Winging our way back to Texas

Caught ya! Whatcha doin' coming out of the casino in the wee hours of the morning? Checking out of the hotel, of course, and not even a stop at a one-armed bandit.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow (aka Leaving Annemarie and Brett in Mammoth)

Mono Lake and environs ~ one last look at snow on the mountains


Went through this cute little town named Bridgeport along the way. Since we are into taking courthouse photos and this was right on the highway, we had to stop. It was built in 1880. Looks pretty good for over 100 years old.


Look at that dark cloud and the beautiful white puffy one. Good vs evil in the skies? Good prevailed, no inclement weather. ~ I saw this field and asked Sneed to stop. I remembered how my Mom loved Lupines when we lived here long ago. I think it was too late for Lupines to be in bloom though. We took photos anyway and were pulling away from the side of the road when Sneed espied one of Bridgeport's finest pulling in behind us. He came around to my window, leaned down, and sweetly asked if we needed some assistance. He thought we were having car trouble. I asked him if the flowers were indeed Lupines, but he didn't know. I have researched them but haven't been able to identify them. Since Lupines and Bluebonnets are in the same family they would have resembled Bluebonnets more. Oh well, it was a nice story to tell and the flowers are pretty in their own right.


It's so beautiful riding through the mountains that I took way to many photos.


When I saw this sign, "Antelope Valley", I immediately thought we had made a wrong turn somewhere. We lived in Lancasterin the late 50s when I was a young girl. Lancaster was and is known as the Heart of the Antelope Valley. This was rather confusing. At least when I googled "Antelope Valley, California", our Antelope Valley was the result, not the usurper. I have to admit though that this valley was pretty. Lancaster is situated in the Mojave Desert surrounded by the Tehapachis and San Gabriel Mountains. AV was named for the pronghorn antelopes that roamed the area from the late 1780s until complete decimation from hunters and bad weather in the 1880s.


Our last visions of California before being welcomed to Nevada. ~ Interesting cloud formation there.

Mammoth Mountain and surrounds

Sneed and I went to the store and bought an assortment of Danish pastries and some OJ for breakfast. As Starbucks was right there too, we picked up some beverages. Annemarie and Brett were showered and ready to eat when we got back. It was a bit chillier this morning than yesterday, so we bundled up and drove the short distance to Mammoth Mountain.
Brett has skied this mountain in the winter, but in the summer the activity is mountain biking. The bikes actually get their own gondola to go to the top of the mountain. We didn't feel the 33 degree temperature when the wind stopped blowing, which it did quite regularly, making it a nice visit at the top.




Photos from the gondola




These young ladies were biking down the mountain, two of them for the first time and one had already done it once. They were comical to watch as they kept stopping to take photos. ~ We saw them later at The Yodler when we were eating lunch. We were glad to know they had enjoyed their trip. The elevation at the top of the mountain is 11,053'. The pole with the Mammoth Mountain sign is almost completely covered with snow in the winter. That's a lot of snow...rather hard to fathom, but I don't need to check out this fact myself. I'm not a winter person anymore. This year diehard skiers were still skiing on the 4th of July!


After lunch, we drove the June Lake loop.


This deer decided to exercise the right of way and leapt out in front of us.


A waterfall trickled down high in the mountains. ~ This day we experienced several different climes - chilly and cold, wind, rain, snow, and dust devils. The white patch gusting in the background is snow falling way up high in the mountains.


We repaired back to the condo for a game of Rook. Sneed and I were Rook rookies having never played before. Even though we weren't paired up girls v guys as the partners changed with each hand, Annemarie and I tied for the win.
Shortly afterward, we bid them adieu as we still had to drive back to Reno for the night and our early morning departure on Sunday.
It was great being with Annemarie and Brett albeit for such a short time. Love y'all!

The Condo at Timber Ridge

We pulled into Mammoth around 7PM, picked up the keys from the lockbox, and had dinner at Carl Jr.Around 8PM in the dark, we maneuvered the unfamiliar roads to the condo. It was high atop a hill and we overlooked the downtown area of Mammoth Lakes. In the winter, this place would be buzzing. This time of year, it's a nice 'able to move about' resort town.

Brett did good in selecting this one for us. Our unit was the top left. Brett and Annemarie joined us around 11PM having driven from Santa Barbara after work. As soon as they arrived, we all went to bed...separately, of course.

Milpitas to Mammoth Lakes

It has to be evident by now that I love our flag. I can't get enough of it in whatever way it is displayed. My heart swells with pride when I see it unfurled in the wind. What a grand old flag. ~ Pipeline across a lake.


How about these switchback curves? Seems to be the norm when traveling through the mountainous areas to Yosemite National Park. When I was a young girl, we lived in Lancaster, CA. Daddy drove these same tortuous, twisty, no guardrail, turns in pitch dark as we went on our way to a campground in Yosemite. Don't remember much about that trip but it seems that driving in the dark would have been better than having to see what our fate would be if we missed a turn.


