On the Road Again

First blog post in over two months!  I haven't been doing much traveling.  There were some old, unblogged pix in the database before I started my current trip.  Back in May these flowers bloomed gaudily at the 29 Palms Inn, where I spent a couple enjoyable days on my way home from the snowy Rockies.

On the last night of my May trip I stayed at a comfy place in/on Morro Bay.  This pic was shot early the next morning.

The signature stacks, photographed in amazing light.  No photoshop used...just a little underexposure.

Went to The City in June and naturally did some street hiking with Suz before seeing Steven Wilson.  Good morning light for the B of A building.

The Warriors were in the NBA finals at the time of my visit to SF and Warriors flags were everywhere.  Golden State is the one Bay Area team everyone pulls for.  The Giants and Niners have their fan bases in the North Bay and on the Peninsula.  The A's and Raiders are East Bay teams.  The Sharks are mainly followed by South Bay techies.  But everyone in the Bay Area, from Gilroy to Healdsburg, barracks for the Warriors.  And, of course, they won!

Didn't have to go far to find this great sunset.  It unfolded above my deck at home!

Now we're up to my current trip.  A shot of Tenaya Lake, nestled among granite domes.  A favorite spot of mine for 38 years.

The Lizards visited Tuolumne Meadows.

Yosemite's granite high country lends itself to abstract art. 

Crossed a good chunk of Nevada today.  Didn't see any cities...or clouds.  It occurred to me that Nevada is basically Reno, Vegas, and a whole lot of boondocks.

The countryside was surprisingly green in many areas, unlike my home turf in Monterey.  There have been monsoonal thunderstorms in Nevada this summer, more than in California to the west.

The ruins of the Overland Stage Line office on US 50 in central Nevada.  In the middle of the 19th century this place serviced stagecoaches, pony express riders, and anyone else who happened to come by.  Living conditions were harsh.  Water was scarce, and obtaining it often required a fairly long walk.  Even when complete, the buildings here had only a fireplace or two for heat during the cold winters.  Food was basic...eaten for survival rather than enjoyment.  Indians attacked occasionally and killed a number of men stationed at such outposts.  Loneliness and boredom were the daily routine while waiting for stages and riders.  In 1861 the telegraph line was built through here, making the pony express obsolete.  In 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed, dooming the stage lines.  Instead of paying a couple thousand dollars or more in today's funds to ride a bone rattling stage through dangerous country for several weeks, folks could zoom from Omaha to Sacramento in one week, and do it more comfortably, safely, and cheaply, thanks to the railroad.

The Lander county courthouse in Austin, Nevada.  Once a booming mining town, Austin today is eking out a living on tourism.

Just west of Elko, there is a fine new California Trail Discovery Center.  In murals, exhibits, plaques, films, and dioramas, the center expertly depicts life along the trail during its heyday, from 1841 to 1869.  During that period hundreds of thousands of settlers headed west to make new lives in Cali.  They battled harsh weather, hunger, thirst, and just plain horrible conditions.  Five percent of them died making the trip...the percentage of animals that died was much greater.  Included in the group was the Donner party, which is chronicled in depth here.  Back in these days, there were a few traveling animal shows in the US that featured elephants, highly exotic critters in the mid 19th century.  They were said to be so amazing as to be beyond description.  And so were the sights, hardships, and adventures to be experienced in the west.  A pioneer who had been through most of what the country could throw at him was said to have "seen the elephant".  This statue commemorates that saying.