getting caught up

Golf, dentist, exploring, arch hunting, socializing.    We've done a little bit of a lot of things these past 3 days.

One afternoon, Wednesday I think, we played nine holes at Mt. Whitney Golf Course.   I decided that I wouldn't take any more photos at this golf course because we'd been there twice before, how many scenic golf shots can a reader endure?    A few more...

another warm golf day while the snow fell at altitude

Golfus Interruptus
Dave finds it hard to ignore the jets "playing" overhead

Do you see the zig zag "shelf" road behind Dave in these two shots?   That is Horseshoe Meadow Rd., it climbs to a vast meadow surrounded by lodgepole Pines at 10,000 feet, that is more than 6,000 feet above the golf course.   They want to drive up that road, and They want me to go along.....we'll see.

On the way home from our golf game we discovered that the rose robber had struck again while we weren't looking...

We had a heavy hors d'oeuvres happy hour/dinner combination at Pam and John's with Jodee and Bill since they were leaving on Friday.   A beautiful little grand baby is calling them...   I took no pictures, just ate and laughed and talked.

Thursday morning Dave and I drove back into Bishop for a hastily made dentist appointment.    He's been having a recurring toothache and we wanted to get it checked out before it becomes worse.   Good news is that there is no abscess, bad news is that the recommended endodontist in Desert Hot Springs (our next stop) has retired.    Ah well, life on the road and all that.

The appointment had me getting up earlier than usual, not early enough to witness a sunrise, but I was rewarded with the sight of a beautiful moon set over the Sierras.

On our way back from Bishop (with a load of fresh produce, groceries and cookies (yes, cookies from Great Basin Bakery - don't judge) we took a few little dirt road detours.

One led us to a very heavily populated fish hatchery - eat your heart out Bill.

Another took us through a lava flow area with so many "cones" of various sizes that we wondered if there was a field of giant moles beneath our feet.

The dusty road would through sharp lava formations and dusty sage covered ranges.   We crossed creeks edged by gnarled cottonwood trees a few times, which always surprise us in this environment.

Closer to home we decided to follow Tuttle Creek Road, a path suggested by Bill as a wonderful ride through a narrow, rocky canyon and ending up in the now familiar Alabama Hills.

He was spot on.   It was a great ride and we stopped several times to admire the surroundings.

I know, more rocks and boulders.   The one in the above photo was huge and just barely balanced on two points above our heads.    

Pam and John must have been intrigued by Bill and Jodee's description of this little drive because we met them driving toward us half way through!   We'd seen no other cars the entire time, what are the odds?

Once out of the canyon we passed through an area with some pretty interesting houses.   Lone Pine is a very small little town with all the usual types of stores, gas stations and tiny, older homes.   It was a surprise to find ourselves among much larger and more modern homes in the hills.    There were many styles represented but I only took one picture because I didn't want to trigger a neighborhood watch phone call to the police.

Yesterday, Friday, the four of us did more rock climbing (rock crawling, really) to check off a few more of the arches in Pam's book.  Also to see if we could find some old movie locations.    I'll post about that later.

Today is Saturday and I'm home alone doing domestic chores and bills.   Dave, John and Pam have gone off to hike to the Ashram.   Don't feel sorry for me, it was my choice to stay home and get caught up.