September 26, 2014---Big Pine to the Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California

While in the the Big Pine area, we visited the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Visitor Center.  Bristlecone Pines are the oldest living things on earth.  Some are over 4,000 years old and still growing.  There was some very interesting information at the Visitor Center.

There were several walking trails, but we didn’t attempt any of them.  At elevation of over 10,000, Bill wasn’t feeling 100% and I wasn’t sure about walking the trails.  These trees have been studied for many years and there was an interesting film about them.

The road to and from the Center was not for the motorhome.  We were glad we had the CRV.  Coming down the road, we stopped at a lookout place.  The switch backs looked like pictures from the Swiss Alps.

As we went around one of the many, many curves, we saw a woman walking.  We stopped and talked to her.  She and her husband had been way back in the forest gathering pine nuts.  They had a flat and couldn’t get the tire off to change it.  She was going for help.  We asked if she wanted a ride.  She was very glad we offered help.  Eight other vehicles had passed by, including two from the Forest Service. 

In all of the years of driving all over the country, we have never picked anyone up.  We both thought it seemed like the right thing to do.  She had lived in the Bishop area all her life and knew some interesting things about this part of California.

This morning we left the campground in Big Pine and were headed south at 7:30.  The wind was calm then.  We decided to go on into Lone Pine and park in the Alabama Hills.  It is one of our favorite places to park for a few days.

By the time we got to Lone Pine and turned west, the wind was beginning to blow and Bill was hanging on to the steering wheel.  We parked the same place as last year.  It wasn’t very long before the wind was blowing from the east.  We were very glad to be off the road.

There are quite a few new geocaches in the area so I spent some time getting everything ready for some “hunting.”  One of them is hidden in a rock formation about 40 ft. from the MH.  We watched a guy search for it this afternoon.  If the wind isn’t blowing so hard tomorrow, we will claim it, too.