A ghost???

One afternoon hubby and I FINALLY stopped at the Laws Railroad Museum, which is just outside of Bishop, CA. We've driven by the signs so many times and never stopped, which is really strange because both hubby's father and grandfather were railroad men in Pennsylvania. So, with time to kill, we stopped there for a self-guided tour. There is no fee, although donations are greatly appreciated. It was like stepping back in time and I'll do a whole post or two on it later, but one photograph that hubby took intrigued me. (Of course, I had no such photos...!!!!) Now, mind you, he ALWAYS sets up his tripod, takes his time, composes his photos (much to my annoyance!), so how do you explain THIS? Carson, are you there? Anybody????

Onion Valley Road

Yesterday afternoon we arrived in Lone Pine, about 2:00 p.m. Since we had nothing to do and the room wasn't ready, hubby decreed that we should drive up to Onion Valley. Onion Valley is the highest road on the eastern Sierra, except for the Tioga Pass, which is the eastern entrance to Yosemite. I said, "Sure, why not?" Huh? Maybe I should have consulted the GPS first. Now, as you know, I'm used to driving mountain roads like the one I take up to the horses, but this one was very narrow with LOTS of curves and very few guardrails! And, the guardrails that it had were all banged up from cars hitting them! OOPS! So, I put the car in 2nd gear and up we went. I must say that the views were spectacular of the rock outhangings and the valley below. And, hubby, who was busy on his IPad, informed me that once we got to the top, it was only 12 miles to Kings Canyon (as the crow flies). Unfortunately, this road didn't go another 12 miles. It ended at the Onion Valley trailhead. There were a few hardy hikers there and 2 beautiful wolf/husky mix dogs. They were loping along the road and one of them jumped into the stream which was running next to the parking area. We sat and watched the bushes wiggle and move and then he/she popped out and shook all the water off. Then, they went running/loping back down the very narrow road to find their owner. I guess they were done for the afternoon because when we turned around to head back down the winding road, one of them had his/her head out the back of the truck window. We followed the truck back down the hill in 2nd gear and stopped to take a few photos along the way. It was good to get back on the flatland after that road! P.S. I have NO idea what the blue streak is in the top photo. Maybe sometime to do with the altitude? Atmospherics? We were over 9,000 feet high when I took it...???

Sierra snow~Scenic Sunday~061911

It's hard to realize that there are still frozen lakes in the Sierra, but there are. We saw two of them this past week. One was Lake Mamie, the other one was Lake Marie (I believe I have those names correct)...they are above Twin Lakes, which is above Mammoth. The road up to Horseshoe Lake is still closed due to heavy snow, however. But, aren't they beautiful? We took a late afternoon ride around the lake road, which was open and I took these photos. By the way, I now use my camera completely on manual settings! Whoo, whoo! Sometimes I have to adjust them, and I'm getting very comfortable with that. I no longer use the auto settings at all! That's a big step for me because for years I only used my "point and shoot" Canon, which only had auto settings, and with my Nikon, I did that too, but hubby has helped me figure out and adjust the manual settings and I get much cleaner and clearer photos, so I'm happy! It was a big adjustment to go from the frozen lakes and snow near Mammoth down to Bishop, where it was 92 degrees on Friday! Scenic Sunday for June 19, 2011. Hey, Lisa~look at all the SNOW! The Sierra has had 179% of its annual snowfall this year and this year ties for the latest opening of the Tioga Pass, due to heavy snowfall! To see Scenic Sunday, please go to: http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

Birds and Insects~Sunday Stills Challenge-61911

Here's a two-fer! A bird with an insect in its mouth! I found this little fellow when hubby and I stopped by the Fish Slough petroglyphs outside of Bishop, CA, as part of our Sierra vacation. These little birds, which I believe were swallows, had a nest up in one of the rocks right next to the petroglyphs. They were both quite upset with us for intruding on their territory and I snapped a few pics and moved away. We spent four hours on Fish Slough Road, starting at the top and working our way down. Sunday Stills Challenge for June 19, 2011. I'm going to have to post this early as we are leaving and will be without Internet access tomorrow. Click on photo to enlarge.

Road trip

Hubby and I are on a road trip through the Sierras and Internet access is very spotty. I've also learned that dial up Internet providers DO NOT allow for posting huge photos! (lesson learned the hard way!)...I tried to upload photos a couple of nights ago and I just wasn't able to, so I'm not going to post photos until we get back home...sigh...We are staying in Mammoth for a few days, then down to Bishop for a few more days. Hopefully by the time we get to Bishop, we'll have better Internet service. It is absolutely breathtaking up here in Mammoth. Mammoth Village is pretty much still closed down due to the heavy snowfall and you cannot drive any further on that road. The Sierras are covered with snow. They just received more snow about 2 weekends ago and even at the resort where we are staying, roads are still closed further up into the mountains. There is snow right outside our cabin along with bluejays, chipmunks, and we received a stern warning about leaving food in our car due to BEARS! ACK! Today we are heading out to Mono Lake late this afternoon to try to get some photos of the full moon over the lake tonight. There is so much to see and do...we are wearing ourselves out each day! Plus, being at 7500 feet is a strain on our bodies because we live at 220 feet above sea level! I was able to get online down at the resort office for a few minutes today and get a hot cup of coffee. Well, time to run! More later...
Cheryl Ann

Ruler on Ice

I'm glad Ruler on Ice won the Belmont Stakes today. Hubby and I barely made it to our hotel in time to watch the running of today's Belmont Stakes. Animal Kingdom was the favorite, as well as Shakelford. Now, I love both of these horses (both are beautiful chestnuts!) :-), but it was the little gelding, Ruler on Ice, that won the race and then hardly looked winded after 1 and 1/2 miles. And, what is the nickname of Belmont? Yup. "Graveyard of Champions"...look how many times a horse that isn't the favorite has come back to win this race...a LOT! And, I'm especially glad that Ruler on Ice is a great-grandson of the great Alydar. HA! I hope his MURDERER saw the race today and realizes what a crime he committed. Alydar, you live on through your ancestors and Ruler on Ice did you proud today! To see Ruler on Ice's pedigree, please go to this link: http://www.pedigreequery.com/ruler+on+ice. I was saddened to see that his dam's sire, Saratoga Six, was one of the stallions that perished in the fire at the New Mexico Stallion Station fire back in 2006. If you wish to read up on Alydar, here's a link: http://www.hitak.com/home/Alydar

Last day of school~whoo, whoo!!!!

Today is the last day of school and I am SO READY for summer vacation! And, you know, we're had lower-than-average daily temps, too! It's been in the 80's, then today up to 97, but triple digits by next week. That's okay...100 plus degrees in May is just no fun at all! We need time for our bodies to gradually adjust to summer's high temps here in the desert. Up in the mountains, however, it is going to be 77 degrees today, which is very comfortable! And, that's why I keep my horses up there! :-) That's a view from the desert looking up at our local mountains. What a difference 35 miles can make for daily temperatures!