Wherein Moominmama hikes in the John Muir Wilderness and joins a ceremony where Japanese Americans declare "Never Again is Now"... Driving into the eastern Sierras is like arriving on a different planet from the sand and sagebrush below. At 10,000 to 11,000 feet, the air has a chill, there's snow on the mountaintops, and everything smells of ponderosa pine and moist earth. Even the bird calls are different. After a week in the valley, the mountains were calling, and Moominmama drove up to hike in the John Muir Wilderness, choosing a three-mile trail up Mount Whitney to Lone Pine Lake. The days had been warm, but I wasn't sure how much snow I'd find on the trail. As it turned out, I got a good 2.5 miles before I had to put on microspikes to navigate the snow, which was firmly packed down. What spectacular views! And fascinating plant life. This is manzanita, a bush with tiny teardrop flowers that will eventually turn into berries. It is related to a bush I'd se...
In which Moominmama reflects on the start of a new year and what it means to reach Year Five of a life on the road... Starting on my fifth year on the road, Moominmama wonders if it's an adventure anymore, or just a lifestyle. Somehow, "Moominmama's Lifestyle" just doesn't have the same ring! But the truth is that not everything is new and exciting! Having picked up the trailer in New Mexico and driven to Arizona, I'm enjoying a Sonoran Desert that's actually somewhat familiar. I enjoy being back among the grandfather saguaro cactus, unique to this particular desert. The Sonoran Desert, unlike others, is marked by two rainy seasons: the summer monsoons and winter rains. But as I've learned, last year there were no significant monsoon rains in the Phoenix area, deepening an already serious drought. This year, no flowers greeted my March arrival. The plants were dry and dormant, and the local park ranger was taking photos of stressed-out saguaros on my...
In which Moominmama rides the Nevada Northern Railway, and hikes in the Great Basin... Moominmama was hoping to take a train ride behind a 115-year-old steam engine here in Ely (pronounced: EE-lee), Nevada. Dropping by the station to buy a ticket for the next day, I was able to get some photos as they fired up the boiler on Engine #93. One of the interesting things about this railroad museum is that it's a living history museum (and national landmark under the U.S. Parks Service) with a complete rail yard. The cavernous machine shop holds up to eight locomotives or other train cars, and a new generation of machinists and mechanics is learning to maintain them. Unfortunately, old #93 dropped a wheel mechanism after I took this photo, and the machine shop was not able to fix it in time for Moominmama's trip a day later. Moominmama had to settle for a 1950s diesel engine instead - see photo above. Not the same at all. But as part of the visit to the rai...
I take it you did NOT get wet from the trip!
ReplyDeleteNope, that would have been a mighty chilly dip!
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