Eastern Sierras - Day Two

The weather the next day in Lee Vining was once again gorgeous - sunshine and bright blue skies. Our plan for the day was to head over to Bodie, a former gold mining town and now a historic ghost town in a state of "arrested decay".

Here's what we saw as we made our way there...

Before we left Lee Vining, we had to check out

the Mono Lake Committee headquarters...

Here's the lake in the early morning calm...

We came upon a sheep herder and his flock...

Another scenic vista of the Sierras...

Then we arrived in Bodie, named after William S. Bodey who discovered gold here in 1859. In its heyday, it had a population of 10,000 and was a true wild west town. Now only about 200 structures of the original town remain...

The Metzger House...

A typical front door...

The Methodist Church...

Views of some of the remaining structures...

Come on in and take a look...

The front parlor...

Old street signs...

One of the stables...

Window displays...

The gas station...

One of the hotels and meeting halls...

The boardwalk...

Some displays in the museum...

Some of the homes of former residents...

One of the many outhouses...

And the inside of one...

The Bodie Firehouse...

One of the hotels...

The Donnelly house...

Pretty lace curtains still in tact...

One of the larger homes...

Some of the original door handles are still in place...

The Standard Mill, which processed ore from the mines...

After we toured Bodie, we headed back to Bridgeport for a late lunch...

And then it was time to head back to the Bay Area...

Where is all the traffic?

Most of the time, I was the only car on the road...

The eastern Sierras have much to explore and are full of so much natural beauty; I hope to return soon and spend more time in this remote spot of California.

For more information on Bodie, click HERE.

For more infomation on Mono Lake, click HERE.

Eastern Sierras - Day One

Summertime to me means road trips, and I'm a big fan of taking off in the car and searching out new destinations. So, on the spur of the moment, I decided to take a quick road trip to the eastern side of the Sierras. I convinced Z to tag along and accompany me to my destination: the friendly high sierra community known as Lee Vining. The weather was at its summer best; the temps were perfect and the skies were crystal clear.

Take a look at what turned into an interesting and very picturesque trip to the eastern part of our Golden State...

Our first stop was Jamestown, an old gold mining town near Sonora that has retained it's historical architectural charm. The main street is just a block long and lined with colorful old buildings, some of which actually served as backdrops for Hollywood movies. If you like antiques and shopping, this is the place to visit since it has a number of quaint antique stores and gift shops...

Then we continued along SR 108 through Sonora, Pinecrest, and Dardonelle where there's a fantastic view point overlooking the mountains and reservoir...

Here's the beginning of the Stanislaus River...

It's a popular spot for anglers...

The road is very narrow, winding, and steep in places

and reaches an elevation of 9,624 ft. at the Sonora Pass.

The mountain scenery is spectacular...

Then as you drop down to the eastern side,

the landscape turns into the high desert and is much drier.

The building with the red roof is part of the

USMC Mountain Warfare Training Center...

We passed lots of free ranging cattle...

Here's a peek at the eastern Sierras...

U.S. Highway 395 passes through the quaint town of Bridgeport

where we stopped to get lunch...

Here's the old courthouse which was built in 1880...

There were still signs of the 4th of July holiday...

Here's the old jailhouse...

One of the cells...

The we continued south toward Mono Lake.

We stopped at a great lookout point along the road...

That's Mono Lake off in the distance...

Before we got to Lee Vining, we took a road

which led us down to the shore of Mono Lake...

One of the birds getting harassed by sand flies...

Here's where we spent the night...

After we checked in at the motel,

we headed over to the South Tufa Area of Mono Lake...

This dirt road leads to the craters, which you pass along the way to the lake...

The south tufa area has an interesting loop walk...

Here are some of the odd tufas...

There are lots of plaques that explain the environmental features...

Here's the classic view...

Tufa towers grow exclusively underwater,

but because of the drop in water level, they are now visible...

Of course, Z needs to rest, too...

One last look at the lake...

Here's the view looking in the opposite direction

(and yes the sky really was that blue!)...

We continued down the roadway heading south...

Where is everyone?

And we came upon a lovely spot called June Lake...

Here are some cabins right near the little town of June Lake...

Then we continued on the June Lake Loop Road...

And ended up at this vista point...

Those are the craters in the distance...

My little car that has carried me 210,000 miles...

The sunset at the end of the day in Lee Vining...

One busy but wonderful day in eastern California. Next stop - Bodie.