We got a slow start yesterday morning. Hubby couldn't find his sunglasses as we both settled in the car in Ridgecrest, getting ready to drive to Bishop. So, back into the hotel room he went and yup...there they were, on the hotel room floor. When I grabbed his flannel jacket, they must have dropped out and I didn't hear them fall on the floor! MY BAD! At least he found them. Otherwise, he would have fumed for the next two hours! Phew! We drove to Lone Pine first and out a little side road that curves around to the Alabama Hills. We ran into a resident of the area and he stopped to talk to us for some time. Turns out, his wife was a teacher, so he was full of funny stories. We drove up the Mt. Whitney Portal road for a while, into one of the empty campgrounds and took some photos there. The Sierras are absolutely beautiful, with their snow-capped peaks! Actually, the snow was down to the base of them. Then, since it was about 11:00 and we were both starving, we stopped in at the Mt. Whitney Restaurant, there at the base of the road, in town, for a hearty lunch. I ordered a grilled roast beef sandwich with a slice of chili pepper and a green salad. Hubby had their hot roast beef sandwich. YUMMY!!! Then, we hit the road and drove up to Bishop. Hubby made some new friends! Since there was still daylight, we decided to take the South Lake Road, which had been closed two days before. It was clear, but there weren't many cars on it. NO WONDER! Snow was everywhere! We reached the point where it was closed, too, so we pulled over and took some photos. By then, the sunlight was going behind the mountains, so we stopped at Shat's Bakery, bought some rolls and cheese, and headed back to the hotel. Today, we drive to Mammoth and Mono Lake. That's Mt. Whitney in the bottom pics. The mules were right outside of town, in Bishop. And, the heavy snow was up the road to South Lake, which is right up the street 14 miles from the motel.
