Those numbers above are the roads we travelled on as we made our way towards, up and back the eastern Sierra Nevada.
We "re-did" what we did Memorial Day weekend. Only this time we got more than we bargained for with the weather and took more pictures! 377 in all. Thank you, digital! And this time, I backed it up. Ain't gonna make the same mistake twice.
We started our drive at around 5:00 a.m. We needed to get some gas so we stopped in Coarsegold but all the stations were closed and the pumps inoperable.
Well, we needed gas and some coffee so we drove to Oakhurst and stopped at Vons. It is around 5:25 a.m. and the Vons Store (which has a Starbucks) doesn't open until 6:00 a.m.!!! We then drove over to the Vons gas station hoping the pumps were working although no one was in the station. I for one never knew that Vons' gas pumps still operate during after hours. My wife kept assuring me the pumps work. I pulled up to one of the pumps, inserted my Vons card, then my credit card and voila! It worked! I'll be damned! I even got three cents off per gallon using my Vons card. Oooooooooooooooooooooo...
After gassing up it was off to Yosemite National Park. Luckily the Oakhurst Starbucks was open at 5:30 a.m. So we got our ventis and our scones. I was hoping to get a sausage sandwich but they don't sell it there.
Wherever we went, rain was sure to follow...Yosemite, Mono Lake, Bodie, Bridgeport, Sonora Pass, Lee Vining. Rain mixed with a little thunder and a little snow at Sonora Pass.
Yosemite Valley overlook. We had the whole place to ourselves. As we were getting ready to leave, four cars pulled up into the parking lot.As were were driving past Lembert Dome, I came upon a Park Ranger, who apparently pulled out from Tuolumne Meadows Lodge. I didn't know it was a Park Ranger until I mentioned something to Pam and came upon the pickup adorned with its blue and red lights. About two minutes, the ranger pulls over to the side to allow me to pass. We are driving along just doing the speed limit, when the ranger hit the lights. I pulled over and looked at Pam and wondered what this was about. To make a long story short, the ranger said he clocked me at 54 mph when I came upon him. True, I was speeding up until that point. Anyhow, I got off with just a warning. Lucky me.
This is where I got my "warning." Pam took this magnificent picture.
We arrive in Bodie around 9:20 a.m. The crowds were WAY DOWN from Memorial Day weekend. Since we already knew what pictures we wanted to re-take, we hit the town by walking at a brisk pace. Bodie is at 8,375 feet so we had to applying mountaineering breathing techniques to recover quickly from the lack of oxygen.These are just some of the pictures we took...
There is just something we like about this picture.
For comparison purposes only...
Just check out the lions on this billiard table.
One-armed bandit.
How many horseshoes were made?
I wonder what the coffee tasted like?
1937 Chevy.
The "Earth Friendly" house on Green Street.
At the top of this hill is a grave marker overlooking the town of Bodie.
And this is the person who it belongs to...All I know so far is that Warren Loose sued someone over a colt from a racehorse. He searched for a place to be interred and settled for the top of the hill above the cemetery for everyone to see his grave as they entered or left town. 
Web drippings. Now, that is old stuff!
Hazmat.
1910 Maxwell radiator.
The house with a corner bay window and a porch.
The richest man in town.
The bank vault.
The man the town is named after.
A former Bodie baseball player? No inscription on the gravemarker.
The town prostitute. She was not interred within the confines of the cemetery. Guess she wasn't worthy.
The Cain house. The richest man in town.
Leaded gas.
The mystery light.
Great cellphone service.
The general store.
Merchandise in the store.
Ground chocolate anyone?
The I.O.O.F. building.
It is here that Pam inserted the Bob Seger CD and the song "Roll Me Away" blared out of the speakers."Took a look down a westbound road,
Right away I made my choice
Headed out to my big four-wheeler,
I was tired of my own voice
Took a bead on the northern plains
And just rolled that power on..."
After Bodie, it was off to Sonora Pass. We decided to stop in Bridgeport to get a bite to eat. We head into Rhino's and sit down and we wait...and we wait...and we waited. Now the place is not that busy. We waited...we waited. Okay, that's enough. We go across the streed to the Sportsman Inn. Less crowded and the service was great.
We drive up the 395 to the 108 crossing and head up to the pass. We go beyond the summit and descend on the western side since Pam wanted to take a picture of a waterfall we happened upon the last time we were here. We head back up to the summit and the rain, snow and thunder make their presence felt.
"Can you like hurry up and take the damn picture before I get struck by lightning?" A loud thunderclap went off just when Pam took this picture. Scared the beejeezus out of both of us. Note the words "SLOW TRUCK" on the top of the 108. It is not on the other sign.
Leavitt Falls vista overlook.
The view of the valley below from the Leavitt Falls Vista Point.
Looking back.
Pickel Meadow
The hot springs south of the 108 and 395 junction. Oops, forgot to change from monochrome to color.
On the 395 just west of Bridgeport. What serenity.We spend the night in Lee Vining. On the horizon, a storm is looming just above the lake and moving towards us. We stop at Bodie Mike's to grab a bite to eat and the rains came down. They had a problem with cooking Pam's salmon dinner. Apparently the cooks were used to cooking with farm-raised salmon and just happened they decided to cook with wild salmon this particular evening. The proprietor kept coming back and telling us they were having difficulty cooking the salmon. Kept falling apart. They finally got it right and told us the salmon dinner was no charge. We did leave a good tip. Note to self: Order salmon next time.
On Sunday, May 31, Pam and I walk the Lee Vining Creek Trail. After having breakfast at Nicely's, it was time to conclude our trip with our drive up Tioga Pass through Yosemite and then home. Happened to be that the proprietor from last night was working the morning shift as well. We joked about there wasn't any salmon on the breakfast menu.
Lee Vining Creek
Overlooking Mono Lake.
Tuolumne River overfloweth.We get to Tuolumne Meadows and lo and behold there was another Park Ranger facing in the opposite direction off to the side in between the numerous cars near the Cathedral Peaks trailhead. We get to Olmsted Point and it starts to pour, but it was only for a short while.
We stopped at a roadside waterfall near White Wolf...
Then stopped to take some pictures of a blonde black bear resting in a meadow near Crane Flat...
There is a blonde black bear in here somewhere...If you click and enlarge the photo the bear is just a light brown speck between the upright and leaning pine trees.
Wherever I may roam...
