Around Bishop

While staying in Bishop, California, we took some drives to revisit several nearby areas we liked.

We had always noticed this large tree along the Rock Creek Road.  We believe it is called "Esther's Tree" by the King family who operates the Rock Creek Lakes Resort.

The previous time we had visited Lake Sabrina, the water level was very low.  The lake appeared to be full during this visit.

West of Bishop is an area called the Tungsten Hills.  A number of mines in these hills extracted tungsten ore, particularly during World War II.

This was the Tungsten Blue Mine.

A region called "Buttermilk Country" named from Inman's Dairy which sold fresh buttermilk to passing travelers

Wandering along old dirt tracks, we found ourselves driving across some "interesting" patches.

Pine Canyon is a large canyon in the the eastern Sierras west of Bishop.

We found some fall color still visible along the Pine Canyon Road.

During our travels, we are always on the lookout for great deals on homes in scenic areas.

Volcanic Tablelands Petroglyphs

Just north of Bishop, California, is a landscape created by volcanic eruptions of the Long Valley Caldera further north.  There are many boulders in this landscape which record the past presence of native people in form of petroglyphs chipped into the rock faces.  In reading about these petroglyphs, I came across references to a panel often named "Sky Rock", the location of which is somewhat guarded by the local people to protect it from theft or vandalism.  But after searching for possible clues, I felt I had a good idea of where to find it.

After traversing some rough dirt roads, we arrived where I believed we might locate the Sky Rock panel.

After climbing up on some rocks, I was amazed to find that we had come right to our goal.

Climbing to better vantages points, I got better views.

After visiting the Sky Rock panel, we headed to Chidago Canyon Road, another favorite scenic route.

The White Mountains from Chidago Canyon Road

After Chidago Canyon, we visited a couple of other much more well known petroglyph sites.

White Mountains 2019

On November 4th we took a day to drive up into California's White Mountains which is home to Bristlecone Pines, some of the oldest trees in the world.  We started our trip driving up the Silver Canyon Road.

There were still a few trees turning to fall colors at the bottom of Silver Canyon.

Very colorful bushes growing on the rocky hillsides.

Near the top of Silver Canyon Road, we got a great view of the town of Bishop in the Owens Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains beyond.

Nearing the top of the mountain where Bristlecone Pines dominate the plant life

Our stop for lunch was the Patriarchs Grove at an elevation of 11,300 feet.

Many large and presumably very old Brislecones

A large collection of cones

I assumed this was the site of a tree ring sample for dating research.

Examples of the rugged Bristlecones

For our route down, we decided to take Wyman Canyon Road.

Interesting rock formations along the canyon walls

We passed some bushes with lots of red berries

A small waterfall next to the road