Alabama Hills
[slideshow]
The crew and I are off to our next camp!
The next morning, Tuesday, October 23, I hitch us up, drive over to Tuttle Creek Campground, empty waste tanks, take on water, drive down into Lone Pine, put the paperbacks in the library book drop, and pull out onto Highway 395. We head south for a short drive (about 40-45 miles) to the Bureau of Land Management campground, Fossil Falls.
More about our new camp in the next blog entry. This is the second of two postings today. Did you see the first one?
rvsue
Bye to Alabama Hills…………sure have enjoyed “being there with you” Sue !!
Safe travels! Can’t wait to see your new spot.
That is a stunning slideshow, Sue. Just gorgeous. Looking forward to the next camp site. Thanks for your blog.
I used to think the desert was a barren, godforsaken wasteland until you started posting photos of them. You opened my eyes to a new kind of beauty.
Also wanted to comment (off topic) that you seem a lot closer to Bridget than when you first started your journey. It seems that she is a lot more secure now and that you two have bonded a lot closer. 🙂
While RvSue may be more emotionally attached to Bridget, she definitely has more of Spikes personality. (IMHO), LOL.
You nailed that one! 😀
Oh yeah, Mick!!!! You are right on!!
Bridget has matured a lot since we left Georgia. She isn’t as nervous. I guess we have grown closer. I feel like I understand her better, probably because we’re together all the time (another benefit of retirement!).
I have to admit, you’re right, MIck. It I were a canine, I’d be more like Spike than Bridget. My bond with that crazy boy is very strong.
I too have not appreciated the desert as much as now, seeing it through your lens, Sue. Every rock face, pile and vista seems to have a face, animal, bird or fantasy creature etched onto it. What gets me every time is how small your van and rv look at the campsite. Were you not intimidated by the grandeur of it all? Any coyotes or rattlers? The crew seem to be very at home there. Is there water for Spike’s “soaking” at your new campsite? Penny and I wish you safe travels.
Hi Gabrielle,
To answer your questions . . . I didn’t find the area intimidating. Mainly because I always feel secure when alone. Plus you’re seeing the campsite from a long view. When I came into the Hills and made camp, I was seeing it “on the ground”, close-up.
I didn’t see any snakes. Coyotes made some noise one night, but I never saw one. No, there are no watering holes for Spike to soak in. He’s going to have to wait until summer returns before he can be a water dog again.
Beautiful pictures!
You, and the new camera, are showing some awesome views.
I loved the slideshow.
I looked at both posts and photos. I have to say I sure do like that spot !! Beautiful. Must be hard to leave it. But, you will find another awesome place down the road.
Great slideshow Sue. Did you happen to take some of those shots in the Mobius Arch area? Some look familiar to me but I guess many of those rocks start to look the same after awhile (lol). 🙂
The arch was not far from those photos. I never did go over to the arch. Every time I thought about doing so, I’d see cars and people and decide not to go. There’s so much to experience in the desert . . . and I’ve seen many photos of the arch.
Sue, You mentioned that you are re-reading John Muir. I’m shopping for a Christmas present for my wife. Which book or books would you recommend? Thanks and safe travels.
Spencer . . . I don’t know which would make a good Christmas present for your wife. If she likes dogs, the story of Stickeen is the most powerful, moving dog story I have ever read.
Here’s an introduction I lifted from the Sierra Club’s website.
“John Muir’s true story of what happened on an Alaskan glacier with a dog named Stickeen, in 1880, is one of Muir’s best-known writings, and is now considered a classic dog story. Although it can be read as a straight adventure story, it is much more than that. Muir’s story is most compelling because it revealed to Muir that man and dog were not so unlike each other. Stickeen was at first an unfriendly little dog, but after surviving a perilous journey across a glacier by crossing an ice bridge, Stickeen’s aloofness is replaced by rapturous emotion, revealing to Muir the fact that our “horizontal brothers” are not that much unlike us.”
Do a search for John Muir and Stickeen. The Sierra Club has excerpts and various editions printed on their website. I really can’t recommend only one of his writings. I’ve enjoyed every one I’ve read. You probably can find excerpts on the web to help you decide.
What a great guy you are . . . planning your wife’s present in October!
The light is so amazing, the way things change and take on a whole different feel. And that camera sure captures all the subtle colors and textures! My only real experience with “visiting” the desert was from the back seat of my parents’ car (pre-air conditioning) traveling from California to Mississippi during the SUMMER. I remember all those signs along Route 66 promising all sorts of wonders at the next gas station/restaurant. Your photographs make me want to go see it now with different eyes!
Alabama Hills! Neat looking place, I hadn’t heard of it. Been to Mono Lake area but not much farther south of it. We hooked a right up to Yosemite shortly after Mona Lake coming down from Lake Tahoe many years ago.
Yep, Alabama Hills reminds me of the City of Rocks in New Mexico, but on Serious Steroids (reminded me also of Chiricahua National Monument near Willcox, AZ, but Chiricahua has more trees around the place…some good sized Ponderosa in areas).
Enjoyed your report of the Area. Keep on Trekking!
Hello DesertHawk,
I do want to get over to the Chiricahua one of these days. I never did stop at the City of Rocks in NM. I was too intent upon getting away from NM snow and cold last fall!
Come on by, we’re about 20-25 miles north of City of Rocks and glad to meet you there!
Sue, Your weather widget say’s that it will be snowing by 3 pm. Will you be making a run to the south? A little snow never hurt anything and you are close to a small town. You never know about snow storms up high though. Best of luck to you and let us know how you and the crew are doing. Do spike and bridget like snow?
Hi Laurie,
I don’t put a whole lot of faith in the weather widget. I checked other sources and there’s no mention of snow. Even if snow did fall where we are now, I doubt it’d be much. What is more concerning is wind.
Bridget and Spike tolerate snow. There’s a photo of Bridget looking out at the snow while standing in the doorway of the BLT, that says it all. It was taken last April when we were camped at Ash Fork, AZ
You can take a look at http://rvsueandcrew.com/2012/04/14/caught-in-a-snowstorm-in-ash-fork-arizona/
I looked at other weather sites and they make no mention of snow. What is up with your misinformed weather widget?
I don’t know. It’s National Weather Service… not very good. That picture of snow is really misleading, to say the least!
For some reason when you click for full page you will see NWS in lower right hand corner. When clicked on it comes up Laramie WY. So there must be a glitch in it somewhere.