Day 5 Thursday June 7th 2007 |
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Lasso A Latte: Step right up, get ya a handsome open minded intelligent, liberal, feeling and fun man. Good title for a personal ad? This is the way I started my 5th Day on the road outside of Chico, CA in Gridley. |
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Tunnel Near Lincoln, CA |
AmericanRiver Gorge |
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American River Gorge |
Near Garden City |
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After drinking my latte, I headed towards Gold Country. Went through a tunnel near Lincoln, CA, visited the American River gorge between Auburn and Placerville, and spotted a gold mining store in Placerville. It seems there was still gold out there to find. And it also seems they had a piece of equipment no matter how much money you wanted to spend. I asked for a mineral and gemstone map and found an area nearby that I could go hunt gems. The map showed an area that had Garnets and other gem stones and minerals in an area near Garden Valley, CA. I stopped and looked. I think I found some Jade there, still havent identified the rocks yet, it was a nice diversion with gorgeous scenery nonetheless. After the rock hunting, I headed towards Llake Tahoe. Stopping at waterfalls, jutting rock formations, and vistas of snow capped mountains and fir tree lined byways. I stopped in South Lake Ttahoe to take in the scenery and fresh air from the Sierras. After my brief stopover, I quickly sped through the richie rich casino lined streets of the Nevada side dodging BMWs and Jaguars full of rich blonde headed college girls, not my interest. Places I missed: Marshall Gold Discovery State Park, |
A waterfall on the 50 |
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A jutting rock near Myers, CA |
Sierras Near Tahoe |
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Lake Tahoe |
Lake Tahoe (up close) |
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Carson Valley, NV |
East Peak |
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Sierras From Carson Valley |
Topaz Lake |
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Heading down the Kingsberry grade I emerged into the heart of the Carson valley. I couldn't help but think of Haus, Little Joe and the rest of the Cartwrights on Bonanza as I took in the lush green and brown patchwork of farms and ranches 4000 feet below. I headed south as the afternoon waned and with the backdrop of the 10000 foot peaks of the Sierra backbone the sun disappears early. soon I arrived at Topaz Lake. This was truly a gem in the desert and marker for the end of my short path through Nevada. It was the first time i had actually been anywhere in nevada outside of the airport in Las Vegas. As I passed through the town of Topaz Lake I saw a semi trailer that had taken a spill parked near a gas station/ resteraunt. All of the sheet metal was ripped to shreds, the frame was distorted and truly amazing was a road sign stuck to the side of the trailer. I couldn't fight the impulse to take a picture of this amazing if not unfortunate result of highway disaster. Things I missed: Grover Hot Springs |
DAMN! |
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Antelope Valley |
Antelope Valley |
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The beautiful desert scenery was an afternoon delight of the eastern Sierras. As I headed South on the 395. Around every corner was a new and exciting vista. Truly one of the more enjoyable drives of this trip. As I passed near Devil's Gate just to the North of Bridgeport, CA, The sun was tinging the clouds and snow capped mountain tops with just a touch of pink and red. Many people pulled off the side of the road to observe and take pictures of the painting in the sky. |
Walker River |
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Sierras North of Bridgeport, CA |
Sierras North of Bridgeport, CA |
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| Sunset on Sierras | Sunset Sky |
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I then arrived at travertine hot springs as the sun had set but twilight still lit up the world. The springs bubbling forth from a ridge of multicolored travertine rock covered with clay were not only gorgeous to see, but provided a wonderful relaxing place to enjoy the fading sunset. There was a pool that was almost too hot to get into, JUST RIGHT, finally I had found the holy grail of Hot Springs. I was alone and the grooves in the clay had channeled the water perfectly so I took my clothes off and soaked my cares, worries and stress away. The weight of my failure with my girlfriend, and how she made me feel, and the worry and frustrations of not being able to communicate with her melted away in a matter of minutes. Everytime I shifted my weight a different joint in my back, or hips or neck would crack into place. I rubbed my sore shoulder on a rock that jutted out of the side of the pool and combined with the heat the knot melted away.
After over an hour in the pools switching between a cooler one and the hot one, I realized that i was hungry. I headed into the town of bridgeport very near by and ate a hamburger at the Sportsmen's Inn. The Kitchen equipment while clean and sparkly looked like it came from a Leave it to Beaver Episode and had probably been there since. The Hamburger was one of the best i had ever had, juicy, flavorful and just totally yummy. The waitress looked at me just staring off into space with galzed over eyes and asked if I was alright. I told her that "i have finally found what UNWOUND truly means". I next headed south to the Mono Lake area to look for some hot springs in the Hot Creek area. This area houses numerous hot springs. I found one of them and it was totally dark. there were 2 carloads of Mexicans who were sitting in their car listening to loud music with the windows up. I wasn't sure what they were doing but i didnt want to be involved. I tried to no avail to find more in the dark of the night but was unable to follow the maps and directions without some landmarks to help along. I found my way out of the dirt roads of hot creek and headed south towards Bishop, where i slept in my truck in a Kmart parking lot with half a dozen other vehicles who had the exact same idea. I am sorry that I missed Mono Lake, Bodie Ghost Town, Mammoth Lakes during the day. perhaps a future trip?
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Travertine Hot Springs |
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Sportmen's Inn, Best Hamburger |
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All in All, it was a wonderful day, filled with fun, beauty, and education covering 375 miles in 10 hours. |
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This page and photos are property of Scott Bledsoe who may be contacted by email at flacan_2000 at yahoo.com |
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