Marsha/CA
Moderator Emeritus
Moseying #395 in California
On October 6th, we left Kernville, Ca and headed toward Bridgeport, Ca about 265 miles north. Our plans were to see the Fall colors, do some sightseeing and of course some fall fishing. We got a fairly early start for us and arrived in Bishop, CA around 1 pm with warning signs lighting up the road side. Because of a recent cold fall storm, all passes were closed and travelers heading north should be prepared to put on chains. Well, Tim and I don?t do chains. As we were getting fuel I called the California Highway department to confirm the chain issue and they advised everything was clear, so off we went. It was about 80 miles to Bridgeport, a small little community in the middle of nowhere; but we had to go over a 8-9000? pass at the Mammoth Lakes area. Snow was everywhere, very beautiful and the roads were clear. We usually tow a Hyundai Tucson; but decided to take our Chevy diesel 2500 4 wheel drive truck instead which is not rigged to tow. I drove the truck, Tim drove the coach.
Bridgeport Marina and RV is just south of Bridgeport on the Bridgeport Reservoir. They have 50 amp service with full hookups, satellite friendly and an area for Charlie, our 3 year old standard poodle, to run and play. He even had access to the beach on the shoreline?..he was a happy dog! This reservoir is an outlet for the East Walker River which is noted for excellent fishing, especially this time of year.
The weather was unusually cold with the temps in the mid-20s at night and 50s during the day and the mountains all around us were covered in snow. However it was sunny, so felt much warmer. The first day we settled in, then explored areas of the walker river to fly fish. It has limited access with thick wild roses and brush near the banks; but once you get in, it?s fairly easy wading. We hit the local fly shop where they recommended using ?streamers?. We spent a couple of days sliding ourselves down the embankment into the river and caught a few fish. Tim got a couple of 10-12? trout, I caught some little ones and accidently snagged a nice size rainbow with the bottom ?copper john? on a nymph rig. A nymph rig is where you have one ?fly? on the line then tie a second ?fly? further down. Often you put a ?bubble? or yarn above the flies as an indicator so that you can tell if you?ve had a strike or not, because the flies are below water line. I also tried the streamers in the reservoir, not only right in front of our coach; but at the dam where apparently everyone else was catching fish except me. We had fun; but it was not as productive as we had hoped.
While in the area we took time to visit Bodie Ghost Town, an abandoned gold mining town that used to be home to over 9000 people. It was fun to walk around seeing old buildings, homes, school house, brothels and hotels as well as common meeting halls. The weather was about 45 degrees, windy and cloudy; but we bundled up, took the fluffy dog with us, and had a great time.
On the way home, we stopped at an eclectic restaurant across from Willow Creek Campground, and had dinner. A woman who was dining alone asked us to share her bottle of wine. After talking with her we found she was related to a neighbor of ours who lives down the street?..what?s that saying: ?6 degrees of separation?.
We had so much fun at the campground and the area that we extended our stay for a total of 7 nights instead of the 4 we originally planned. By the time we left and headed back south toward Lake Crowley most of the snow had melted and it was beginning to warm up. We had breakfast in the historic hotel in Bridgeport?.excellent!! We drove over Tioga Pass at 9500? elevation and spent the day in Yosemite National Park. At Yosemite, we encountered a bus load of tourist from Korea who had never seen a standard poodle before. It was a riot with them taking so many pictures. Of course, Charlie thought it was great fun.
The last full day we were in Bridgeport we drove down to Mono Lake in Lee Vining and went through the Mono Lake Visitors Center; then drove down to the South Tufa Mono Lake area. Tufas are calcium carbonate formations and are created by fresh water streams flowing into the salty lake of Mono. In the Spring millions of brine shrimp exist in Mono Lake and it?s a haven for a wide variety of birds.
Next we head to Lake Crowley to meet up with our son and his family.
On October 6th, we left Kernville, Ca and headed toward Bridgeport, Ca about 265 miles north. Our plans were to see the Fall colors, do some sightseeing and of course some fall fishing. We got a fairly early start for us and arrived in Bishop, CA around 1 pm with warning signs lighting up the road side. Because of a recent cold fall storm, all passes were closed and travelers heading north should be prepared to put on chains. Well, Tim and I don?t do chains. As we were getting fuel I called the California Highway department to confirm the chain issue and they advised everything was clear, so off we went. It was about 80 miles to Bridgeport, a small little community in the middle of nowhere; but we had to go over a 8-9000? pass at the Mammoth Lakes area. Snow was everywhere, very beautiful and the roads were clear. We usually tow a Hyundai Tucson; but decided to take our Chevy diesel 2500 4 wheel drive truck instead which is not rigged to tow. I drove the truck, Tim drove the coach.
Bridgeport Marina and RV is just south of Bridgeport on the Bridgeport Reservoir. They have 50 amp service with full hookups, satellite friendly and an area for Charlie, our 3 year old standard poodle, to run and play. He even had access to the beach on the shoreline?..he was a happy dog! This reservoir is an outlet for the East Walker River which is noted for excellent fishing, especially this time of year.
The weather was unusually cold with the temps in the mid-20s at night and 50s during the day and the mountains all around us were covered in snow. However it was sunny, so felt much warmer. The first day we settled in, then explored areas of the walker river to fly fish. It has limited access with thick wild roses and brush near the banks; but once you get in, it?s fairly easy wading. We hit the local fly shop where they recommended using ?streamers?. We spent a couple of days sliding ourselves down the embankment into the river and caught a few fish. Tim got a couple of 10-12? trout, I caught some little ones and accidently snagged a nice size rainbow with the bottom ?copper john? on a nymph rig. A nymph rig is where you have one ?fly? on the line then tie a second ?fly? further down. Often you put a ?bubble? or yarn above the flies as an indicator so that you can tell if you?ve had a strike or not, because the flies are below water line. I also tried the streamers in the reservoir, not only right in front of our coach; but at the dam where apparently everyone else was catching fish except me. We had fun; but it was not as productive as we had hoped.
While in the area we took time to visit Bodie Ghost Town, an abandoned gold mining town that used to be home to over 9000 people. It was fun to walk around seeing old buildings, homes, school house, brothels and hotels as well as common meeting halls. The weather was about 45 degrees, windy and cloudy; but we bundled up, took the fluffy dog with us, and had a great time.
On the way home, we stopped at an eclectic restaurant across from Willow Creek Campground, and had dinner. A woman who was dining alone asked us to share her bottle of wine. After talking with her we found she was related to a neighbor of ours who lives down the street?..what?s that saying: ?6 degrees of separation?.
We had so much fun at the campground and the area that we extended our stay for a total of 7 nights instead of the 4 we originally planned. By the time we left and headed back south toward Lake Crowley most of the snow had melted and it was beginning to warm up. We had breakfast in the historic hotel in Bridgeport?.excellent!! We drove over Tioga Pass at 9500? elevation and spent the day in Yosemite National Park. At Yosemite, we encountered a bus load of tourist from Korea who had never seen a standard poodle before. It was a riot with them taking so many pictures. Of course, Charlie thought it was great fun.
The last full day we were in Bridgeport we drove down to Mono Lake in Lee Vining and went through the Mono Lake Visitors Center; then drove down to the South Tufa Mono Lake area. Tufas are calcium carbonate formations and are created by fresh water streams flowing into the salty lake of Mono. In the Spring millions of brine shrimp exist in Mono Lake and it?s a haven for a wide variety of birds.
Next we head to Lake Crowley to meet up with our son and his family.
