Summer Vacation Trip - Day 2

To avoid the worst of the day's heat, we quickly packed and got on the road (0600).  We picked up supplies in Walmart (0625) on the way out of Las Vegas and then headed north on US-95.  We ate breakfast (snacks) in the car on the way.  We were accompanied by a LOT of traffic and couldn't figure out why but then we reached Creech AFB and it all made sense (“rush hour” for the base).  We got some amazing views of drones flying in the pattern and then had the road to ourselves except for occasional triple-trailer trucks going the other way.  Mollie got a chuckle out of one sign that welcomed us to a town with a population of 50 people ("smallest town on any of our trips").  Just as she has done for several previous trips, Mollie figured out how to use the GPS on her phone with the car’s view screen (this made navigation much easier).  We continued west until we switched to NV-373, which turned into CA-127 as we crossed the border.  We then used CA-190 to reach Death Valley National Park.  On the way, we talked a lot about current events and a little about relationships.  We'd visited this National Park in 2006 but Mollie didn't remember much about that trip (except for the "sherbet mountains").  We drove all the way down to the bottom of the valley (elevation was 100 feet below sea level) and stopped for an NPS Passport Stamp and some souvenirs at Furnace Creek Visitor Center (0850).  It was already 106 degrees at that point...  Nearby, we climbed up to a beautiful vista at Zabriskie Point.  We then started our westward journey across the flats and mountains.  Basically, our visit was mainly a "pass-through" on the way to the Sierras but we explored parts of the park I'd never seen.  At one stop, we enjoyed a stroll on the Mesquite Sand Dunes.  The sun was nearly overwhelming by this point but we both marveled at the lack of humidity.  Our drive took us on a climb over the peaks of the Panamint Range and the view was pretty amazing.  There were lots of "dips" in the road that made Mollie laugh and some warnings about turning off AC to avoid overheating engines.  We made it through just fine in our rental car (Nissan Rogue, nicknamed "Sherpa").  During this segment of driving, we talked about my life plans after Mollie’s graduation. I'd made a non-refundable reservation in a hard-to-get lodge in Kings Canyon National Park but noticed that there were two parks on the east side of the Sierras that Mollie was interested in visiting. Knowing the drive would be onerous, especially since the Yosemite Road (CA-120) was closed for heavy snow.  I was hesitant to go north but I left it up to Mollie and she chose the extra adventure where we were.  Taking a deep breath (knowing it would be a LONG day), I then steered us onto CA-136 and we drove to Lone Pine.  We found an Interagency Visitor Center there (1130) and got lots of information about the area.  We ate lunch (snacks) and also got some fresh water out of a "farm spigot".  After getting some gas nearby (1215), we continued north on US-395.  Our second stop in the Owen's River Valley was at Manzanar National Historic Site, which commemorated another one of the Internment Camps from World War II where Japanese-Americans were forced to live.  We'd previously stopped at similar camps in Heart Mountain (WY) and Minidoka (ID) and Mollie wanted to learn more about the history of this tragic episode in US History.  The visitor center was excellent and we watched a park video that explained the plight of the residents.  Mollie got a NPS Passport Stamp and then we took a short driving tour of the expansive property.  We found a pretty monument to those who died in the camp.  The views of the High Sierras (Mount Williamson, in particular) were breathtaking but then the reality of the terrible situation that was being commemorated brought us back to earth.  Mollie and I talked for a while about our rights and freedoms and how we hoped something like this could never happen again.  Soon (1300), we were on our way north again.  We continued north on US-395, paralleling the Eastern Sierras, and enjoyed our many views of the snow-capped peaks that rivaled the Grand Tetons in their beauty during our almost two hour drive.  The last few miles were the most impressive, as we climbed up towards 10,000 feet and found ourselves in the foothills of those mountains.  Temperatures were in the 60s and it felt so good after the heat we'd felt in the valley.  There were huge fields with countless cattle and several beautiful lakes.  We stopped often to take photos.  At one point, we saw ominous looking smoke to the north and it reminded us of how lucky we've been during the last few years to enjoy such amazing visibility prior to each terrible wildfire season.  Our target was the Devil's Postpile National Monument but we got an ominous warning on a sign about it being closed when we reached the Mammoth Lake area.  Fortunately, we found a National Forest visitor center and learned more about the situation.  