Susanville Ranch Park

We went for almost a two hour walk in the Susanville Ranch Park.  It's a jewel of a park in the city; there are 1,100 acres and 22 miles of trails which are open to hiking and biking.  Many of the trails get fairly steep at the top of the hill, but it's very nice.
This is the start of the trail, on the bridge over the little stream.

 

There are still a fair number of flowers out.

 

This was spotted on a steep part of the trail.  I wonder if someone had to get off and walk here.

 

Most of the trail looks like this.  It's not really narrow, not really rocky.  It would be pleasant riding.  I would not mind coming back here for a few days of riding.  I think there would be some walking on my part, but hey, that's why we have feet!

 

There is also the Bizz Johnson Rails to Trail path.  It's pretty flat, but if you just want some no stress time on a bike, it's worth doing as well.

Earthquake!

We had a 5.7 magnitude earthquake here tonight.  I have to tell you, as an earthquake veteran, being in an RV with airbags is definitely the place to be.

 

It took me a second, well actually Jim had to tell me, to realize what it was.

Short Travel Day and my DVR is Possessed

Today was a grueling 68 mile drive from Bordertown to Susanville.  If we'd been thinking better when we replanned these four days, we might have skipped Bordertown.  However, we're pretty tired, and it was good that yesterday wasn't longer than it was, especially with all of the up/down.  This is what it looked like on the road today.  It rained a little, but nothing spectacular.

 

 

 

Shortly after we arrived, the skies darkened, the wind came up and the temperature dropped precipitously.  At that point we were done with the utilities, so we ran inside expecting a downpour.  Nope, the weather kept going with very little rain, and then it was back to sun and broken clouds.
This bird is not a happy camper.   He was puffed up and looking unhappy.  Later, when Jim headed out to do laundry he attacked, twice.

 

Our satellite receiver/DVR is behaving badly.  We are supposed to be able to be able to tape two channels and watch one of the two that's being taped, or watch one and tape one.  This week, we've only been able to tape one and watch that same channel.  I called DISH and the kid on the phone didn't know anything.  First he told me I had to have two televisions (no), then he wanted to edit the Record Mode (only available in dual mode, I'm in single mode), then he decided that it must be a broken hard drive (doubtful).  So, they've shipped a new receiver/DVR.  Remove and replace is non-trivial.  It's a rat's nest of A/B switches up there because we kept the ability to use the carry out antenna as well as the one on the roof, the cabling to install a second TV in the bedroom, as well as view over the air and cable, and see different programming in the back of the bus and the front.  It's going to require professional installation, and so far the only people we know who can do the work are in southern California.  I am not happy about this.  Oh, and Dish wants the broken receiver in the mail in 10 days.  So far we can fix the problem by holding the reset button down for 10 seconds, but something bad is happening in there.  Grumpy I am about this.
Tomorrow we speak the the lawyer about what must be done next to close out May's estate.  After that we're hoping for a hike in the great outdoors.

Bishop to Bordertown Casino RV Park

Today's drive was Bishop to Bordertown, NV.  First, a route report.  When you leave Bishop, you will immediately climb 3,000 feet up to 7,000 feet.  Then the route will be up, down, up down.  Long steep grades.  Long twisty grades.  At one point I was making Jim crazy suggesting more application of braking.  But really, there were parts where it felt like we were hurtling to our deaths.  I think it's worse for the passenger.  It settles down by the time you reach Reno.  It's not a section of road where you will be making good time.
There is accessible diesel in Bridgeport at the Shell station, the pump island is off to the left.  There's not a truck plaza until you reach Bordertown, NV and it's sort of pitiful.

We stopped for lunch at the Gardnerville Walmart; it is very RV unfriendly.  Too many islands with plants.  I don't think we would go back in that parking lot.
We're at the Bordertown Casino RV park.  The interior roads are very narrow.  To get to our site we had to drive the perimeter of the park, and pass by a permanent resident whose car trailer sticks out into the road.  Between that and the decorative boulders, it's a tight squeeze.  The turn into the road to our site was very tight.  It's doubtful that we will return here.  It's doable, but nerve wracking.  Park internet is decent so that's a positive.  The sites are paved and fairly level.  A 45 foot Class A would have a hard time negotiating the turns with a toad. If you're in a shorter RV, this would be a good park in which to stay.

