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Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

Old U. S. 395, Bodie, Mono Lake, And A Tragedy


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Thanks Dave,

 

i've pasted your text in my my docs, will refer to them while i'm on the road,

 

please do post the ACSC map and Midland if it's not any trouble, if you'd rather keep it off board, you could email direct too! warbirdfotos@gmail.com

 

 

All of the locations you mention are familiar, none of which have i visited in my adult years, i very much appreciate the suggestions, sparked a few "AH HA's" in my memory banks, the Cerro Gordo trip sounds great too, never heard of that.

 

Hopefully i can get stuff posted while on the road, that is one of the main reasons i bought a laptop, this year, more fun stuff to follow =)

 

SF

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Sorry folks, i just had to post this, slightly off topic shot here, it is off 395 on the Goodale Creek road, cant get enough of these silly critters

 

2008Feb17044copy-tiltshift.jpg

 

SF,

 

I love the photo, especially the ears! We seldom have 7 of those critters in the yard at once, but just before I looked at this post, I had to chase two does and a fuzzy horned young buck out of the yard so I could mow the lawn. They are so tame I actually have to shout and wave my arms at them from 10 of 15 feet away to get them to move. They are pretty, and a big pain you-know-where!

 

I posted the first map, in this case your route into Yosemite via Big Oak Flat Road. Its under Trip Planning. I'll post more soon, roughly in the order of your trip route.

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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Dragged this over from the trip planning thread, realized i was hogging up planning space, thanks for the Bodie map Dave, this story was inspired by that post, guess i need a blog with long winded reports like this ;-)

 

Dave, now you're really putting the good stuff out there, if i had to pick 100 square miles of real estate, it would be this very section.

 

I hope i can find some of the slides from my youth when i embarked on a really special journey, which began at the foot of Bodie Mountain. This would've been the summer of '76, the summer before i started high school. I used to ride my bicycle to Chino Airport on the weekends from Huntington Beach (CA), which was 80 miles round trip, unknown to my mother, there was a very dangerous stretch of road that we had to travel (i say we because eventually my school chums wanted to tag along) about that time i realized i was in pretty good shape so, i jokingly ask dad if i could pedal down 395 from Bodie to HB, i do'nt remember his reaction but i do know that it was favorable, i really started getting in shape from then on.

 

There is an outcropping on the Northeastern side of Bodie Peak, this is where we started our deer hunts when camping in Bodie, known to us as the fenceline. This pile of rocks made for a really nice shelter, that's where the trip begins. From there we (my school buddy Craig and me) rode,yes i said "rode" our ten speeds (this was long before mountain bikes were the rage) down the 17 mile "washboard" dirt road all the way to 395, choosing the Aurora Canyon route, this was brutal, to top it off, i had over 60 lbs of gear (i never travel light, and i never will) strapped at various points on the bike and myself. Once we hit the pavement, it was like, "lemme at 'em!" Our next night was spent at the creek on Green Lakes road. It was our fourth night of the trip and i was starting get gamey, so it was time to wash....in the creek....at 33 degrees....YIKES!!! I never pass that turn off without giving a nod to the guts it took both of us to make that walk. We needed it, because the climb ahead was monumental, the most valuable lesson i learned on this trip, for every uphill there is a downhill, and Conway Summit is where that all begins. Mind you, we had dad in the motorhome at select points along the way (we were only 14 yrs old), of course i told dad to stay invisible, we'd be alright. After reaching the summit and taking in my favorite view....EVER.....it was time to take the descent, what a ride, especially having the extra 60lbs on, dad had to film this stretch and was just in front of us, clocked us at 65mph (not much by today's standards) but extreme at the time.

 

From Lee Vining we continued to the Oil Plant rd, which turns into the Old State HWY and just south of City Camp rd begins the June Lake Loop, where we found a camp spot for another night. The ride from there was tricky because of that section with the wind barriers just north of Mammoth Lakes turn off, it was wicked windy and we almost scrubbed the mission there. Instead we waited till almost dark and the wind turned to a breeze. Our next night was at the rest area just south of Owens River rd, as a kid we called this the Big Moth rest area, where you would find the biggest variety of winged critters, those moth's that look prehistoric....?

 

It's a pretty good distance to Bishop from there and that's where we pitched our camp, at Round Valley, out of Rovana. This time of year there are no deer around, except at Round Valley, they just stay in that area year round as far as i know. At this point we still have a long way to go and the prettiest part of the Sierra's ahead of us, the days are getting hot and we need a little incentive, dad had this planned all along and kept it from us as long as he could, we opted for riding at night, but just too dangerous so we took it slow and by the time we hit Goodale Creek campground, dad told us that the Mojave Air Races were right in our gunsights, still 150 miles to go, we chugged along til we got to Lone Pine and spent our last night in Alabama Hills, "THAT" was awesome!!! Spooky and Wonderful all at once. The stars and coyotes will forever haunt my memories, in a good way, i dont ever remember feeling a connection to the earth like i did that night.

 

Next morning was a stiff push to Mojave where we ended our adventure, now, remember when i said i felt connected to the earth? That still exsist's but on that final day in the desert, i worshipped a new God, it was called the "Red Baron", which is another story all its own.

 

Experience like this is invaluable, should i ever be fortunate enough to have a wife who loves kids, i will do everything in my power to share the wonder of the earth. It's nothing spectacular to most, in fact, most of the kids i went to school with never ventured out of Orange County, and a bigger handful didnt know what a deer was, i'm eternally grateful to have a family that has history dating back to the 1800's, most of which, takes place in and around this paved road to paradise, Thanks Dad, Grandad and Great Grandad, always in my thoughts and prayers.

 

Thanks Dave for unearthing more memories

 

SF

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SF,

 

That strikes me as one of the finest posts here ever, and there are lots of great ones.

 

I am at a loss for words.....which the gang will agree is uncharacteristic. Ain't Life Great!

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

WOW!!! Thanks Dave, and yes LIFE IS GREAT!!!

 

Just to be clear, my reference to the "Red Baron" was thin on details, posted below is a picture of that airplane, it's the racer that got me hooked on Air Racing at a very early age, it was the record holder for the fastest prop driven plane in the world for many years, a unique design that say racer. Red Baron was the name of the flying ranch that belonged to the owner, it's designation was the "RB-51" This thread has been somewhat derailed again, but not completely, this shot was taken at Mojave in 1979, continuing on with the 395 theme.....please carry on......SF

 

RB403.jpg

 

 

 

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WOW!!! Thanks Dave, and yes LIFE IS GREAT!!!

 

Just to be clear, my reference to the "Red Baron" was thin on details, posted below is a picture of that airplane, it's the racer that got me hooked on Air Racing at a very early age, it was the record holder for the fastest prop driven plane in the world for many years, a unique design that say racer. Red Baron was the name of the flying ranch that belonged to the owner, it's designation was the "RB-51" This thread has been somewhat derailed again, but not completely, this shot was taken at Mojave in 1979, continuing on with the 395 theme.....please carry on......SF

 

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w270/RB51NUT/RB403.jpg

 

I don't think you're to far off topic since you could pull to the side of the road and watch the Reno Air Races from 395. US 395 is the Air Race Highway.

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