The snow, which usually accumulates between 500 and 1000 inches every year, was so deep this season that there was no expectation that the road to the park could be plowed anytime soon.  While there appeared to be several opportunities to climb up (through the snow) to the rock features (which we were told they looked like part of the Devil's Tower in Wyoming), there was no way to access the site by car.  The Ranger actually said "they never should have built the road up there because it is closed most of the year”.  Meanwhile, Mollie spotted a passport stamp for the park and, despite the news, added it to her book.  She immediately started struggling with the "legitimacy" of taking a stamp without "touching" the park.  The quandary gnawed at us for a bit but then I figured out that we could get very close to the edge of the federal property if we visited one of the resorts so that made it easier to justify.  We headed into the town of Mammoth Lakes and then drove as far as we could on Lake Mary Road (which was also partially closed for snow).  We parked near the Tamarack Cross Country Ski Center and then walked around a few of the lakes nearby.  There was a bit of snow on the ground and lot of melt-run-off and it seemed like the roads could have been opened.  However, this would have meant that the cross country trails would have to be closed for the season; our consolation prize was seeing some of the amazing scenery (mountains, lakes, waterfalls). We had hoped to encounter the PCT but we never did.  The crisp mountain air and lower temperatures were awesome and I told Mollie that if there is any place in Southern California I could return to for a week of fun, this place would be it.  Filled with some "mountain highs", Mollie and I reluctantly went back to our car so we could leave.  It was then that the immense remaining journey (payment for the extra sightseeing) hit me.  I'd expected to have about a five-hour drive to Kings Canyon but was wrong by almost two additional hours.  The Cedar Grove Lodge was actually only 40 miles from our location (as the crow flies) but it was almost 400 miles by road.  I've previously encountered a lot of situations where I had to "drive 50 miles to go 5" but this one wins the prize.  Since there was nothing I could do about the reality of the distance, we immediately (1600) headed south on US-395.  In addition  to more great views of the Eastern Sierra Range, we also saw lots of amazing high desert scenery as we drove on perfectly straight highways for hundreds of miles.  We passed the China Lake Naval Base, which I’d never visited before, but didn’t see much else in the way of civilization.  We eventually turned on to CA-14 so we could reach CA-58 and then took CA-99.  All the roads were mostly free of traffic and we made good time.  But 400 miles is a LONG way and we still weren't used to the Pacific Time Zone.  Mollie exchanged phone calls with her mother.  We avoided stopping as much as possible and ate our dinner (snacks) in the car.  We talked about Mollie's post high school graduation plans (majors, school locations).  The huge amount of driving took its toll on me and I was glad that Mollie was in a talkative mood for most of the afternoon and early evening.  We passed many trucks that looked like they were full of feathers but we eventually realized they were full of eggs (!) with feathers as “cushioning”.  The sun took a long time to go down on the west side of the Central Valley.  This meant that it wasn’t really dark until passed through Visalia.  We got gas in Dinuba (2055) and then started up the western side of the Sierra range.  We reached CA-180 (Kings Canyon Highway) and made good time on the curvy winding road on the ridges above the valley.  Mollie dozed for a lot of this drive... We arrived at the Kings Canyon Park Entrance by about 2130 and then lost cell signal.  This was significant because it was only then that we realized our GPS map was planning to take us off the pavement for a "short cut".  I fell for this “wild goose chase route” because my trusty navigator was almost catatonic by then.  After about two miles, I encountered a "road closed" sign in the woods.  Cursing myself for the detour and extra time wasted, I returned to the park road and (sans GPS) made my way through the dark canyons towards the end of the world (so it seemed).  One of the scariest moments of the night was seeing huge splashes of water in the river along the road (at a couple of points, I thought the road would be swamped but I later learned it was all an illusion).  I made one more wrong turn but reached Cedar Grove Village at 2300.  During the epic drive, I did get to see a swooping owl, a gray fox and a trio of black bears (mom and cubs).  I was exhausted when I shut off the car.  We found our key pinned to the bulletin board (due to some coordination by Mollie back in the Central Valley).  Mollie was barely aware of any of this and was asleep before I'd finished emptying the car (including of food, to avoid bear encounters).  I then (2345) headed to bed, hoping that the next day would be "leisurely"...