EAST SIDE WONDERS/WANDERS, Pt.2

As we were making our way to Convict Lake, our travel pals, Fred and Colleen, were in their Jeep adventuring to Wheeler Ridge at 11,000’. Below are a few of the great photos Colleen shared. I get light-headed just looking at this view.

Did you notice the bit of red, white, and blue in the pine tree? Colleen said according to their guide book, there’s always an American flag flying on Wheeler Ridge. Apparently, the last one got eaten by a pine tree. She said from now on, they’re always carrying a flag in the Jeep—just in case. 😉

The following morning, we set out for a quick trip south to the town of Bishop.

The Owens Valley stretches between the Sierra to the west and the White Mountains to the east. Its fascinating history and modern reality was shaped by: the Great Water War with L.A. Guess who won? 😉
California Water Wars

After a bit of antique shopping, we headed off-roading across the Volcanic Tableland.

Paul and I were both excited and worried about taking an untested vehicle into the high desert, but, happily, the Bronco performed well and the AC worked GREAT—always a good thing when the exterior temp reaches 110!

Check out this silly video. It’s not a Bronco ad. Really.

All four of us are nature geeks who stop to photograph Prickly Poppies and really cool rocks. We’re totally blown away by petroglyphs—the ancient ones, not the graffiti modern idiots feel compelled to leave behind. And, you know how goofy I am about clouds. 

This excursion was the perfect mix of some of our favorite things, plus we made it back to the cabin in time for Beer-30 and roasted chicken using Paul’s Father’s Day gift: a portable/camping model Traeger smoker grill.

Next week, I’ll take you off-roading to a couple of really cool summits.

Happy 4th of July!

Last week's Q&A was: Do you eat fish?

To my surprise 98% of you said, “Yes.” I really enjoyed your answers. They made me realize how complicated that simple question is. So many different types of fish consumed vary by region. Personally, although I once sampled crawdads in New Orleans, I’d never be able to make a meal from the scrawny little “mud puppies” the kids used to catch in a nearby creek. Shudder.

Mostly, I have to rely on Costco to do my fishing for me. 😉

My two randomly selected winners this week are:

Felicia Fallon
and
Marleen Viola

(Felicia and Marleen congrats. Please email me your pick of either a $5 Starbucks or a $5 Amazon gift card.)

Q&A

This week’s Q&A: Will you be watching fireworks this 4th of July? (Yes, on TV counts.)

(Two winners will be chosen by random drawing to receive either a $5 Starbucks gift card or a $5 Amazon gift card. Please reply the usual ways:
email or on my DebraSalonenAuthor Facebook page.

Stay well, my friends, and happy reading,

Deb

Upcoming: Off-roading adventures of the vertical kind.