Wrapping Up Our Time in Lone Pine - Leaving the Sierras for Now

Nine days went by too fast, and if there weren't a wedding and a grandbaby to get to, we'd have extended our time here. 

Wednesday is another attempt at locating fish. Which means we find some more really awesome boulders and views and dirt roads....but no fish. I suggest we go look for rocks and see if fish show up.......

I lost my lens cap and thought maybe it was when we were at Eric and Laurel's campsite, so we start the day at Tuttle Creek Campground. No lens cap, and although there's water in the creek, it is too narrow, and moving too fast for fishing. The trees and brush are really thick as well. Since Bill left the machete in his other pants, there is no way to access the water.

From there we head east where the map looks like the creek is wider near Tuttle Creek Road. Maybe, but it's on private property :-( .

However the road itself is a wonderful surprise, curving tightly through steep cliffs of boulders. Unlike other areas in the Alabama Hills, this is a long, narrow canyon with rock formations on both sides. There's even a rock with a door in it. 

The door is no longer there, just a concrete frame and large chain - and little ghosts flying around the opening

The interior isn't dug out - it is a solid two-chambered rock "flow" of some kind - only goes back about  20 feet

I'm melting.....

Mountains of rock, not rock mountains - see, totally different!

The road takes us back to town, but we're not ready to go home, so we head north for Hogback Creek. We're nothing if not optimistic.

Green (for a desert), but no water

The abundance of greenery indicates water, but it's underground and the creek bed is dry. The Sierras look amazing with some cloud cover - looks like it's snowing up there - so we continue until we pick up Movie Road again.

Saving some Alabama Hills dirt for "later"

Another stop at our favorite Lone Pine restaurant, The Alabama Hills Cafe, for a late lunch, and we make our way home.

We join Dave and Sue at John and Pam's lovely (very!) home for our last happy hour (until our paths cross this winter), once again enjoying lively conversation and delicious hors d'oeuvres with these wonderful new friends.

Thursday the wind blows hard all day so we stay in and get things ready for travel day. Bill loads the "goes-in-the-Jeep" stuff, and after football we say good-night to Lone Pine - for this time.