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Headed to Mono Lake/Bodie, CA.

JDE

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Posted this in the California Riders Group, but so far Chestnut and her husband are the only other people who are coming so I though I'd post here too, to see if any others might want to come join us.

We're headed out to Mono Lake on the 20th of this month. I'm from Stockton and Chestnut and her hubby are coming up from San Diego so we are going to end up meeting out in Lee Vining Mono Lake area on the 20th most likely. Then go see some of the sights on Sat. the 21st, Mono Lake itself, then ride up to Bodie, CA (an old well preserved ghost town). Then, not sure yet on the timing, but the plan is to take off from there and ride up north to Donner Pass and ride that route. Photography is a hobby of mine so I plan on making plenty of stops to take pictures.

Here's the link to the group discussion: http://nc700-forum.com/forum/groups/california-riders-group-d41-mono-lake.html

If anybody is interested let us know. We still haven't worked out 100% of the details.
 
Ooh me me me, I wanna go! Oh. Yeah. Nevermind.
Any thoughts on the 108 through the Sierras? Since the 120 through Yosemite is still closed, I'm debating between taking the 108 and just going up the 395, maybe stopping by the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
 
Too funny! Hwy108 is the route I was planning on taking. I took that route last month. Probably not as beautiful as Yosemite would have been pre-fire, but it's still a beautiful and challenging ride at time. The closer you get to the summit the narrower the road gets with some pretty tight curves in there. There were some curves that I had to take at 15mph or below, plenty of shifting going on during some parts of it. It'll probably be a piece of cake for you with the miles you've put on your bike already.

Sent from a WALKIE TALKIE using Morse Code
 
I'll post something in the next couple days. Just been busy with work and family after getting back. Plus only have about 380 some odd pictures to go through.

Sent from a WALKIE TALKIE using Morse Code
 
Ken (my husband) and I left after work/school on Thursday so we could get past Los Angeles at low traffic. Only took 3 hours to do over 180 miles. Gotta be some kind of record for that area. Camped near Pyramid Lake in Lebec. Friday morning packed up and headed north to Yosemite. Had a good run on the way into the park, a good bit of Hwy 41 is 55mph limit and curvy, so for miles we went along at what I'll call a leisurely but fun pace. Maybe ten miles from the park entrance we got stuck behind a cage, but it didn't matter much anyway, since once inside the speed limit drops to 35. Last time we were in Yosemite we got pulled over for not using a turn signal, so I really didn't want to give any rangers an excuse to write us tickets. Late September isn't a particularly good time to visit Yosemite, since most of its waterfalls are fed by snowmelt, and are therefore dry at this time of year. But I'd never been over Tioga Hwy, and never ridden there at all, and hey, Yosemite is my favorite place in the world so far. I was also interested in witnessing the mass devastation left by the Rim Fire. Once you're actually out of the more traveled section and onto Hwy 120 (Tioga Hwy) you get to open it up to 45mph. The fire burned the west end of the road, mostly north of 120. After hearing all this talk about areas that hadn't burned in 20 years, I was expecting char and ash as far as the eye could see. That's what we get down here in the same situation. Instead, a lot of the trees were still green, or slightly roasted but still covered in leaves/needles. Maybe a lot of those trees are dead after all, but really it looked more like Mother Nature had swept up the forest floor. I'm sure there are areas that are truly devastated, but I didn't see any from the road. No stopping allowed along the burned areas (which were still being babysat by firefighters due to smoldering areas - gotta be the most boring assignment ever), and no good viewpoint later on, so no pictures.
We did, however, stop for a view of Half Dome, and I even let Athos (my little mascot) take the controls.
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Tenaya Lake, just a teensy bit down the road.
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We got through to Lee Vining and headed a bit south to set up camp with a pleasant view of June Lake.
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Connected with John (JDE) and we all met up at a BBQ place in town to plot out the weekend's activities. Bodie was decided on for Saturday morning, which is down a windy mountain road with 3 miles of 'gravel' leading to town. Probably doubled my off pavement experience and easily tripled my off pavement confidence.
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I would like to note that I had called a stop to retrieve my camera from the trunk, and that is the only reason feet are off the pegs in this picture.
Bodie is the best preserved ghost town in America (or was it California?), even with only about 5% of its original buildings remaining. It's impressive. Ken and I hadn't had much sleep the night before due to heavy winds howling through the mountains and flapping the tent, and he almost didn't go. He was glad he did. And Ken isn't usually interested in this kind of thing.
Feast on Bodie.
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Behind this sign are what look like some of the best preserved buildings in the whole town, including the Standard Co. Stamp Mill. (see next picture)NIK_0119.jpg
Apparently the buildings and grounds are only dangerous if you're not on a tour. As opposed to this next building, which is totally safe.
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NIK_0154.jpgGinger - the red-headed gorilla my husband wrestles down the road - didn't want to interrupt the two NC's bonding over Mono LakeNIK_0160.jpg

