Tuesday, April 17 we packed up and moved to the Casino then went to have our oil change. Fred told them about our low coolant light coming on as we came down the pass and they found a leak in the radiator. Except for the core, newer ones are made of plastic and can’t be repaired. The only option was a new one. OUCH! that cost an arm and leg! We made an appointment to have it replaced the next day. The snow
Wednesday, April 18 Olivia called the First United Methodist Church and talked to their secretary Angela, which brought us home as our Angie works for Ferris Heights UMC in Waxahachie. She told us there was Bible Study and Crafters groups at 9 am on Thursday. Fred played Texas Hold’em, but not very well he says.
Thursday, April 19 Olivia took her Bible and went to church. The Bible study didn’t make so she headed to the
After noon we arrived at the Perry Motors to receive our new radiator with all the bells and whistles. Fred inspected
Friday April 20 we cleaned house, washed, then treated ourselves to a circle ride north seeing another angle to
The town has a flood irrigation plan for those who need to water pastures and animals. The Paiutes have that plan for their PowWow property. They turned on the tap and flooded it next to us. We did get a little water around the trailer. The result was the water also had frogs. So we were serenaded by frogs each night. We learned more about their area and the water supply.
Last year we talked about Los Angles’ need for water had reached over 300 miles away, far up the Owens Valley into Mono County. Bishop is in Inyo County. The county to the north is Mono. Before WW II, The population of the LA area was less then 500,000, but they were growing fast and saw a great need for more water if LA was to continue its growth. Metro LA Water Board (MLAWB) hired men such as Mulholland to develop water supplies. The same Mulholland as Mulholland Drive in the old Perry Mason TV shows. In 1936 the MLAWB began to buy all the ranches in the Owens Valley so they could control the land. In most cases they lease the land back to the rancher for one dollar per year. Most all the ranchers sold. Today expensive houses cover the ranchland that the MLAWB couldn’t buy. This lease-back policy is still in place, most of the valley ranching is on leased land. The MLAWB doesn't sell land. Later the Federal government bought much of land in the mountains. As a result of these actions, only 2% of the land in Mono and Inyo counties is privately owned. Scarce lots in the Mammoth area sell for over 1 million dollars. Bishop has population of about 4,000 with no room to grow, even though vacant land rings the town.
Saturday, April 21 we appeared at the First United Methodist Church with our volunteer shoes on to help set up for their first ever benefit auction. We arrived early and were met by the couple in charge. When we said we were from Waxahachie, TX. Bob told us Marcia’s best friend had moved there to have a Victorian home. Olivia recognized Mary Nakawatase’s name as a member of United Methodist Women in our church. It was instant friendship with Bob & Marcia. The Weilands and the Nakawatases both spent their working careers in San Diego.
On their circular tables were
We arrived back at 6 pm to see the room
Sunday, April 22 we attended
beautiful stained
beautiful stained glass windows, tin walls and ceiling.
After their service we joined all in their fellowship hall for cookies and coffee. Bob & Marcia invited us out to their home for supper.
Bob is semiretired. He still spends time with his landscape architectural firm and Marcia runs the office.
We knew they lived up in the mountains, but WOW, WOW, WOW! This picture doesn’t give the height, width and depth of this view. The mountain above them is Mt Morgan at 13,000’. Behind these mountains to the west is Kings Canyon National Park. Their home is lovely and the dinner was delicious.
Bob explained to us the biggest ski slopes in California are the Mammoth Lakes area. The slopes can accommodate 75,000 skiers. Most of the roads are closed over the Sierra Nevada Mountains so the population centers around Sacramento and San Francisco can’t get there. So where do the skiers come from? Southern California! He says is very common for San Diego families to pack-up Thursday night and leave Friday after work on the 300 mile drive along US 395 to Mammoth. Marcia & Bob enjoy seeing the highway from their deck and watching the golden stream of headlights heading north. Then the reverse late Sunday night. He did that for years, now he has moved much closer. Bob still skies several time a week.
