View from the front seat driving through the high desert.
First day of the vacation took us from Pasadena (about 10am) up I-210 to CA 14 and up US 395 to Mammoth Lakes. The route took us through the high desert up into the Owens Valley to Mammoth Lakes where we stopped for the evening.
We walked around Mammoth Lakes after we checked in to the motel. The area we walked clearly had a seasonal feel to it. I had thought there might be some interesting art galleries in town, but we didn’t see any. I was asking the motel clerk about such places and was clearly getting nowhere with him.
View from the front seat driving through the high desert.
Owens Valley - thunderheads building on the Sierras.
The same ridge - turning southward from previous shot.
Leaving the valley - looking southward from the scenic overlook.
Another view from the overlook - clouds casting shadows on the mountainsides.
First gratuitous picture of Jonathan taking pictures.
We drove above Mammoth Lakes and pulled over.
This and the previous shot look north to northwest over the town.
Mammoth Rock.
Mammoth Rock.
So after our walk we had dinner at the Chart House where two perfect Manhattans did me in for the evening.
On the 10th, we got up, packed up the car and headed north on 395 after breakfast and fill-up. This route took us through Carson City NV and Reno before reentering California. The weather has been clear and warm without being excessively hot. As this is the eastern Sierra, rain isn’t much of a factor except scattered T-storms in the Mammoth Lakes/Owens Valley region. We stayed dry, encountering no precipitation.
At Susanville, we took California state routes through the national forests with the goal of Burney Falls State Park. We arrived at about 2pm. The overlook of the falls is right off the parking lot, just after you pay your entry fee ($5 with senior discount). There is a 1/4 mile trail to the base of the falls that we walked down, taking photos at opportune moments.
The falls are unusual as in addition to the water coming over the top with the creek, the face of the cliff has ground water/springs issuing from the rock for a wide expanse of falling water. The pool at the bottom was blue, characteristic of glacially fed streams.
Burney Falls as seen from the overlook near the parking lot.
Water emerging from the face of the cliff to join the pool below.
Another shot of the falls.
Walking down the falls trail gives a different perspective.
On the far side of the falls, more water pouring from the volcanic rock.
This shot give a sense of the breadth of the falls.
The springs on the near side of the falls.
The center portion of the falls - water from Burney Creek falls over the edge in conventional fashion.
The water in the pool below has the characteristic blue color of water derived from glaciers.
More springs - far side of falls.
More springs - near side of falls.
The view from the bottom.
Some kids take advantage of the pool to take a swim.
Jonathan mugging for the camera in front of the falls.
The trip from Mammoth Lakes to NV went through areas of pine forest which opened up into grassland/prairie through Nevada up to Susanville where we went up into the hills again among the conifers. CA state route 89 (44 and 36) which took us by Mt Shasta were all forested and up US 97 towards Klamath Falls OR. The forest started to open up again and was a bit more prairie-like.
We spent the night in Klamath Falls, where a motel snafu had relocated us to a location that suited our departure the next day better. Didn’t see the nice parts of town, assuming that one exists. We had Jonathan’s birthday dinner at Applebee’s.