A Change to the Travel Plans

The build up to Mule Days in Bishop continues unabated.  Kmart has taken tents, folding tables and chairs, portable showers, grills and charcoal out to the parking lot.  We talked to the employee who is stationed out there, and she says they're selling much merchandise from that location.  And it's only Tuesday.

 

The Vons/Kmart parking lot is interesting.  They do not mind boondockers.  In fact, a large swath of the parking lot is lined out and marked as RV parking only.  This is an enormous Super C, towing a very big trailer.  We could hear his generator as we went by.

 

 

This, however, is my favorite.

 

Look at the roof, is that cool, or what?  You can't see it due to the glare, but on the nose of the bus they've painted "Peace On You".

 

The mules are rolling in to the fair grounds.  We saw one trotting around the oval track pulling a sulky.  I didn't know mules could do that.

 

Participants are rolling in to the park as well.  I love these old guys leaning on the pick up talking.

 

Travel plans have changed once again.  Up until this morning, we were heading out to Hat Creek in the Mt. Lassen area.  While looking at Trailer Life, I noticed that the park down the road from where we were going to stay has a "cellular booster."  A careful examination of the Verizon coverage map reveals that there is zippity doo-dah all coverage in Hat Creek.  White is the color of no coverage. The population is 302 people, so I guess they've decided it's not worth putting up a tower.
 

 

So, we're diverting to Susanville and Canyonville instead of Hat Creek.  Neither Jim nor I have ever dealt with the legal aftermath of someone's death.  We're talking to May's trust lawyer on Friday to be schooled on what we have to do and when it must be done.  I am really not looking forward to dealing with the Social Security Administration.  As I previously blogged, we requested an address change last April.  They promised to do so, and mail us a 2012 SSA1099 within ten business days.  To date, we have not received that document, which does make it difficult to file May's taxes for last year.  We also do not have death certificates yet because Washington is rolling out an electronic system.  Kitsap County has implemented it, unfortunately May's doctor has not registered for the system.  Until he does that, we can't get certificates.  The funeral home is working with him on this.
It's good to have Jim back in the RV.  I have limited internal resources, so having him around as a source of entertainment and company is a wondrous thing.  My hat is off to the ladies that RV by themselves, particularly the ones who boondock more often than not.  They truly have gumption.

Speaking of the return of Jim, here is how he arrived yesterday.

This is a Bombardier Q400.  It's a nice plane.  This is the Mammoth airport.  Night landings are not recommended, and flights may be cancelled due to cross winds.  See the wheel chairs?  They were bringing in disabled veterans to go skiing.  Yep, they're still skiing at Mammoth Lakes.

Highlands RV Park

While in Bishop we stayed at the Highlands RV Park on site 76.  We don't hate this park, but neither do we love it.  In no particular order, here is what I am thinking about it.
If you're in a 5th wheel, the placement of the power pedestal may compel you to unhook from the truck so that you can get the slides out without hitting the thing.  We watched one guy, who really did not want to unhitch, try 4 spots and then finally give up.  There was not a site that would allow him to stay hitched and get his slides out.   The other interference issue can be trees.  Some trees will force you either to the front or the back of the site.
The sites are narrow.  We can't park with all four tires on the pavement.   Our passenger side tires are 2 inches from the patio slab, and our big slide is almost into our neighbor's airspace. To dump, or get into the driver's side bays, I have to stand on their patio.
This is a 5th wheel on the left, and us on the right.  Notice how close their awning is to us.

 

Sites are fairly non-level.  Our passenger door is up in the air enough that we had to go buy a step stool for easy ingress and egress.  Many of the Class A's with jacks for leveling have ended up with their right front tires off the pavement.  We were able to level with air bags.
This park is right off of 395 and there is some traffic noise.  We've had worse, but when the young men and their motorcycles go ripping up the highway, you can really hear them.
The laundry room is fairly large, and it's only a dollar to wash and a dollar to dry.  It's well kept.
With the exception of the narrow asphalt strip, sites are decomposed volcanic debris and sand, and it sticks to your shoes.

