I was in the Bishop Creek campground for about an hour and half - taking pictures, enjoying the fresh air and sorting through my memories. I really must try to get up there more often. I might even buy a fishing license and live crickets to try for some brown trout.
These aspen are on the top of a little knoll and exposed to the wind, so all their leaves are gone.
These aspen are on the top of a little knoll and exposed to the wind, so all their leaves are gone.
While these aspen and willows growing down by the stream are still retaining their leaves.
The stream was rather full for this time of year. Could be snow melt, but it could also be water released from impoundments up stream. California Edison Company uses the water for power generation and there are quite a few small Edison plants all along the valley.
There are, however, little slow backwaters and I saw one small trout in the shade of a fallen tree.
Such a glorius color. Yellow and blue is my favorite color combo.
Why did these two leaves hang on while all the other leaves are "gone with the wind".
Back down the road which curves to the right to the locked gate. The golden bush is a willow growing between the road and the stream.
Aspen and grass and a boulder in the background.
And the wind dropped this one leaf on a big boulder along the road. Nice cracks, nice shadows.
Back to the car parked by the gate.
I drove across the road and looked back at the gate next to a row of small aspen. Fresh snow on the high peaks and, oh-my-goodness, what a blue sky.
Looking up the valley from the other side of the road. Willows close by, aspen in the distance and a medium sized Ponderosa pine to the left.
Looking down the valley to the little lake called "Intake Two" - the perfect angle to catch the blue sky reflected in the water. Sometimes we took the little outboard up and Floyd fished from the boat - not my favorite thing to do, I've never been much of a boat person.
A little further down the road is the "Big Trees" campground. At one time there was at least one house here where employees of Edison lived. There are Ponderosas, aspen, Lombardy poplars, willows and some rabbit brush in the foreground.
Down, down, down - from 8500 feet to 4100 feet. The White Mountains are in the distance. The meandering light line on the nearer hillside is a large pipe carrying water down to the valley. It used to be a pipe made of wood planks and wire bands, but sometime in the 90s they replaced it with a metal pipe. Note the snowplow marker with a red top on the far left - so close to the edge, love those snowplow drivers.
Heading south on Highway 395 I spotted this elk herd and pulled over in a wildlife watching area. The Owens Valley is home to several herds and they are coming down from the foothills before the snow flies.
Here is the papa elk - second from the left - he has surely been fighting for his harem since part of one of his antlers is gone. Quite a few youngsters in this herd of about eighteen critters.
Further on I pulled off in Lone Pine to take this picture of Mt Whitney - somewhere in there. I don't know if it was snow or clouds blowing off the tops, but it was very lovely.
Then I just drove until I arrived home about 8;30pm. Great short escape.
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4 comments:
Beautiful photos. Thank you!
I am so happy that you had this lovely escape. What is about an Aspen grove that makes my heart fo pitty pat. I grew up in upstate NY and had never seen them until we moved west. I enjoyed your photos.
Thank you for another exquisite escape. I loved the drive!
I'm so glad you got away, if only for such a short time. Your photos feel the nostalgia -- and the present, as well.
I had to google the map because we take 395 when we go south, for example, to Beatty, NV. But a bit south of Reno, we usually pick up Rt 50 and then Rt 95, to avoid the mountains. But I remember coming straight toward that incredible bank of mountains once when we were going home late enough that we could drive alongside the east Sierras -- Whew!
This is a long way from PA, those soft, smothering mountains where I sojourned a bit ago. And your blogs made me instantly homesick; I think I'm more fond of the aspens and pines in the ravines than of all the glorious reds and golds that the eastern hardwoods produce. It must be all that training in contrast as a visual oomph that makes the difference.
Anyway, glad to see you had a bit of a holiday and I'm going to be better at reading your blog regularly. Honest. At least if goddess' willing and the crick don't rise.
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