Archive for September 2007
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Road Trip — Tonopah, Nevada
(54 photos)
From Bishop, I headed east on Highway 6 and entered the vast emptiness of the Nevada desert. I don’t know why, but I really like the high desert and I’ve decided I need to seriously figure out how to move closer to this area. I reached Tonopah and decided to explore a bit and stay the night there. Tonopah is interesting, as it’s a ghost town in the making. In the early 1900s, it was the “Queen of the Silver Camps”, but as the silver mines went bust, so did the town. There are still people and businesses, but there are just as many abandoned buildings too. My first stop was at the Central Nevada Museum where I checked out the old mining equipment on display. I also picked up a brochure identifying the “historic gems” around the town, so I used the map to check out the various historic building identified. In talking with one of the locals, I asked how this town supported itself, as I didn’t really see many businesses… he told me that the world’s largest gold mine was 45 minutes away and that is where a lot of the people worked at–so it’s only half a ghost town for now.
Road Trip — Laws Museum, Bishop
(192 photos)
Just outside of the town of Bishop, is Laws Museum. Now, I’ve driven by it a few times in the past, but it’s always been closed; this morning I made a point to check it out and I am so glad I did. This museum is huge and has one of the best collections of American historical artifacts I’ve seen. Laws started life as a railroad town in the 1800s and the original depot and agents house still remain. Other buildings from were brought there for preservation and it resembles a little railroad town now. Most of the building were open and have exhibits in them, from general merchandise to photography equipment, to typesetting and newspaper equipment, to medical equipment to a collection of bottles. There’s also Siamese twin lambs that have been stuffed–an unexpected sight for me! There’s a lot to explore on the 11 acres of the museum and the docents are nice and friendly. There were also shooting a television commercial there at the depot the day I visited, that was interesting to watch. I’m glad I spent a few hours checking it out, it’s well worth a visit.
Road Trip — Minden, Nevada
(22 photos)
ROAD TRIP!! I’m going to meet some friends in Las Vegas next week, so what better way to get there than the long way through Nevada. So this afternoon, I head east towards the border. Just as I cross the California/Nevada border, the police have the highway stopped for… get this… a cattle crossing! Yep, with cowboys on horses and everything–we have left the city folks. I took a rest break in the little historic town of Minden, Nevada and walked around Minden Park; a nice little park in the center of town, complete with a bandstand. A bit further down the road, I stopped at an overview of Topaz Lake and enjoyed my dinner while watching the sunset. Topaz Lake is on the border, so I’m back in California now and head towards Bishop to spend the night.
Yosemite - Camp Curry and Glacier Point
(Click photo for all 80 photos)
This morning started out with birds strutting in the parking lot, and a clear sky with no rain. Tersha and I spent part of the morning walking around Camp Curry searching out the history markers that the map showed. We found most of them and it was interesting to see other parts of the tent village that I’d not seen before. We then headed up to Glacier Point, which is at the top of the mountain right behind our tent cabins. The drive up is easy and the views along the way and at the top are fantastic. From the top, you can see the entire Yosemite Valley below you. On our way out, we stopped at LeConte Memorial Lodge before heading home. LeConte was one of the first directors of the Sierra Club and the Sierra Club has been associated with the Yosemite Valley for over 100 years, promoting conservation and providing education.
