Whew, that was close! I ALMOST abandoned another blogging effort. It’s the same thing every time. I start off with lots of motivation and energy, posting on a regular basis and enjoying the feedback and interaction I get with all of you. And then, I start to slack off. I tell myself I have every intention of posting soon and then I keep telling myself that until, ack! How did two months go by? At that point, I start questioning my motivation and stop looking for my energy. It becomes a chore and I just don’t feel like doing it (kind of like the dirty dishes that are staring at me in the sink right now :)).
But, something happened today! I realized that this time, I’ve picked a theme for my blogging that really speaks to my heart. I love being out in nature and living near such beautiful, protected places. I love being able to share this experience with you, my friends and family who are often so far away. Blogging about these experiences seems to multiply the joy. And so today, I’ve rediscovered my motivation and I have the energy to keep plugging away – for another few months any way :).
Our most recent trip was to the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada in the Owens Valley over Labor Day weekend (see, I told you it’s been a long time). We wanted to go somewhere to escape the throngs of vacationing Californians during the holiday weekend, and this turned out to be a good choice. Even though we were only about 50 miles away from our home in Three Rivers, it took us almost five hours to get to the other side of the mountain range! There isn’t a road to get across, so you have to drive down south through Bakersfield or up north through Yosemite to reach
the Owens Valley. The small line of towns situated in the valley cater to the tourist who come for a wide variety of outdoor pursuits, from fishing the streams that come down off the mountain, to hiking Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states.The eastern side of the valley is bordered by the White Mountains. Standing in the middle of the valley your eye is naturally drawn to the more dramatic craggy peaks and tree covered slopes of the Sierra. The White Mountains look lifeless by comparison. Even still, you can’t ignore the fact that it’s a massive mountain range. It turns out that the highest peak in the White Mountains is just 250 feet shy of Mt. Whitney. At the bottom of Owens Valley you are surrounded on both sides by more than 10,000 vertical feet of rock. It’s a humbling experience and one that makes you feel very, very tiny.
Another treasure to be found in the White Mountains is the oldest living tree on Earth. Great Basin Bristlecone pines are found throughout the high mountains of California and Nevada. They can grow to be very large, impressive trees if they receive adequate moisture, but ironically, it’s the trees with the worst soil and least amount of water that live to be almost 5,000 years old. Poor growing conditions make the wood very hard, which in turn makes the trees more resistant to disease and fire. The ancient Bristlecone pines in the White Mountains were saplings when the pyramids were built and full grown trees by the fall of the Roman Empire. They are so gnarled and twisted that some appear to be dead, until you notice a branch with green pine needles sticking out at the top of the tree, as if shaking its fist to the sky in defiance of death.
Every little town in Owens Valley has a forest service road that takes you into the Sierra high country. From there you can camp, fish, hike or just enjoy the scenery and the cool mountain air. A small campground in Onion Valley can be reached by driving east from Independence. The road ends in a glacier carved valley at an elevation of 9,500 feet and is one of the prettiest campsites I’ve ever stayed in. It’s a real luxury to enjoy all the comforts of car camping in a place as beautiful as most backcountry campsites. The campground is managed by the US Forest Service and reservations are strongly recommended.
Peter’s uncle Dan suggested that we visit the Arizona Hills while we were in the area, so we camped there on our last night to take advantage of the morning light in this geologically unique area. There are dozens of granite arches scattered throughout the hills and boulders at the base of the Sierras, one of which perfectly frames Mt. Whitney. The setting is very striking for the difference in color and form between the reddish-brown rounded hills and the triangular gray mountains. Because of its beauty and otherworldly setting, the Arizona Hills have been featured in many movies over the past eighty years, including Gunga Din, How the West Was Won, Star Trek V and VII, as well as Gladiator and Iron Man. The town of Lone Pine celebrates its movie history with a film museum, annual film festival and lots of vintage western charm.If you want to view more photos from our trip, please check them out here. We wish we had more time to see the sights in the northern part of Owens Valley near Bishop and Mammoth Lakes. There are even more alpine lakes and trails to explore in that area, as well as Mono Lake and the mining ghost town of Bodie. There’s just never enough time to explore all the beautiful parts of this huge state!
On a personal note, I’ve determined that there isn’t much demand in Three Rivers for tutoring or substitute teaching, so I continue to explore my options at the park. In the meantime, I’m using this period as an opportunity to pursue my favorite hobbies and to travel. Peter and I are going to Hawaii for two weeks in early November to visit our friends Julie and Brian. We’ll spend Thanksgiving with my aunt in the Bay area, and then I will be going back to Illinois and Indiana for ten days in mid-December. We’ll finish up the holiday season in Minneapolis with Peter’s family and then in January I’ll survey the scene and decide what to do next. My creative venture is starting to take shape, but I’m still not ready to divulge details. I’ll be sure to do that in my next post, which will be completed shortly after returning from Hawaii. I promise :).
