Monday 30 July 2018 Today is a hiking day. After a breakfast of chocolate pancakes we drive down to the Saddlebag Lake access road. It is just east of the Tioga Road entrance station. We have a bumpy drive up a narrow gravel road to the parking area just across from the dam at the end of Saddlebag Lake. We walk across the dam and turn north, hiking along reddish
Sunday 29 July 2018 Once again we rise early. Today we drive to Mono Lake for our canoe tour which begins at 8 am. O and I are in a canoe with Allison from the Mono Lake Committee. She tells us how a group of undergrads realized years ago that the Department of Water from Los Angelos was diverting every drop of water from 4 tributaries to Mono Lake, having
Saturday 28 July 2018 We learned at the campfire last night that this is an “epic” weekend here at Tuolumne. The theme is Natural History. So, rather than drive all the way to Lee Vining and then north for birdwatching, we discover there is a bird walk which begins at the Lembert Dome parking area which is practically across the street from our campground. O and I arrive shortly after
Friday 27 July 2018 We are on the trail at 9:10 this morning. It is already a bit hazy from the forest fire. As we climb the path towards Cathedral Lakes we play leap frog with a group of backpackers on a three day REI tour. The hike is another beautiful walk through the lodgepole pine forest, with occasional fir trees and maybe a sequoia or two. As we climb
Thursday 26 July 2018 We had every intention of getting an early start today, but somehow our cardamom coffee cake took longer than usual to bake, although it was well worth the wait. In any case we are on the trail to Gaylor Lake a bit after 9 am. There is still plenty of parking at the trailhead. The hike begins steeply through pine scented forest with scattered wildflowers and
Wednesday 25 July 2018 We decide to continue our schedule of early rising. Breakfast is quick and easy: we find a whole grain muffin for O, a cinnamon bun for me and a good source of coffee. The air in Lee Vining is much clearer in the morning. We can actually see Mono Lake. After breakfast we drive up Tioga Road to Tuolumne Campground. The views of the eastern Sierra
Tuesday 24 July 2018 Today we are up with the sun. O bakes an orange chocolate chip cake in our frittata pans which we enjoy with one of our Colorado peaches. The peach is surprisingly good! We stop at the visitor center to refill our water bottles before crossing the Nevada desert. We fuel up Vincent in Ely, NV. We have about 360 miles to go today. We divide the
Monday 23 July 2018 We sleep wonderfully well in Wglwof. By 5:30 am we are awake and ready for the day. I guess we are still on Mountain Time. Breakfast is the last of our pie, plus yogurt and coffee. Then it is off to Lehman Caves for our 9 am tour. Kevin, our guide, tells us that the limestone layer in which the caves formed was laid down 550
Sunday, 22 July 2018 We fuel up Vincent and find a Starbucks to supplement our motel coffee. By 9 am we are on the road. It will take about 6 hours to drive from Fruita, across Utah, to Great Basin NP in Nevada. Our journey is uneventful. We are amused when we reach the T at our last turn towards Great Basin. There is a large octagonal sign at the
Saturday, 21 July 2018 O and I wake early. From our lodge window we can see members of the group outside, already packing the van to drive to the airport in Denver. O and I go out to say our farewells. Rob, John and Susan ask us all to return to the lobby. They have mementos for all of us and some “awards.” They admit they were up late and