Leaving September 13, for 19 days, our first stop is Sugar Pine Point SP at Tahoe. I had made reservations for two nights, then from there, we were taking our chances for the rest of the trip. When we arrived, the entrance station was closed, and after getting water we set up, hoped on our bikes and cruised the campground. Next morning we headed to the entrance station to check in and found out that the group camp was off the reservation system and if we wanted to extend our stay without reservations we could, so we moved out of our site over to the group sites and paid for three more nights. We kayaked, rode bikes, hiked, went on a night hike and celebrated 46 years, and the weather was perfect.
(6.5 miles rt)
Leaving Tahoe was hard, but our ultimate destination was Alabama Hills, and we knew the scenery would be gorgeous along the way. Next stop was the cutest little campground called Hope Valley. We arrived early afternoon and easily got a spot in this 18 sites campground. Most of the eastern Sierra’s are starting to close their campgrounds due to winter coming. Once we settled we drove up to the Blue Lakes area to check it out for future camping.
After we left Hope Valley we headed to Grover Hot Springs to see if we could get a site. Upon arrival we were told we could stay two nights only, as an event was coming in and all the park was reserved. The campsites are very shallow and we fit just right into site 22. The weather was fun with afternoon thunderstorms when we arrived, and the next day when we explored the park the clouds were fabulous especially from the meadow!
Heading out on the 20th of September we were bound for Bridgeport and the Twin Lakes area, one of my favorite places to kayak. We arrived at Bridgeport and had lunch at the Rhino Bar and used their internet to download some entertainment. Heading into the Twin Lakes area we found a site at Robinson Creek for the night and then moved to Honeymoon Flat Campground until it was set to close on the 24th. It was a great four days, kayaking, celebrating John’s birthday, visiting Bodie SHP and relaxing. Unfortunately our kayak pump broke so we had to rethink anymore water activities.
After closing out the campground we headed south to see if we could camp in Mammoth and visit Devils Postpile. When we arrived at Old Shady Rest Campground I made lunch, set up and John rode his bike to the visitor center. He quickly was back to say this was the last day we could visit Devils Postpile because they were closing access for roadwork, so off we went. The drive is questionable as the road needs some major work, but we made it and hiked in. Such a beautiful little valley, with a lot of people. We stayed in the Mammoth area for two nights, visiting Convict Lake and the areas around for future possibilities on our way back if we came this way.
Next up, Alabama Hills and our turn around to come back for a wedding the first week of October. So much to see and take pictures of! We arrived around 1:30 and after a lot of choices we picked site 13 for two nights. We took in the Arch walk hike and the local movie museum. Could have stayed more days but we were running out of time.
Took three days to get home, first stop June Lake loop at Silver Lake Campground, then we drove through Yosemite, no sites there, but just managed to get a site at Sweetwater campground only because of the weather and a possible government shutdown. Our final night after the crazy drive out of Groveland was Brannan Island SRA, before home. Such a fun trip with perfect weather.
