To celebrate our anniversary and Thanksgiving we spent some time in the Eastern Sierras. This year's sojourn was further South than we have previously spent much time, in the Owens Valley. Dwight's wish was to explore the early native peoples' (Nuumu and Newe, now commonly referred to as Paiute and Shoshone respectively) petroglyphs.
We both are of the opinion that at this time of the year the light during the day illuminates the natural world to glorious hues. The late Galen Rowell has made famous the "light" in this area and his work is featured at the Mountain Light Gallery located in an old bank building on Main Street in Bishop. The night sky is often clear, thus bright with brilliant stars since there is minimal light pollution during the dark hours in this area. Galen Rowell's son, Tony, is following in his father's footsteps bringing us gorgeous time lapsed photography of the brilliance of this night sky.
We made our home base in a small house moved from Manzanar, the now historical site where Japanese were interred during WW II further South on Highway 395. We were on the far North edge of Bishop and across the road from public lands. We were told we could walk from here to Lake Tahoe on these lands.
Cathie and Shasta out for a early morning walk along Dixon Road just South of the house.
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A stunning Paiute beaded treasure we bought at the center to adorn our Yule Tree year after year.
One day we spent enjoying the Bishop Petroglyph Drive on Fish Slough Road which was unpaved, dusty. Three sites are spaced a few miles apart: the Fish Slough Petroglyph Site was difficult to locate but once we did we were pleasantly surprised to see our first ever Ringtail that quickly scurried beneath a huge rock where its den was obviously located.
Another day our excursion included the Inyo County Millpond Park for our morning walk. What an impressive park with a huge pond for Summer swimming, baseball playing field and a myriad of other facilities for families to have a grand Summer day. Our focus was traveling along Old Highway 395 to the little town of Rovana in the heart of Round Valley where thousands of Mule Deer migrate for the Winter, escaping the harsh weather in the Sierras where they live the rest of the year. Since, with the climate change and all, the weather is pretty mild the deer were scarce. There were a few including a magnificent buck. These Mule Deer do indeed look different than the deer around MuRefuge. We did however see an abundance of the Mule Deer's food for the Winter in Owens Valley, Rabbitbrush, which is stunning in the wintery light.
After the area received a light dusting of snow and more in the higher elevations, we drove out West Line Street to the Buttermilks. Shasta was so happy to romp around in the snow and she did so until she began biting at her paws that were covered with icy snow, at which time we corralled her into Stella (our trusty Prius). See the upcoming post, "Winter Solstice," for an amazing picture taken here.
The beginning and the ending of our drive along Highway 395 from Walker River Canyon to Bishop we punctuated with a stop in Bridgeport to enjoy the magical, mystical ancient energy of the wide meadow surrounding our previously favorite place to stay in the Eastern Sierras. Picnics were enjoyed both times in very brisk weather but the sun was out and we had on our down jackets. Shasta's natural coat she carries with her every where kept her plenty warm.
As you read of our Thanksgiving past and recent anniversary celebration, as well as enjoy the pictures, may you |
From my dear & long time friend in Tempe, AZ.: "Thank-you Cathie.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful posting-reading it put me in a peaceful state and the photos only added to my quiet state. Love--Shannon"
Great pictures and stories. Is this where you got married?
ReplyDeleteJed, we married in the Mono County Courthouse in Bridgeport. It is a wonderful old building with a long history.
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