Yippee! We made it. ~ There's a possibility of snow tomorrow at altitudes above 9000'. Hmmm, very interesting. ~ We were warned and the bears were warned and we saw nary a one. So guess the sign was effective.


The moss does grow on the side of the tree, but which side is it? ~ Devastation caused by a careless match. Smokey the Bear wasn't amused.


Serene Siesta Lake ~ 1940 Benchmark marker indicates elevation ~ I was intrigued by the bare curlycue tree.


Sneed tells the story behind the photo the best. "We met a nice bear and he took our pix. He was out placing warning signs about speeding through the park." ~ Maybe I'm the only one who didn't know that pinecones grow upward until they turn brown and hang downward. One learns all sorts of trivia.


Friendly squirrel. Sneed had some crackers from lunch he fed the little fellow. That gave an Asian woman the same idea. She didn't know to keep her fingers out of the way and much to her surprise, she was bitten. ~ Olmsted Point - a fellow had his camera set on a tripod waiting for the sun to set. ~ Directly across the street, a view of rock that was dynamited to make way for the road.


Distinctive milepost ~ The trees are very tall and when growing on both sides of the road shade it quite well. ~ The highest point on Tioga Pass.


Beautiful body of water ~ Snow is still evident on the mountain tops ~ Yellow flowers growing amongst the rocks alongside the roadway

Windmills

I could lay on my back with my hands behind my head all day and watch these windmills spin lazily in the cerulean sky...or even in a dark, moody sky, or a sunrise or sunset. Don Quixote was always tilting at windmills. Perhaps in a former life I did the same as I love, love, love their simplicity and am fascinated by them.

If you watch the video and only look at the windmills, you won't notice the bouncing around in the car when I took said video = )

A visit with Deepa and Albert ...in Mumbai? No, Milpitas, CA!

I just love seeing the windmills going round and round - I could watch them all day ~ An agrarian scene ~ Kick the Bums Out political commentary ~ Another flag on a hill...makes me so proud to be an American

When I found out that our good friends, Deepa and Albert, whom we had met over 30 years ago in Iran, were in CA visiting their daughter and her family, I knew we had to visit since we would be nearby - well as near as 200 miles can be = ). Fortunately, we or should I say, Sneed doesn't mind driving. This isn't TX driving either. In TX, a 200 mile trip takes a little over 3 hours. Not exactly the same on twisty, curvy mountainous roads though.

We awoke at 4, stopped for some breakfast, and got on the road a bit before 5AM. We made arrangements to be at the front door of their daughter Ekta's home at 10AM. They were taken by surprise as we knocked at the door precisely at 10.




Deepa and Albert were stationed in Bandar Mahshahr, Iran, as were we in the mid-1970s. They were newlyweds and we had been married for 2 1/2 years. We both became pregnant with our first child - ours due in November and theirs in December. I chickened out and flew to California where my parents were living at the time. Annemarie was born in Lancaster 7 November 1976. Deepa was a real stalwart for staying in Iran. She also had a daughter. Ekta Farah was born 3 December 1976. Annemarie and Ekta had 'playdates' while Deepa and I visited with each other. Through the years we have kept in touch so I couldn't let this opportunity of being near CA and not visiting pass me by.


Let's see if I can remember the names of the dishes...Vegetable Pilau, Chicken Curry, Basmati rice with vegetables ~ please correct me if I'm wrong, Deepa

It felt just like old times watching Deepa perform miracles in the kitchen. The only difference was that Ekta was helping this time. Although not photographed, Ekta made a tasty Vermicelli Pudding for dessert. Sneed visited with Albert while we visited in the kitchen. Pooja, Ekta's younger sister, and Saswata, Ekta's husband, joined us for lunch. And what a feast it was. We didn't get to meet Sean or Kimaya, Ekta's adorable children and Deepa and Albert's pride and joy grandchildren as they were at 'school'.

After some group photos, we had to get on the road again and backtrack across CA 250 miles to Mammoth Lakes where Annemarie and Brett were meeting us later in the evening at a condo they had rented for the weekend.

Thanks so much for the warm welcome and sumptious lunch, Deepa and Ekta. Let's get together before another 30 years pass.


Sneed, Anne, Deepa, Ekta, Albert, Pooja


Saswata was taking the photos. He appears in the top family photo.

*Sigh* Seeing

Meetings wound up yesterday evening so we had a free day to do some sightseeing. We traveled from Reno through the capital, Carson City, to Lake Tahoe for some more sightseeing around the perimeter on the California side. The following photos display some of the scenes as we went riding along in our rental - a Chevrolet Impala...I could just hear Dinah Shore singing "See the USA in your Chevrolet..." Well, we're doing our part in Nevada and California.

Please bear in mind. The majority of these photos were taken from the car, either out the front or the side window, as we sped along the highway or meandered up the curvy mountain roads, so they may not be as clear as one would think they should be.