Back on the road and on to the Visitor's Center for the Mono Lake Scenic Area (or something), got a little more history, some souvenirs, and best of all, a map. The 5% chance of showers had turned into a 50% chance of showers, which were now spitting on us. We found a cafe for some hot chocolate and got a more detailed idea of what kind of weather was in store. It wasn't good news. The radar map showed orange or pink or some other unhappy weather color taking over the entire screen. We decided to go 'home' and hunker down. A quick reconnoiter of the parking area where we'd be meeting pre-dawn and we parted ways for the night.NIK_0180.jpg (This is where I promised myself we would come back during the winter, because it would be SOOOOO pretty with snow on the ground.)
And now things get really interesting. Got back to camp and curled up for a bit to get warm. Wandered out to add water to the dehydrated food we'd be having for dinner, curled up for a bit to get warm. Wandered back out to bring the food/stove/goodies into the vestibule, and found this.
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Except that the tent was about two feet closer to the camera, almost inside the big puddle. Move tent, dig drainage trenches, argue with tent stakes, grab food, dig a few more trenches, scarf down dinner, put dirty dishes in bear locker, satisfy myself that the tent isn't going to float away during the night, curl up to get warm. Sleep.
4:30AM. I want to be sure to get pictures of the lake with the stars out. I'm up. Ken is...not. Ken is not going to be. My jacket (which I was wearing while draining the campsite) is frozen. Steal Ken's. Put on every available layer of clothing that isn't wet. Unzip tent. Unzip rain fly. Unzip rain fly. Un. Zip. Damn. Zipper is frozen. Pull tent stake, crawl out under rain fly.
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Seriously. When I said I'd come back when there was snow on the ground, I didn't mean TOMORROW. Tripod is in bear locker. Bear locker is frozen shut. Dump water all over bear locker, hoping it's warm enough that it doesn't freeze immediately (in my experience, this is at about 10 degrees F). Pry bear locker open. Rescue tripod. Ignition is frozen. Can't get the key in. Back to the bathroom for more water. Still can't get the key in. Third time's the charm. Press the starter. Chupa insists it really is too cold for Honda or human habitation, wants a vacation. Starts anyway. De-ice windshield and seat, turn on grip de-icers. Back to the bathroom, since it's the only place warm enough to take off my gloves and gear up. Ride out of the campground about 5 minutes before our pre-arranged meeting time. Now instead of being early, I'm worried that I'll be late. But I get to the turn-off at the same time as JDE. By the time we park, the sky is already lightening. Stars will have to wait for next time. Now my key is frozen in the ignition. Well, what're the chances someone who wants an NC is crazy enough to be out at this hour, in this weather? Off to shoot the sunrise over Mono Lake.
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Mono Lake really is beautiful, and the sunrise made it even more impressive.
One last shot, the view from our campground before we left.NIK_0398.jpg
It's a fair run back home, so we made tracks. Chupa cemented her vacation by vomiting fork oil all over herself, but we all made it home okay.
Total miles Thu-Sun: 1,124.1 (according to my Odometer)
Aside from realizing just how out of shape I am (both for wandering around at high elevation and for spending long hours in the saddle), I had a great time. Maybe a little more adventure than I bargained for, but if you haven't asked 'what did I get myself into?' you probably haven't learned anything.
 
You took some nice pics. I didn't know Mono Lake had those hudu lookin' things around the shore. I never got close enough to notice.
 
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