Eastern Sierras and Reno

If you ever have the chance to drive Hwy 395 from Reno to LA take it.

The road is good, and the scenery is great anytime of year. The Sierras from the east is a beautiful dramatic steep wall of granite. The high desert runs right to the base of forest topped granite walls. The area has also remained largely undeveloped and looks just like it did on the opening credits of “Then Came Bronson”.

We made a quick overnight stop at Keough Hot Springs before attempting the higher passes between Bishop and Reno. They have a few camping spots and the water in the large pools was very warm, but it could have been a little hotter for Mary. They did have a neat hot water spray over the main pool that was like a warm heavy rain.

In Bishop we stopped at the famous Schatt’s Bakery and loaded up on fresh bread and other goodies. After Bishop the road rises up to over 8000 feet and the snowy peaks were fantastic. We also drove through areas were the snow came right down to the road. The visitor center at Mono Lake was closed, but we spent a little time looking at the lake and enjoying the view.

It was a lot of fun visiting with my sister Margie and her family in Reno. My brother Tim from Auburn, CA even made a trip over the pass to visit with everyone for a couple of days. We stayed in the RV park at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino and we were delighted to see that they were hosting a dog show this week. The RV next to us had five giant mastiffs and two boston terriers, and there were dogs walking around everywhere.

We had planned to leave Reno today, but due to snow and high winds in the passes, we stayed for one more day. The front brought the temps down and it is pretty cold, in the low 40s mid-day. The weather should be better tomorrow for our drive through the Sierras to Oregon.