fall off pitch!’  I remember we were all getting beat up for that in high school.

I mentioned the free shuttle.  That’s not all.  The performance is free, the choir is all volunteer, the orchestra is all volunteer, the ushers in the auditorium is all volunteer, and they have free campus tours of the grounds.  Did I mention it was free?!?

Regardless of the cost, this was an amazing thing to see.  I would recommend making the extra effort to see a performance of this remarkable organization.  If I wander back this way again, I will definitely make it a point to stay through Sunday morning.

Mormon Tabernacle, Temple & Assembly Hall

In honor of Independence Day, I thought I would do a photo essay of the great symbol of this country.  We often pass by the US Flag in our daily travels without paying much attention or acknowledging its presence.  So what follows are photos taken since I left home some 55 days ago.

Ozark AR Train Station and Rocky Mountain NP Museum

Beautiful downtown Grand Lake CO and Old Faithful Inn

Note:  On the Old Faithful Inn, the US Flag is second from the left.  Why not all the way to the left (or Flag Right) as custom dictates? Because that pole is shorter, and the US Flag must be on the tallest pole, so the tallest pole on the flag’s right, is the second one from the viewer’s left

Fort Yellowstone, Army Corps of Engineers Building in Yellowstone NP and Idaho Falls ID (about 500 flags in all)

The ‘119’ and a close-up of the 20 Star Flag flying over Golden Spike National Historic Site.
A note about this flag is that it is historically inaccurate.  I am not sure why they are displaying it, but it should be a 37 star flag which was that would have been flying on May 10, 1869.

PS – I wrote to the National Park Service at Golden Spike, and here is the response I received.

Yes, you are correct in noting that it was a 20 star flag at the Last Spike site. We are trying to maintain the historic scene as it looked on May 10th in 1869. They flew a 20 star flag that day. No one remembered to bring a flag for the ceremony, which would have been a 37 star flag – Nebraska becoming the 37th state in 1867. The story goes they were able to hunt one down – one of the 21st Infantry soldiers had a 20 star flag in his knapsack – so it went up on the telegraph pole. This flag only flew one year in our country’s history, I believe it was 1818. Hope you enjoyed your visit.

Valerie G. Steffen
Lead Park Ranger
Golden Spike National Historic Site


B-1 Bomber in front of Hill Air Force Museum, Tail section of C-140 and cockpit of F-16
The C-140 was used by Ladybird Johnson as her personal aircraft during Lyndon’s Presidency and the flag in the cockpit of the F-16 is to demonstrate how the pilots would take flags on missions with them for family and friends as commemoratives and then supply them with certificates of authenticity.

The tail section of an F-4 Phantom, Air Force/Ranger Memorial on Antelope Island and Camp Belongamik in Dubois WY
The Air Force/Ranger Memorial is for the soldiers who died during a training mission when their helicopter crashed into the Great Salt Lake.  One survivor.

Moving day today.  I move a couple of hundred miles south to the Great Salt Lake for a few days.  What I don’t anticipate is the effect the heat is going to have.  Each day the thermometer rises a few degrees higher, until my last evening here it hits 108 degrees F at around 8p in the evening.  Since I am once again dry camping, all I can do is sit in the trailer in the heat.  It is a bit cooler outside, but thousands upon thousands of shrimp flies and ultimately deer flies make that a miserable proposition as well.

The only productive thing I manage to accomplish on Wednesday is catch up on my blogs, edit the rest of my photos and take some shots of sunset over the Great Salt Lake.  Despite the fact that it is quite hazy here due to the heat, I do get some beautiful shots.
 
Sunset on the Great Salt Lake, island namesake and a bison.

White Rock Bay and ‘No Swimming’.  Ya think!

On Thursday, I head out early and go to the Golden Spike National Historic Site and visit the place where the railroads joined the eastern United States with those states in the west.  As I arrive, I hear a familiar sound of an old steam whistle as the ‘119’ pulls out of the engine house.  I have just enough time to check in with the ranger at the front desk and setup for some live action photos of the ‘119’ making a run down the line.

I stay and listen to a volunteer give a short history lesson and he has some interesting insight into the two engines used for the historical event itself, the ‘119’ and the Jupiter.  It seems that neither of these engines had been originally selected by their respective railroads to represent them at the big event, however each company had to fall back on an alternative engine when their primary selections failed to appear.

Also, the event itself occurred two days late due to delays in getting the engines and railroad execs on site.  Proof is that the event actually occurred on May 10, 1869, but the Gold Spike that was prepared was engraved with the date May 8, 1869.  In addition, the Gold Spike was only tapped lightly for a photo op.  It was then removed, and a different spike was used as a permanent replacement.

The ‘119’ and road on the old railroad grade

For the afternoon, I select an inside diversion where I can escape the heat.  The nearby Hill AFB has an Air Museum and I head there.  I initially walk the outdoor static display and take a few photos.  Then I move inside not really expecting much.

I was happily surprised.  This is a first-class air museum on the caliber of the Wright-Patterson Air Museum in Dayton Ohio (I’ve not been to the Smithsonian).  They have two complete hangers of aircraft, including several non-Air Force aircraft, including two Navy fighters and two Soviet aircraft.