Bishop itself is a very cute little town.  They sound the firehouse siren everyday at noon.  There are 3 or 4 hiking/climbing outfitter stores.  There is a Von's which is actually a Safeway.  It's not a terrible store.  It's next to the nicest K-Mart I've ever been in.  There is a Rite-Aid, but no Walmart or Walgreens.  There is an excellent visitor's center and they will give you maps and a list of things to see and do.
From Bishop north to Reno, it's very hilly which will negatively impact gas mileage.  We don't remember seeing any truck plazas, like Flying J or Pilot.  The Von's in Bishop does have diesel with a high canopy.  We are planning to buy diesel there before leaving.  
With the exception of the Buttermilk Country, all of your hiking opportunities are going to be at about 9,000 feet and up.  Mono Lake and the Bristle Cone Pines are about an hour away.  We didn't make it there this year, but I think we'll be back.  Mid-May is the earliest you want to arrive in Bishop due to snow on the hiking trails and on some of the passes.  If you want to stay over Memorial Day weekend, BOOK IN ADVANCE.  30,000 people descend upon this place for Mule Days.   We tried 2 months in advance but were denied. After reading about it, I'm kind of sorry we'll miss seeing mules doing barrel racing. 

May Passes On

May, Jim's Mom, died this morning in her sleep at 4:20.  It was a good death, there was an end to the pain and she was ready.
One of the interesting things about her is that we don't know how old she was.  She immigrated from Winnipeg as a child and was later naturalized.  Somehow, she ended up with two birth certificates, one for 1914 and one for 1917.  Jim was talking to the daughters of Winn, one of May's sisters, yesterday, and they said Winn always referred to May as "the baby."  May always referred to Winn as "the baby."  So, we just don't know.
This is Jim with May when he was little.

 

After the family moved to Washington, May worked as a teacher at a school for delinquent boys in what would later become Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island.  After leaving teaching, she sold real estate for John L. Scott.  This was taken in 1979.

 

Jim's Dad died in 2002.  We honestly didn't think May would last a year after his death.  But she did, the woman was a trouper.  She lived alone until just after Thanksgiving, 2011.  By that point all the cartilage in her right knee was gone, and driving was no longer an option.  Faced with choosing between live in help and assisted living, she chose the latter.  Here she is in Wyatt House at 98 (or 95).

 

May's memory got a little soft at the end, but she was the reigning Scrabble champ of Wyatt House.  Every day she did the crossword puzzle in the paper.  May had a good run, and she'll be missed.

The Buttermilks

Yesterday I felt really awful, and basically did nothing the entire day.  Today was better, so I drove out to Buttermilk Country.  It's an area of large boulders that used to be the home of many dairy farms.  The farms are gone due to the loss of water used to grow feed for the livestock.  Los Angeles now owns thousands of acres out there.  Speaking of LA, I read in the Mono Lake magazine (another lake destroyed by LA) that the city is now suing the Mammoth Lakes area stating that they have a "historical right" to all of Mammoth's surface water.  There's a lot of money in Mammoth, so hopefully they'll be able to fight this lawsuit off.  LA is just rapacious.
I got to the start of the four mile dirt road into the Buttermilks and chickened out.  Having no idea what would be up there, and if I would be able to turn around or whatever, I parked and went for a very long walk.  Today I printed out my new Good Sam Roadside assistance card, so tomorrow I will drive the road knowing that there is someone I can call should rescue become necessary. Apparently there are some striking boulder formations and people free climbing on them.  It will be something to while away some time.  This is one view out into the distance.

 

I would really like to know the story behind this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May (Jim's Mom) has declined somewhat since yesterday, but she is not happy that it's taking this long.  She wants her doctor to do something, but she's in the care of hospice now; and they have a fairly rigorous protocol of what they can and can not do.  Several people have been by to see her today and yesterday, so that has been good. 

Jim Leaves for Seattle

Oy!  It's been an eventful 24 hours.  Yesterday it became evident that Jim would have to go to the GPNW.  What was not clear was how quickly did he need to be there.  It's very difficult to get timeline information out of a doctor.  Ask a nurse, they know everything.
We immediately went in to text book hair on fire planning mode.  We decided to drive Jim to Reno today, he flies out Thursday.  On paper it looked like a good plan, what we didn't know is how damn long it takes to get there.  Lots of up and down, single lanes, stop lights and etc.  I ended up dropping him in Carson City, where he got in a taxi to take him in to Reno so that I could turn around and head back to Bishop.  It was taking way too long to get there, so that was the revised plan.  The second revision is that Jim changed his flight back to land in Mammoth which is 40 miles north of here.

It's a beautiful drive.  The scenery is spectacular.  This is a lake with cows and white birds.  I don't know what they were, they're big with black on the under sides of their wings.

