Bishop, CA Part 2

The following day we hung around town and prepared for camping in the Sierra Mountains north of Bishop.  We spent two days hiking, eating, Smallworlding, pie eating, badmintoning and just enjoying the cool weather of the high country.

The next day Julie and Phil showed us Treasure Lakes in the Sierra National Forest but not before a few games of Smallworld.  The hike was awesome and about 8 miles round trip, dinner that night gets my vote for the best food of the trip, carne asada cooked over open flame with caramelized onions and beans.

After hiking for several miles and past several lakes we scrambled up some boulders found ourselves looking at the bluest water I'd ever seen.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, swimming and fishing in the high country, it was a good day.

Bishop, CA

After leaving Flagstaff, AZ we started our journey to Bishop, CA roughly 8.5 hrs away.  As soon as we got underway we got stuck in traffic for about 40 minutes while they cleared away a rock slide.  After, we traveled up through Las Vegas, NV where temperatures reached 113 degrees and remained in high 90's through to California.

Traffic jam in Flagstaff

More traffic!

The drive was relatively uneventful with a few stops here and there for photos.

This picture is on the corner of Highway 95 and Highway 6 in NV

Upon arriving in Bishop I, Jim, was introduced to Phil, Julie's BF and roommate and an exciting few days were in hot pursuit (get it? hot? IT WAS 113 PEOPLE!!). The following day Julie took us exploring in Death Valley to the singing dunes. These dunes stand over 600' tall and when exposed to such unparalleled good looks as I provided... no, that's not it... when it's extremely hot and and moisture in sand in just right a slide similar to a small avalanche will cause the dunes to resonate and hum sounding like distant thunder, these mini-avalanches fortunately can be man made and made we did. 

But luckily for you this is not the most interesting part of our tale. As we were descending into Death Valley my truck's tire pressure sensor went off as well as my personal expletive emitting device. As we all hop out to take a photo my suspicions were realized and found my right rear tire to be very flat and so began the change of a flat tire in THE MIDDLE OF DEATH VALLEY. Not soon after we all get out we see another vehicle approaching there being only two of us in the middle of this huge valley I figure they can move around and get to the dunes (they are popular with sightseer's) to our incredible surprise it's a tow truck out of Vegas there to retrieve a Charger some Russians got stuck in the sand, he hops out and proceeds to hand me gloves, pull out his nice jack and change my tire free of charge. Needless to say, it was a nice surprise.

After spending an hour or so at the dunes we were cooked and headed back to Bishop for a relaxing evening and an introduction to a new board game Smallworld, it was very fun and took up a lot of our leisure time.

Dune yoga

Lucia found it to be too warm in California

The following day we decided to camp for two nights up in the Sierra Mountains. Find out more in our next episode!

Austin, TX to Bishop, CA

We left Austin for Bishop on Sunday July 20th. Our first night we spent in Amarillo, TX and I convinced Mer to grab a hotel for the night as it was over 100 degrees outside and I knew I wouldn't sleep that well outside. It turned out to be a fun albeit short stop. We grabbed a bite to eat at Mexican restaurant where we saw a group attempt (and fail) a dine and dash, they were caught by the management and we had a fun discussion with our waiter about it and other instances they encounter.

Northwest Texas is largely flat and hot

After our short night in Amarillo we grabbed a bite at the hotel, which was surprisingly ok, went back to the Mexican restaurant to grab my credit card that got left there, a coffee from a little place that roasted their own bean and hit the road again for another long day in the car. This time our stop was to be Flagstaff, AZ but not before we traversed all of New Mexico

New Mexico state line

 

It began to get much warmer and our travel companion joined us in the cab

As the day wore on the landscape gradually began to change as well. From scrub grasses and prairie of pale yellows and greens emerged rust colored bluffs and buttes.

After traveling most of the day through New Mexico we finally came to Arizona with our final stop being at the KOA in Flagstaff. 

While in Flagstaff for two day we got in a nice hike, had some routine maintenance done on the truck and enjoyed a dinner at Mer's cousin's house.

Lucia just had to get her picture taken

Overall, it was a fun stretch of country to see. Next, we're finally on to Bishop!

Austin, TX

We left New Orleans Thursday morning for a long drive through Louisiana and Texas.  But the drive was well worth it as we got to see my best friend La and the city of Austin.  In a very short amount of time La showed us every possible fun adventures activity one could partake in Austin and the surrounding countryside.  We arrived Thursday evening and dropped Lucia off at the babysitters, then went to a free museum showing about Cats and Dogs.  That evening we had a BBQ and planned our adventures.

We went kayaking, beergarten and bratwurst eating, sand volleyball playing and watching the bats at dusk.  We drank avocado margaritas, went to Jacob's Well swimming hole, ate ice cream and found cast iron pots in Wimberley. We visited a local vineyard for wine tasting, walked down 6th street enjoying the music and people watching, and of course ate Texas BBQ.  

Mer jumping into Jacob's Well

Jim jumping into Jacob's Well

La and Mer

At the vineyard, enjoying the scenery, wine and good friends.

It was difficult to leave a good friend and a fun city, but we already have a list of things to do during our future visit :)

  

Natchez Tres to New Orleans

We drove along the Natchez Trace Parkway on our way into New Orleans.  A very beautiful roadway to travel through with plenty of interesting history.  Unfortunately we did not have enough time to explore it all.

Jim captured the beauty of a storm we were about to drive through.

Jim on the Natchez Trace path

New Orleans was a fun and interesting city to explore.  With limited time we decided to try out a bike tour to see as much of the city as possible. Our bike tour guide was fantastic, she shared the history of the city alongside the current cultural atmosphere. We enjoyed many delectable meals, including a mid-morning snack of beignets at Cafe Du Monde.  

Our tour guide and Jim biking through a mausoleum.

Beautiful hanging moss

Jim and I by the Mississippi river