When we find ourselves in the San Francisco Bay Area one of our favorite spots to camp is up on Mt. Diablo. On this trip our usual campground, Live Oak, was closed for the season so we were instead directed to the Juniper Campground. We arrived mid-week as we normally do and were treated to …
Month: December 2015
While wandering within the Mojave National Preserve we came across the tiny hamlet of Goffs. I remembered reading a blurb in passing about Goffs having something special to see when in the area so we go to find “it” which is not too hard as there is only one road in town and a brightly painted old railroad …
North of Lee Vining and our Mono Lake stop we passed a sign alerting us to the presence of a Dog Town Historical marker. We’re intrigued. I’m on an adventure. With a dog. See this on the side of the road. Why wouldn’t we stop to see what it is all about and snap a …
Still driving up Highway 395 heading back to our multi-duck, cat and single rooster sitting job in Humboldt County we passed through the little town of Lee Vining and beheld before us the beauty that is Mono Lake. Growing up in California in the late 70’s I remember the history of Los Angeles diverting water for …
I’ve been fishing my whole life. I love fish. They are amazing creatures and they can be quite tasty too. Driving up Hwy 395 near Independence, CA we happened to see a sign for the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery and decided to turn in and take a look. Little did we know that we would …
About 14 miles north of Lone Pine on the ironically named Manzanar Reward Road is the Manzanar National Historic Site. In 1942, the United States government ordered more than 110,000 people of Japanese-ancestry to leave their homes and be detained in remote, military-style camps. Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where Japanese American citizens and resident …
As you drive south into Lone Pine there is a roadside sign marking the spot where the mass grave for 16 of the victims of the March 26, 1872 earthquake were put to rest. It is an official California Historical Landmark so we decided to stop, take a look and pay our respects. Since we were heading north …
When we drove away out of the Alabama Hills we decided to turn right to head up Whitney Portal Road instead of down back in to Lone Pine right away. Our first stop was at the garbage bins at the entrance to the Lone Pine Campground so we could divest ourselves of that horribly stinky, scratchy …

We have a prior engagement up in Humboldt County to take care of nine ducks, one chicken and two cats for some friend’s as they are gone for a month to Vietnam. Heading away from the Mojave National Preserve we have several options on which route we take back up into Northern California. We could …
Heading back West out of Arizona we decide to spend a few days in the Mojave National Preserve. We’re expecting to find some stunning views and fun exploration while wandering about the third largest unit of the National Park System in the contiguous United States. After a quick stop at the little Hole-In-The-Wall Information Center …