It's unfortunate that this picture did not turn out better.  See the lumpy clouds on the bottom and off to the right?  Those are lenticular clouds, which indicate really high winds aloft.

Between Mammoth and Bishop southbound, there is an 8 mile 6% down grade.  I really would have liked to have had engine braking for that one.  The drive from Bishop to Reno next week in the bus is going to be long and slow, there is much up and much down.
Isn't that pretty?  I stopped at an overlook midway to gather my nerves and let the brakes cool off.

So, Jim is staying the night in Reno, he'll fly out on a non-stop in the morning which will get him into Seattle about noon. 
Jim's Mom has had enough suffering and has called in hospice.  They arrived today and will set about making her comfortable, which is something she hasn't been in a long time.  We don't really know what will happen next.  We do know that she's ready to go.

A Hike in the South Lake Basin

This is the drive out to South Lake in the Sierras.  More gorgeous scenery abounds everywhere we look.

 

According to the GPS, today's hike started at 9,034 feet.  My lungs would have to agree with that!  There is much trout fishing in the high mountain lakes.  If you look carefully you can see the wily trout in the water among the rocks. 

 

This is the dry part of South Lake.  There has been drought so it's really low.  The lake was formed by damming the middle fork of Bishop Creek, which was done both for hydro power and for the insatiable demands for water on the part of LA.

 

The upper part of the lake is looking a little better, but it's still very low.

This is our first creek crossing.  That would be snow on the right side of the photo.  I am happy to report that no one put their feet in the water.

 

The trail as it headed inexorably up.

 

This stream crossing defeated us.  On the other side of that boulder is water, with no stepping stones.  We were 90 minutes out and probably a thousand feet up at this point, so I was really happy with the idea of turning around and going back.

 

The winter damaged the bridge up to the parking areas.

 

It's down to one lane where the bridge is being rebuilt.

 

Looking down the hill on the way back in to town.  It's really steep, there's a 2 mile 8% and a couple of long 7% sections.

 

So that was today.  Ninety minutes up, 65 minutes down, approximately a thousand feet of gain starting at 9,000 feet.  I did pretty good, kept my heart rate under 130, but was definitely trudging faster than last week, and at higher elevation.

Cleaning the Bus, New Shoes and a Rant

Yesterday was the great disinfecting of the under coach storage. We found one more poop; but no mice.  I'm hoping we dodged a bullet on this.  A careful examination of the interior of the bus does not reveal any signs of mice.  We were happy to see that all of the areas where pipes and wires enter the floor of the RV are heavily spray foamed.
Based on what I've read elsewhere and a comment (thank you), we stopped by the local feed store (and how often can you say that) for a box of Fresh Cab.  It has a potent smell of balsam fir.  We put it in the utilities bay, which is where the mice can get in.  They can climb the sewer hose, and squeeze in past the outfall.  Anyway, while showering last night I was getting a very strong scent of trees.  The fans are pulling the scent in.  We had to put it outside.  Maybe after a couple of days of airing out we can bring it back in.  If not, we're going to tie it to the sewer hose.

 

A couple of hours of squatting down to take stuff out of the bays and then standing up, and then putting it all back did me in a bit.  So we went for a drive.  This is the local airport where they do not have fences around the planes.  That is rare these days.  Jim loves a good small airport.
This is a Bonanza V35, otherwise known as a doctor killer.  Jim reports it's a very nice plane to fly, but it's a handful in turbulence.

 

The one in the middle, farther away, is a glider.

 

We saw this sign on the way out to look at the train museum.  I have clipped the following text from Wikipedia. 

• U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honors an American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the US Highway system, running east-northeast from Bishop, CA to Pvovincetown, MA. Until 1964, it continued south from Bishop to Long Beach, CA and was a transcontinental route. After US Route 20, it is the second-longest U.S. highway in the United States and the longest continuous highway.

Who knew?

 

We also found a great outdoor clothing store on the main drag of Bishop, very similar to Summit Hut in Tucson.  They have hiking, camping and climbing stuff.  More importantly, they have a lot of shoes for women in my size. They're called Wilson's Eastside Sports.  If you are in the area, check them out.

