Carol and I decided to run away from home to escape the chaos and frustration of the kitchen repairs. It's amazing how much damage was done by a small leak at the ice maker. It ruined the floor and damaged our kitchen cabinets. It should have been a simple repair, but the timing of the subcontractors, our purchase of a new dish washer, and ordering of flooring has made it pretty frustrating. We decided a few days in the Sierras would do wonders for us.
Since it was such a short trip, we decided to drive the Explorer and stay at the Best Western. We arrived in the late afternoon on Wednesday. We drove up into the Alabama Hills just in time for sunset. The sunset was nothing special, but after sunset, the clouds starting streaming across the valley and the sky lit with the afterglow. Because it was unexpected, it seemed even more striking.
We decided on Seasons for dinner. Little did we know it would be the best meal we had all year. Seasons is fine dining in a small town setting. It's not quite white linen dining, but the food is amazing. The staff is more the "warm and friendly type." Seasons seems to be best known for their steaks and sauces, but we chose the special of the day: salmon with apples and a maple sauce. Oh, my gosh. It was amazing.
The moon had already set when I got up for sunrise, but there were just enough clouds to make an interesting sunrise. I had researched the sunrise and moonset times, but they always assume sunrise and sunset at the horizon. The sun must climb above the White Mountains in the east, which are over 10,000 feet high, before we even see a sunrise. The sun and moon set behind the highest crest of the Sierras, which is over 13,000 feet. Through observations, we've determined that the sun and moon rise 40 minutes later and they set 60 minutes earlier than predicted. Today was the observation day.
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| First Light | Lone Pine Peak & the Alabama Hills |
Lone Pine Peak with the Alabama Hills in the foreground is still one of my favorite shots in the Sierras. Mt. Whitney had a few minutes of good light, but it was missing the snow usually found in February. The final stop for the morning was Mobius Arch. The lighting had already gone flat, but it's hard to pass up Mobius Arch when you're in the Alabama Hills. The good news was I had the arch all to myself.
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| Mt. Whitney | Mobius Arch |
We had read that a
BBQ place in Big Pine, CA, was named the best restaurant in America by Yelp. Of course, we had to check it out. It was 40 miles
each way, but worth every mile. While we were there, a TV crew from Los Angeles filmed a story on the restaurant, which we saw
later on the evening news. Six guys drove all the way from Fresno (remember all the Sierra passes are closed so they had to drive
south to get below the Sierras and then drive all the way back north to Big Pine). Another couple had driven down from Lake Tahoe.
Our 40 miles was nothing compared to the distances these people drove. One thing we all agreed on. It was worth every mile of driving.
The Copper Top BBQ is a smoker, a giant grill on wheels, and a few picnic tables out in front of what used to be a drive-in. But Hank
provides the magic with his secret rubs and perfect grilling. Our tri-tip sandwiches were fabulous! Truckers, skiers, locals, and
travelers all stopped for BBQ.
We returned to Seasons for dinner. Since we had such a big lunch, we decided to go light with the rainbow trout. Although it was done perfectly, we were spoiled from the previous night. We shared the dining room with some French executives wearing Crystal Geyser shirts. Crystal Geyser pipes water out of the Sierras and bottles it in a plant near Olancha. The weird thing is that Crystal Geyser is a subsidiary of a Japanese pharmaceutical company called Otsuka Holdings. Regardless, here is another example of a foreign company taking our resources for free (they only had to buy the land with the water rights), and then make huge profits while we're in the midst of an historic drought. And no one regulates how much water they take. I found a copy of the permits that were approved, and the amount of water they would take wasn't even included anywhere in the permit paperwork. Californians all have to cut water usage 20%, while these foreign companies (Nestle one of the other largest bottlers of California spring water is a French company) take the profits. I know small government is the watch word of the GOP, but if we don't wake up pretty soon, we'll wonder where "the good life went."
Even with a cloudless sky,
I decided to get up for sunrise on Thursday. The moon again set before sunrise, but I got a few images as it dropped behind the crest
just south of Mt. Whitney. I realized I wouldn't get the moonset over Mt. Whitney this trip. Even with a cloudless sky, it was a
beautiful morning, and I was glad I got up. It's fascinating to watch the sunrise hit the top of Lone Pine Peak and Mt. Whitney
first, and then slowly crawl down the mountains toward me until all the formations in the Alabama Hills are lit.
I drove over to Boot and Triple Arches to shoot in the warm morning light. Boot Arch is not only an interesting arch, but it also provides a foreground for images of Lone Pine Peak and Mt. Whitney. Triple Arch is only a few hundred yards away and provides a framed view of Mt. Whitney. It's almost as interesting from the opposite side where it looks more like the head of an evil insect with vicious pinchers. That's one of the things that makes the Alabama Hills interesting: your imagination is the only limitation on what you'll see in the rocks.
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| Boot Arch | Triple Arch | Triple Arch Monster |
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