June 14th and 15th

Day 14

After having some breakfast at the Sierra Lodge I made a quick stop at the post office and sent a few items back to Weed to lighten the weight a little bit.  Next I made a stop at the Mammoth Visitor Center and got a nice map and some great advise on the days route.  Other than one big hill and a couple small ones the rest of the day was downhill which was very nice!  I rode on a frontage road which took me off of the noisy highway and ended up in a small town named Tom's Place.  I stopped for a tasty tuna melt at the cafe and then proceeded on to another side road that led me through some beautiful country.  I took a nice break at the top of the big hill and then got to ride down a HUGE downhill section that was a whole lot of fun!  I passed through a place called Paradise Estates which had some pretty incredible houses.  At the bottom of the hill I saw my first roadrunner.  Roadrunners are quick enough to catch and eat rattlesnakes and can run up to 17 mph!  Temperatures reached the upper 90's and shade was minimal but I eventually came to a nice park and found a sprinkler to go stand in and cool off, felt great.  After arriving to the town of Bishop I set up camp at an rv park and then got dinner at Bar B-Q Bills.  Went back to the campsite and watched the almost full moon rise over the mountains.

Excellent Visitor Center

Getting some shade

You can tell where the water is

Found a cactus

Taking donations all Summer for Make-A-Wish ( click on the link )

Couldn't get a picture of the one I saw but this is what it looked like!

Shade and water!

Campground entrance

My kind of fishing

Day 15

Not sure how to describe today other than very challenging!  It was around 100 degrees all day with very strong headwinds and a 60 mile ride with no shade.  Pretty much impossible to keep water from getting HOT instantly.  After a long day of riding I eventually made it to the town of Lone Pine.  The Dow Villa Motel was very kind to donate me a room for the evening.  Thanks Dow Villa!!!  After getting checked in, showered, and drinking a gallon of cold water I took a walk around town.  It is a very interesting town near the base of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48.  Lone Pine is also the home to many films including Tremors, Tycoon, Maverick, and many many more.  I sat on a bench and watched the full moon rise and am now back in the room doing this blog update.  Time to get some sleep, happy I finally got caught up to date on the blog.  Until next time, happy trails!

http://www.dowvillamotel.com/

The Roosevelt Tree