And now, for a rant.  After the ablation, they put me on Xarelto for 30 days.  It's one of the new "novel" blood thinners that does not have an antidote.  With Warfarin, a bleed can be stopped, but with the new ones, you're out of luck.  So I called a pharmacist with the question: after the last pill, how long until it's out of my system?  They don't know.  What has happened to the profession of pharmacy?  When I was in toxicology, pharm students were like gods because their curriculum was so difficult.  My question is basic information.  Fortunately we have Wikipedia to tell us that the half life (time to expel half the drug) is 7 to 11 hours, and that the inhibition of factor Xa lasts for approximately 24 hours.  From this I infer that I can get on my bike 24 hours after the last dose.  None of this is on any of the industry web sites that I could find.  It's annoying.  Is it just me, or does it seem like most information for the public has been dumbed way down since the start of the use of the word wellness?

Today we're going to a Ben Franklin store to look for foam.  We're going to MacGyver a rat guard to keep the little woodland creatures from boarding the bus.

A Fly in the Ointment

We're in Bishop at the Highlands RV Park.  It's warm here and there was no wind to speak of.  Lone Pine is windy in the spring.  Maybe today was an aberration, time will tell.  
Today was an extremely aggravating day.  This is the clock on our built in convection microwave oven.  Do you see the bug on the left side, under the glass?  How does this happen? 

 

Then, while Jim was putting the grill away in the under coach storage, he noticed mouse poop on the pull out tray.  They're teeny tiny little poops from teeny tiny little mice.  We went out and bought sticky traps this afternoon which he has deployed.  Tomorrow morning, we're going to have to take everything out and look for nests, and babies, and more poop.  We don't see any signs of them being in the RV, so that's good.  I guess we're going to start a program of always having traps in the basement. 
So, there will be no pictures of hiking or beautiful scenery tomorrow, there will be rodent removal.

Boulder Creek RV Park

We like this park.  If you want to stay in Lone Pine, this is it unless you're inclined to boon dock out in the Alabama Hills.
The sites are reasonably level, they're not huge, but they're ok.  They have 30 and 50 amp, sewers and water.  If we come back to Owens Valley we would definitely stay here again.

 

 

 

There's an on site mini mart and a small laundromat.  The staff is very pleasant.  The surface in the park is a mix of sand and decomposed volcanic debris, and you can expect a fair amount of it to come in on your shoes.  We were on site 82.
If you're coming here, shop ahead!  There is one grocery store in Lone Pine, but selection is somewhat limited.

The Ashram

This morning we headed out towards the Ashram.  The skies were somewhat foreboding, but we decided to drive up to the parking place and then decide if we would launch.

 

I never get tired of this view.  I should really learn how to do stitch-assist and then we'd have a true panorama.

 

One drives up Granite View, and then off on to the unpaved Tuttle Creek Trail.  This is the first available place to park.  That's a Honda Odyssey in the background, so it gives you an idea of that the road to that point is not awful.

 

This is the parking lot at the end of the road.   A jeep could make it here for sure, but I don't think we could in the pickup.  It's about a 15-20 minute walk from the first parking place to it.  It's a steep road to get to here.  Then the trail takes off in to the trees.

 

Why is it that steep trails never photograph looking steep?  This trail is straight up.  Since I am restricted to no more than 130 bpm, there were places where I would take 10 steps and then pause.  Between altitude and steepness it's a strenuous hike.

 

Here is the Ashram as seen from the trail across the canyon.  We bailed at this point.  So, you wonder, what is the Ashram?
A full description of the building and its history can be found here.  The pictures and text are well worth looking at.  The short version is that in 1928 Franklin Wolff and his wife Sherifa became interested in transcendental philosophy and mysticism. Their belief that holy places were high places led them to build an Ashram at ~8,000 feet above the Owens Valley to serve as a camp and retreat.  The structure is a balanced cross and is about 2,000 square feet.  Really, click on the link at the beginning of the paragraph, it's worth the time.  Since we didn't make it up there, I found photos for you on this website.  I can't believe they hauled all this stuff up here!
From where we were standing, it looked like at least another half an hour to get across the creek and up there.  I did not think I had that much left in my legs.  It was a good decision, going back down was just a bear!

 

Owens Valley on the way down the hill.

 

We were glad we left when we did.  Weather continued to come in from the north, eventually bringing us rain.  Next time, we'll make it.

 

Tomorrow is our last day here.  We're going to do stuff like laundry, foraging for food and getting ready to go.  Saturday will be a grueling 60 mile drive to Bishop.