Blogs from Lee Vining, California, United States, North America

Tja, daar zit ik dan, in een felverlichte ruimte waar wasmachines en drogers staan. Kids en Frits zitten in de camper, het is hier te koud om s'avonds buiten te zijn. Vanmorgen zijn we uit vegas vertrokken. Een lange rit stond vandaag op het programma, ongeveer vijf en een half uur rijden, langs Death Valley. Ongelofelijk dat een weg zo saai, saai, droog, stoffig kan zijn. Voor vannacht hadden we geen overnachting geboekt omdat het van de conditie van de weg en van de conditie van Frits afhangt of we in een keer door zouden rijden. Maar dat hebben we dus gedaan, de langste trip tot nu toe. Onderweg kom je twee plaatsjes tegen waar vervallen schuren en huisjes staan, naast autowrakken en lege winkeltjes, verroeste pompstations met lege schappen. Er is NIETS!!!! We zijn doorgereden ... read more

We spent the afternoon exploring the town of Bodie, a ghost town. It was an hour’s drive from Lee Vining following a bendy road but the last three miles turned into a dusty, rocky unpaved road. It’s often closed during the winter after heavy snow fall due to it's high altitude of around. By the time we got to the town our car had turned from a lovely white to a dirty grey. The town had been a thriving gold mining town which grew up in 1859 when gold was found along the Bodie Creek. $100 million worth of ore was found but when the gold ran out everyone moved out. Set in a large dust bowl the town had lots of wooden houses, a general store, a hotel, a church and a school. On the ... read more

BISHOP/LAWS TO MAMMOUTH LAKES, MONO LAKE, WALKER CANYON AND CARSON CITY, NV Saturday, June 2nd HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTOPHER!! Von’s parking lot in Bishop, CA. 9:00 and already 82 degrees. Since we had to wait until 10:00 to get into the newspapers at Laws, we went to Micky D’s for breakfast and a quick check of the internet/e-mail. We left Laws, having worked all day, but in no way scanning and reading all of the 20 years or more of newspapers that the museum has that covers the period our family was in the area. Drove about 6 miles from town to the Paiute Indian Casino to have a late lunch/early dinner. Both of us had prime rib and had enough left to have it for the next night. Valerie played the penny slots and ... read more

Day 5! Wednesday, March 13, 2012 (I decided I’m going to start adding dates for posterity) As is becoming customary, I will close out my blog from the night before. We arrived at the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab (SNARL) just as the sun was starting to set. We were a little disappointed because of our failed attempts at seeing the petroglyphs and Owens River Valley, but on a trip like this, morale doesn’t stay low very long. The immediate remedy, in fact, came from the Coso Volcanic Field group that prepared an Italian meal which would’ve nearly made Grandma Aquilina proud. We listened to Dan Dawson, the Director at SNARL speak briefly on what the research lab is, how it plays into the bigger picture of California’s education system, the opportunities it holds for graduate ... read more

Geo: 37.9575, -119.121After Yosemite (read about it here), my next stop was to be Reno. All of the campgrounds in the park were full, and I didn't want to drive 30 minutes back to the east, only to have to reverse my direction in the morning, so I decided to just drive through the park, to the leeward side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The drive was lovely. Moody. Like how the woman you love somehow looks adorable when she is angry. I started a little before dusk, the skies beginning to cloud up as threatening weather drew near. As soon as I was out of the main valley, I hardly saw a soul. Relief. A twisted mountain road, often still lined with snow yet to melt and become part of one of the magnificent falls, ... read more