California Roadtrip
The Camino de Santiago, now that was a trip! Through Spain’s incredible landscapes, seasonal snow in the Pyrenees, across the sensual green hills of La Rioja, through the sere desert beauty of the Meseta to reach the iconic personality city of Santiago. Truly impressive. Easy to exalt. But who has a month and a trans-oceanic plane ticket? I had a long weekend and my lady’s car. Doomed to mundanity? Hardly.
Interstate 80 took my lady, her visiting friend, and me from the Bay Area up through the Central Valley’s delta loam to reach the mountains, where snow began to fall and six seconds after I finished putting chains on the tires, before I’d gotten back in the car, they closed the road. But it was merely humans being humans, not weather being weather, so once the accident was cleared we were on our way through pine needle opulence, where drifts didn’t wait to accumulate but blew in wind curtains with ballet grace.
On highway 395 the slower pace of the chains left us rumbling and reverent in white-out wilderness until one of those moments when it all just comes together. The right music, the right place, and the right people, they all rose to a crescendo through the pass that opened up to Mono Lake laking about below us as the hills bowed down to geography. My hands holding the wheel felt clasped in prayer.
This joins Mono Lake in a moment. Just a quiet Friday morning.
The single waitress in the single diner brought us plates with lots of beige, and I managed to keep most of my smile internal when yes, she called us “hon.”
The next day belonged to more 395 pavement, lining its way through the mountain majesty of Mammoth Lakes, and half an hour took us from the white-out snow of winter into the perpetual summer of the desert not far from Death Valley. Rocks like knuckles, burger patties, eyeballs, cave trolls, it was an abundance of stones and earth bones, and we spent the weekend scampering.
Tripmates, trail mix, and laughter. Life is good.
But Sunday dawned with a reluctant admission of Monday plane tickets and work schedules, so we trickled the river down through Kern Canyon’s rapids and S curves back to the Central Valley, to roll again through agriculture and Americana. Home to this iconic personality city that people cross oceans to visit.
Back on the Camino in Spain, I envied a Basque man who began his pilgrimage from his front door. He’s not the only blessed one. With my lady and friend beside me, spectacular landscapes all around and underfoot, clean air and open spaces outside, clean smiles and warm spaces within, I wouldn’t trade lives for anything. I am a grateful man.
Last year, in MID-MAY, the only place I could cross the Sierras to get to Lee Vining was Carson Pass (which required about a 400-mile detour compared to the closed Tioga Pass…and all of the other passes between Tioga and Carson, which were also closed).
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Ouch! We were afraid we’d have to do something like that. And that was in mid-May?!? Yikes. I hope your stay at Mono was worth the miles!
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Last year was near record snowfall in the Sierras, so I knew that all the passes south of Carson would be closed when I was there. (Tioga didn’t open until right around the end of June, I believe.)
It was definitely worthwhile to hit the Eastern Sierra for a few days, even though a lot of places were inaccessible due to deep snow. Here’s a link to some of the images from Mono Lake:
http://www.lightscapesphotography.com/p393211299
I also photographed around the June Lake Loop, which was completely open, and a few other spots in and around the eastern foothills.
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Those are gorgeous shots! Ugh, now I’m regretting not spending more time there and seeing more of the lake. Oh well, I’ll just have to go back!
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It’s certainly a good excuse to go back.
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I love the first and last photograph, as they make me want to grab my boots and start walking. No matter the destination.
“My hands holding the wheel felt clasped in prayer.” – What a beautiful image! Sometimes trips can feel like extended prayers, even when they are short, or perhaps, because they are short.
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Thank you Jolandi! They were beautiful areas, and I’m incredibly grateful to have gotten to swing through, even if only for a short while. And that’s interesting… I think you’re right, there is perhaps a special tantalizing beauty to places that we only get to witness briefly. Gratitude for that! (And for the longer stays. I hope Portugal is going well for you!)
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We are currently in Portugal, busy clearing some of the land, and trying to get a little house done for us to come and stay for longer visits, until we can move here. I will soon have a post on that. And hopefully one day we can host people (including blogger friends) here. For now, I guess cyber space will have to be a place for forging those interesting connections.
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My lady and I are planning on spending a couple weeks in Portugal this summer. I’d welcome your recommendations if you have any. Good luck with the clearing and construction!
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The clearing-part didn’t go too badly for two city slickers, even though our bodies complained! And so I find myself in Lisbon at the moment, halfway through two weeks of Portuguese lessons.
What a lovely, compact city. I am grateful it is built on seven hills, as I need those daily walks to work off all the bread that I am eating here. The bread alone is reason enough to move to this country! 🙂 I am rather shocked at the amount of tourists here, and cringe to think what it would be like in summer, but I think you are familiar with what European cities are like in summer.
Have you ever been to Lisbon? I think where one stays will make a big difference of one’s experience of the city. I am staying in a studio apartment in Madragoa, and love the fact that it is old, but not touristy (despite it being central), although most tourists seem to frequent certain streets, and walking just one street up or down can be a good tactic to avoid the masses. I am amazed at the amount of cafes, and restaurants, and depending where you are a coffee can be anything between 1.20 and 3.20 euros.
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As I am still getting to know the country myself, my tips are fairly limited at the moment, but Coimbra, the Serra de Estrela, and Monsanto in Beira Baixa, are all places to have a look at.
My language teacher, at the end of each lesson, shows us a short video of a different part of Portugal, and the beauty of this small country is simply astounding.
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Excellent, thank you for those tips! I only have about two more weeks before I’m eaten by work, so we need to start planning! I’ll give them a gander.
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This sounds wonderful
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It was great! On the one hand I felt guilty for all the gasoline burned, but on the other…roadtrip through gorgeous scenery!
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I love your photography.Inspires me to be more aesthetic with my blog.keep going!
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Thank you for your kind words! I liked your blog as well (and no need to apologize for switching tone, it’s your space to do with as you will!)
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Love your pictures! Looks like you had a great time on your road trip. I’ll follow your blog. Can’t wait to read more about your experiences. I write about outdoors myself. Feel free to check out my latest post about a girls road trip 🙂
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The right music for a roadie is so important! Do you have a playlist for road trips?
We are on a trip to India 🏍 and always keen for good music! Check it out!
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I don’t have a proper list, no, and I need one! I’m always looking for the sort of feelgood songs that everyone knows the words to. My latest addition to that list is Paul Simon. Do you have any recommendations?
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Buen Camino!
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Gracias e igualmente!
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Thanks for sharing!!! I love it! Amazing!!!
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