They also have a ‘uniform’ room which is a display of a uniforms collected over the years by a retired Air Force Major, including many of his own personal uniforms as well as a number he had managed to obtain.  There was also displayed his collection of helmets supposedly the most extensive collection of pilot helmets anywhere in the world.

My Fav Bird, the F-4 Phantom, an F-16 Falcon and a La-z-boy with a KICK!

It has gotten substantially hotter.  Fortunately, my camp has some late afternoon shade, and since I currently have electric, the air conditioner helps.  I can shut it down at night and open the windows which is nice.

Craters of the Moon is not really either of those.  It is an ancient lava field complete with volcanic cones and black earth.  There are several different views of the area that can be accessed via a driving tour, or some hiking trails.  Unfortunately for me, it was extremely hot while I was there and could only venture out on a couple of short hikes.  I did get to see some of the variety in the various landscapes and that made it worthwhile.

Look at what Tracey found at the airport . . . .

The NEW Plan

On one of our last days in the Tetons, I received an e-mail from my good friend Chuck explaining that he had to cancel our plans for the great Canadian Bicycle Trek through the Rockies to Dawson Creek BC.  His timing was pretty good as I still had Tracey around to bounce some ideas off of.  So instead of heading north through Montana and meeting up with Chuck, here is the new tentative plan.

* Head west into Idaho for a couple of days.  Visit Craters of the Moon National Monument.
* Move south into Utah.  Visit Antelope Island, the Great Salt Lake, the Golden Spike National Historic Site and the Air Force Museum at Hill AFB.  Spend the weekend of the fourth in Salt Lake City and find a parade or any other trouble I can get into.
* Continue west towards Nevada. See what there is to see on the way.  Stop at the Bonneville Salt Flats for sure.
* Hit northern California (OMG!) and visit among other places . . . Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, San Francisco and the Golden Gate, Napa Valley, the Redwood Forest, etc.  Oh, and the Pacific Ocean!!!
* Move north into Oregon hug the coast and wander inland when the mood strikes or I find something of interest.
* Continue into Washington and head for Seattle.  Take the ferry to Victoria BC, visit Mt Rainier among other NP’s and the Cascades.  Maybe pop into Canada a time or two if there is something to see.
* Finally turn east, but not towards home.  Just east.  Cross northern Idaho.  Head for Glacier National Park, then down to Moose Drool in Missoula.  Cross Montana and hit Little Big Horn.
* Head into the Dakota’s.  Do the Badlands and Mr Rushmore.
* Minnesota is next, but no other plans beyond that.

As it is, it might be a while before I get that far.  A lot will depend on weather too.  I will play that by ear.

Any and all recommendations will be considered.  I have a list I started, but it is not finite, nor am I committed to any one thing.  Just an idea of where I want to go, and what I want to do.  To paraphrase a song, “Lord, I Was Born and (R)Amblin’ Man”

Today marks my 50th day on the road with my little rig.  Of course, I have far surpassed any amount spent away from home for me since I was a kid and spent a summer in Virginia, and even then I am not sure it was for this length of time.  Other than the one night in Cascade Canyon, I have yet to miss a night in the camper.

I made the short jaunt down from Jackson into Idaho this morning, stopping briefly in Idaho Falls for a walk in the lineal park adjacent to the falls near historic downtown Idaho Falls.  These falls are interesting in that they do not cut across the Snake River in the traditional sense, nor are they horseshoe shaped like Niagra. The falls actually run right down the middle of the river so that the water flowing down river near the left hand shore travels further along before crashing over the falls than the water on the right hand side.  The city has also added a dam running the length of the falls and has harnessed the river for hydro-electric purposes.  This takes away somewhat from the picturesque falls, but they are still beautiful just the same.

I did hit a stretch of road today that my little Durango just loved.  It runs along side the Snake River with very little elevation change.  The road bed was covered in a fairly new top coat of asphalt and it was such a smooth run that you could hardly tell the trailer was back there.  The Durango ran hard and fast and smooth and it was actually a joy to drive for a change.  No one passed me for well over an hour . . .

Now let me tell you about Arco ID.  Where you say?!?  Arco is on the map, but barely.  There are two campgrounds, a handful of rundown hotels, a half dozen gas stations, maybe ten restaurants and one grocery store.  Everywhere you look it is dry, dusty and weed choked, except for the irrigated potato fields, the KOA and of course, the local ball field.  Arco is at least 30 miles or more from a town of any size and about 75 miles from Idaho Falls.

I did the photo tour, which really did not take more than 10 minutes.  There are just a couple of unique features about Arco.  Arco is the very first city in the WORLD to be powered by atomic energy.  The very first!!!  The power was provided by the first nuclear power plant just southwest of here.  Another unique feature that I never expected to see in the middle of the Idaho desert is the Sail (conning tower) from the nuclear submarine USS Hawkbill SSN-666 nicknamed ‘The Devil Boat’.  The final unique feature here in Arco is ‘Number Hill’.  Number Hill is a nearby butte that over looks the town, where the graduating classes of the Butte County High School has added their ‘year’ to the hillside starting with the class of 1920.  Beats the old turn a goat lose in the courtyard and leaves a lasting legacy to boot.

Sail from SSN-666 and ‘Number Hill’