Recent Vacations

Owens Valley, route 395 north

The journey is more important than the destination.

In early August, we took a two-night trip driving up route 395 through the Owens Valley, which has some of some of the most beautiful scenery we know. We find it quiet and restorative to wander through the vast and spectacular geology, where people and towns are few and far between, but you are almost never without at gorgeous view.

Sierra Nevada, view from Westgard Pass

Tule elk and Inyo Mountains at sunset

From the Owens Valley, all of the following can be found within a 100-mile radius:
The deepest valley in North America (Owens Valley)
The highest point in the lower 48 states (Mount Whitney)
The lowest point in the Western Hemisphere (Death Valley)
The oldest living things on earth (Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest)
The largest living things on earth (Giant Sequoias)

Volcano cone and Sierra Nevada, Owens Valley

Mono Lake tufa and Sierra Nevada

Tufa at Mono Lake.

White Mountain Peak, view at 11,500 feet

Bristlecone pine, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains

Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

Additional photos from the trip to follow, in the near future.