Eastern Sierra Mountains
04-28-2015
Author: Blog Editor in Roadrunner History Buff
Last week, I left Durango, Colorado for a trip that has long been on my “bucket list”. For years, I have wanted to see Yosemite and the Oregon Coast. Arriving in mid-April, it was still too early to see Yosemite because the roads had not been opened and the Park was not yet staffed. I had arranged a KOA job in Walker, California to update their Guest Guide. So, this gave me time to orientate myself and learn about the local history.
It was a nine hundred mile trip from Durango, via Moab, Utah west on I70 to its end and the intersection of I15. Then, I followed the old US Highways 6 & 50 West until I crossed into California. Shortly, after the Agricultural Port of Entry, I took Highway 120 up a steep grade to a high mountain plateau. This highway is closed in the winter but due to the lack of snow this past year it was now open. Once on top, the scenery was beautiful and much to my liking. It was a welcome change after the bleak desert I had just crossed.
As I had been driving for fourteen hours, I decided to try to find a place to camp. The places where a large motor home pulling a vehicle can park are scare. However, I did find a road about 20 miles later that showed some promise. It was dirt but had been graded. I started down this road and then became concerned that I would not be able to turn around. Coming to a wide spot I attempted to get turned around but as my front wheel went on to the shoulder, it sank immediately up to the hub cap in soft sand; I was stuck. I unhooked my tow car and tried to back out of the sand, to no avail. I was now resigned to spending the night. It was 7:30PM and I had not seen another vehicle since I took this highway. I tried digging a couple more times and then tried rocking the motor home forward and backwards. Low and behold, I got out so I backed up the road a quarter of a mile to the highway. Here, I decided, would be a good place to spend the night, and so I did.
I was thankful to have avoided the hassle of getting a tow truck and having a beautiful place to camp. The next day I would continue on to my destination, Walker, California.
As I came down off the plateau, I intersected US Highway 395 which follows the Sierra Mountains on the Eastern side through the Owens and Antelope Valleys. The most famous destinations are Mammoth Ski Area and Yosemite National Park off this highway. My first little town after turning North on Highway 395 was one called Lee Vining. It had a beautiful view of Mono Lake.
Next, was the Bridgeport, County Seat for Mono County. It was a small, quaint little town, clean and surrounded by beautiful mountain pastures and with beautiful views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west. The historic Bridgeport Inn and the Court House were the most notable structures but a meat market provided me with a delicious smoked beef sandwich for lunch.
Continuing north and following the Walker River, it was thirty miles to Walker, my ultimate destination for this leg of the trip.
Walker is named after Captain Joe Walker. In 1833, he was one of the first to view Yosemite Valley and travel through the Owens Valley. Jedidiah S. Smith and his trappers visited the area about eight years earlier and found gold at the upper end of Mono Gulch. This discovery, however, was not the one that set off the California Gold rush many years later. Both Smith and Walker were from Independence Missouri.
Walker also discovered a pass that he is named after by James C. Freemont. It skirted the Sierra Mountains to the south and came out East of Bakersville, California. [i]
It was a nine hundred mile trip from Durango, via Moab, Utah west on I70 to its end and the intersection of I15. Then, I followed the old US Highways 6 & 50 West until I crossed into California. Shortly, after the Agricultural Port of Entry, I took Highway 120 up a steep grade to a high mountain plateau. This highway is closed in the winter but due to the lack of snow this past year it was now open. Once on top, the scenery was beautiful and much to my liking. It was a welcome change after the bleak desert I had just crossed.
As I had been driving for fourteen hours, I decided to try to find a place to camp. The places where a large motor home pulling a vehicle can park are scare. However, I did find a road about 20 miles later that showed some promise. It was dirt but had been graded. I started down this road and then became concerned that I would not be able to turn around. Coming to a wide spot I attempted to get turned around but as my front wheel went on to the shoulder, it sank immediately up to the hub cap in soft sand; I was stuck. I unhooked my tow car and tried to back out of the sand, to no avail. I was now resigned to spending the night. It was 7:30PM and I had not seen another vehicle since I took this highway. I tried digging a couple more times and then tried rocking the motor home forward and backwards. Low and behold, I got out so I backed up the road a quarter of a mile to the highway. Here, I decided, would be a good place to spend the night, and so I did.
I was thankful to have avoided the hassle of getting a tow truck and having a beautiful place to camp. The next day I would continue on to my destination, Walker, California.
As I came down off the plateau, I intersected US Highway 395 which follows the Sierra Mountains on the Eastern side through the Owens and Antelope Valleys. The most famous destinations are Mammoth Ski Area and Yosemite National Park off this highway. My first little town after turning North on Highway 395 was one called Lee Vining. It had a beautiful view of Mono Lake.
Next, was the Bridgeport, County Seat for Mono County. It was a small, quaint little town, clean and surrounded by beautiful mountain pastures and with beautiful views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west. The historic Bridgeport Inn and the Court House were the most notable structures but a meat market provided me with a delicious smoked beef sandwich for lunch.
Continuing north and following the Walker River, it was thirty miles to Walker, my ultimate destination for this leg of the trip.
Walker is named after Captain Joe Walker. In 1833, he was one of the first to view Yosemite Valley and travel through the Owens Valley. Jedidiah S. Smith and his trappers visited the area about eight years earlier and found gold at the upper end of Mono Gulch. This discovery, however, was not the one that set off the California Gold rush many years later. Both Smith and Walker were from Independence Missouri.
Walker also discovered a pass that he is named after by James C. Freemont. It skirted the Sierra Mountains to the south and came out East of Bakersville, California. [i]
[i] The Story of Inyo, W. A. Chalfant
About the Blogger: Victor Ray has had a love for travel and history since he was a small boy. Now he has found a way to combine the two, traveling in his motorhome with Raleigh, his pure bread Australian Shepherd. He shares his passions exploring the highways and byways in search of scenic, historic, unique and pristine places.
About the Blogger: Victor Ray has had a love for travel and history since he was a small boy. Now he has found a way to combine the two, traveling in his motorhome with Raleigh, his pure bread Australian Shepherd. He shares his passions exploring the highways and byways in search of scenic, historic, unique and pristine places.
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