Before the sun went down it showed a
Monday, April 23 after a week in Bishop we departed to head north on Hwy 395 and over Deadman, Conway, and Devils Gate summits before turning west on Hwy 88/89 to cross Monitor Pass. The passes on 395 were scenic without being scary on the four lane divided highway. As we climbed Monitor we saw some of the
Thankfully we found pretty Turtle Rock county park with tall Ponderosa Pines about 2:30. We were the only campers. We asked about our remaining mountain road and were told it is ok. We were in bed by 7 and asleep shortly after.
Tuesday, April 24 was a big day. Two more passes to start us off. Thank goodness we had a good peaceful night sleep. Sure enough in the morning there had been no more campers. We were on the road early for us at 9 am. Shortly after 88 and 89 merged we gained elevation. Then on 88 we gained more elevation. Suddenly we were in snow and
yellow flowers and we also saw white & pink dogwood, red buds, iris, cosmos, After setting up at the fairgrounds in Angels Camp we drove out to the Ironwood Winery near Murphy. This is a repeat from 4 years ago and the
Back in Angels Camp we had fun with the
Wednesday, April 24 We didn’t have far to go to reach a Corps of Engineer Park just off Hwy 49 on Lake Mcclure so we took our time getting off. Highway 49 is a twisting, turning, up and down road as we already knew, so we were taking our time and enjoying the scenery. We drove through the picturesque towns of Sonora, Jamestown, Chinese Camp to a fork in the road. Hwy 120 headed east to Yosemite and we continued on south on 49. The road narrowed then it started up! Up! UP! At the first large spot off the pavement, we turned around and went back down, down, down!
Thursday, April 25 we puttered around, then went into town to run a few errands and visited the ELKS lodge in Modesto. This is the group we met our first trip out and had so much fun with. Sure enough the secretary was one of that group and all the others were back in that same campground for this weekend. Had we known that we might have gone there too. Again we enjoyed her company.
On the way back to the trailer we stopped to get a good look at an
We are already seeing blooming California: wisteria, jasmine, dogwood, iris, red buds, vinyards, red tip photenia, roses and yes bluebonnets! Also, orchards, peaches, walnuts, almonds, strawberries, chicken & turkeys.
There are many small dairies and since we are so close to San Andraes we can appreciate the commercial a few years ago of the cows feeling an earthquake and saying “Ah, foot massage!”
Friday, April 28, this a day for Olivia. What a long, wonderful, tiring, glorious, exhausting, beautiful, winding, exciting day to Yosemite. We left the trailer about 9 am heading east. We drove back to Hwy 49 and found the campground we had been heading to on Wednesday. Its at the
When we visited Yosemite four years ago, we entered from the south and out to the north. There is another road from the west. We had been told rigs over 45’ couldn’t make the turns. There had been a landslide and new temporary bridges which precluded big rigs. Olivia wanted to see this road. We found it was by far the prettiest and least scary of the three. It followed the river all the way into the Yosemite Valley about 20’ above the river. It was so pretty we forgot to take pictures. At a rest stop near the entrance to the park we discovered a
On the way out to the north we were able to stop and reflect on the grand
We were on our way to see Hetch Hetchy canyon on the north side of Yosemite park. In a small paper back book called Yosemite, we read about the native Americans retreating to this valley when the European Americans took over Yosemite Valley. Coming around a bend we saw the
Saturday, April 28 a neighbor told us about an Asparagus Festival in Stockton so after a very lazy morning we decided to see what it was all about. The large area was full of booths and people. The weather was great, we found an “aspararita” and finally found the
big hit also. Near the exit we saw one of many
Olivia just had to detour through the arts and crafts vendors where she saw many
We had been told about Oakdale and their history of Hershey. It seems Milton Hershey once lived here and tried to get his chocolate product going. Failing to succeed here he moved on to Pennsylvania. But he did leave his mark as their city hall is in a
Hershey building.
a Hershey building.
Sunday, April 29 we attended the
beautiful ceiling garden of blown glass flowers at least three feet in diameter.
pretty flowers on the ground and
in the air and even formed into a
east side of the mountains of Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks in all their glory.