January | 2014 | Captain Nemo's Log

Bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva)

After leaving Greenville and the run with the bears adventure we took the eastern route south along 395 because my dad had expressed a desire to visit the ancient bristle cone pine forest. Since this was a great spot for some pictures I was enthusiastic about taking this route. We drove down towards Bishop where we spent the night, but on the way we made a couple of stops. First up we attempted to go to Bodie, but a huge fire in the area thwarted our attempt.

smoke on the horizon

So we continued on to Mono lake where we watched a storm heading our way

mono lake

and saw a couple deer

fawn

Incoming rain storm

So after stopping for the night it was up early in the morning to head up to the Bristlecone forest.

road up to the Bristlecone forest

After a brief stop at the visitor center I spotted a sign pointing to a trail to the Methusela tree so off I went. I probably should have read the trail description first. It was a 5 mile hike and at 11,000 feet that was quiet a hike! My Dad followed me and by the time we got back to the car we were both a little out of breath.

Dad at the top

bristlecone forest

After the mornings hike we stopped for lunch then it was on to Manzanar. I already wrote about this important site of a sad part of U.S history earlier but my Mom and Dad hadn’t been there so it was worth another visit.

old koi pond, Manzanar

view from Manzanar

Next up was a quick stop to walk around the other worldly landscape formed by lava flows at fossil falls.

lava at Fossil falls

Then it was time to head home, another great trip.

sunset on the high desert

Demon Baby

Last year when purchasing airline tickets to attend the International congress of speleology in Brno I found the cheapest fare was with Finaire this involved a lengthy layover in Helsinki on the way home, but why not? It was an opportunity to visit another country and city before heading home.
It turned out to be a pricey option as a single day of site seeing cost me almost as much as a week in Budapest but it was still worth it.

Two out of three giraffes approved of this message

2 out of three giraffes approved of this message

Where else would I find such a wonderful collection of art, history and bicycles? There were loads of bikes. Not sure what they do with them all in the winter, maybe they put skis on them ?

Anyway with so many friendly people and good food, Helsinki was a great place to visit.