New road parallel to I-80 being cut through the mountains ~ Flag drawn on the hillside outside of Carson City ~ Cactus Jack, one of the friendliest cowboys, welcomes all to his casino


Statue of Kit Carson ~ Front of the Nevada State Capitol building ~ Two photos of the rear of the building


Scenic vista ~ Traveling through a short tunnel ~ This fire hazard read "Very High". We also saw some "Extremely High".


Views of Emerald Bay


We saw quite a few of this particular bird which evidently is in the Jay family. At a scenic overlook, Sneed followed this one bird around trying to get a decent photo of it. We can't identify it from Peterson's A Field Guide to the Birds East of the Rockies.


First 2 photos show different scenery from one side of the road to the other ~ boats in the lake ~ Old Glory, forever may she wave


As we were driving along, Sneed pointed out this wooden structure along the side of the mountain and asked if I knew what is was. I answered very confidently, "it's for trains" and he evidently agreed as he didn't offer any contradiction. However, as we followed it for miles and miles and miles, it was quite obvious it didn't have anything at all to do with trains. It's an aqueduct. How cool!


Frequent signs along the road...notice the absence of a guardrail in the second photo

Nevada to the Golden State

After we all enjoyed breakfast at Barb and Austin's condo, we piled into our vehicles to make the trip to California to check out the venue, The Resort at Squaw Valley. We drove straight across I-80 through semi-mountainous areas, then turned southeast on 267 to Squaw Valley. The roads were being revamped so we had to slow down to one lane for construction a lot of the time.



The venue is really nice (see 3rd photo above - the black glass building) but even though we're getting summer rates, the stay will be costly. We rode around in golf carts on the course to determine which hole would be the best for placing the cars for judging. After lunch, we took to the road and drove some of the northern perimeter of Lake Tahoe on the California side. We stopped at Tahoe City which afforded spectacular views across the lake. The vista was breathtaking and the ride back to Reno was quite enjoyable.


Like a triptic but this is 4 photos together


Beautiful vistas



Made a quick side trip to Truckee, CA, to see the historic town. The diner looks like a fun place to eat! Note the error on the sign. (ever the proofreader)



Flowers along the way

Go West, Young Old Man (and Woman), Go West

And indeed we did...we left the house at 6am to avoid early morning traffic on the way to the airport and our 9am flight. We were traveling to Reno via Denver as Sneed had some car club duties to which he needed to attend. Namely, that was to go over the budget, final arrangements, etc with the 2 ladies, Barbara and Helen, who are hosting the 2011 National Meet at Squaw Valley in CA and with Tim from RROC National Headquarters.



We arrived in Reno, a very clean little airport, and were surprised that the minute we got into the terminal, there were one-armed bandits and/or slot machines lining the concourse all the way to the exit door. Our first stop was to check into the 'motel' - a so-called resort casino. Sneed had to go through the casino to check in. When one checks in and is handed the remote for the TV, one has to wonder. Well, the room was clean, my only comment.

We hightailed it over with a hop, skip and a jump to the condos where the others were staying (having timeshares comes in handy). Sneed immediately got involved with the dynamics of the meeting so that left me floundering. Austin, Barbara's husband, was starting dinner preparation. So I wandered in and was immediately put to task mincing several cloves of garlic which were added to a marinade for chicken breasts. I felt like a prep chef in Hell's Kitchen although Austin was complimentary not at all like Gordon Ramsay.

It was a struggle trying to get the planners and all their paperwork to surrender the dining room table. Soon enough they succumbed to hunger pangs and we had an excellent meal.


L>R Helen, Tim, Anne, Sneed, Barbara, Austin


Flowers on the condominium grounds

The Katy Prairie

Today we visited the Katy Prairie. We have been through various parts of it before, but were inspired at the meeting we went to awhile ago to investigate areas to which we haven't been. This may not have been our smartest decision as already the temperature was in the low 90s. We were rewarded by finding some wildflowers of which we hadn't gotten photos. Also deep in the center of the prairie, there was an active salt mining operation, Ranch House Trophy Salt.

This little guy kept a watchful eye on me as I tried to photograph the yellow flowers. At least it was a bit tamer than the brown hot dog width snake I saw move in front of me on the opposite side of the road. Needless to say, I didn't get that photo.


Top row L>R Carolina Horse Nettle, Morning Glory, Honeysuckle
Botton row L>R Green Milkweed, Engelmann's Evening Primrose, unidentified at the moment


This Blue Jasmine was quite strange. The flower appeared to be upside down. As you can see, I had to hold the camera up under the flower to get the photograph - that's why the sky is in the photo.


The Katy Prairie Conservancy entrance. Two shots of the prairie, the second showing a group of cows seeking shade from the punishing rays of the sun. Lastly, the Ranch House Trophy Salt mining operation in Hockley, TX, on the prairie.


You know you're in the country when you see these sights. Who would have thought that one could express a preference for a hay bale? But since you asked, if I had my druthers, it'd definitely be round.

Sooo, this evening we took some PB&J sandwiches and milk, parked, and watched the skies. We went back to see the sun set on the prairie. The view didn't disappoint.