Sierra National Forest

Today Jim and I went off on our own for a drive in the country. We borrowed a map from the office and found a route to take. I packed a picnic lunch and off we went! Our first stop was the post office in Coarsegold to pick up our mail from Escapees.

Then we made a right turn and headed into the unknown.....when the paved road turned into a dirt road we shrugged our shoulders and forged ahead. After all it wasn't raining and the sign said it was impassable during rainy season.

It was a pretty drive if a little rough and narrow in spots. Soon we were back on paved highways and finally found the road we wanted, highway 81 a scenic byway.

Before long we were enjoying some mighty beautiful valleys and water ways

this is Mammoth Pool Reservoir

At mile high curve we stopped to take this picture. back in the truck and two seconds later we found a scenic overlook

This was a wondrous place to have lunch!

check out the video for a panoramic view

Doesn't matter what you eat it pales in comparison to the view

Oh, I forgot to mention we took Boo. He still doesn't like the truck but he travels quietly

we don't know the name of this flower, I think it's the same one we took a picture of at Yosemite

It reminds me of a Hyacinth in size and bloom. but I've never seen a red one and it had no scent

At this point we were driving on a park road, single lane in most places but there wasn't much traffic. the higher we went the more snow we saw.

we saw streams and creeks rushing with water, I'm sure it was cold!

this is where we came across our first swarm of lady bugs. I was amazed at the number of them. I think they just hatched out and were on the move. On the return drive we ran into several swarms and I know we ended the lives of many on the windshield

the patchy pools of snow were very pretty in the sunlight.

Boo wasn't impressed with the snow, he walked all over it
As we were going back to the truck two cars that had passed us were coming back. Small cars and they said the road was blocked with snow. Impassable. Well we had to see for ourselves.

They were right! Jim walked through the tire tracks and determined it was to deep for us to try. So we backtracked and headed for home. The views on the return trip were just as beautiful and breathtaking.

We drove with the windows open and as we got to the lower elevations we noticed the change in temperature. It was quite warm! At home the outside temperature was 101! We closed up the house and turned on the AC then grabbed a beer and went next door to sit in the comfort of Anne and Scotty's home. they had the AC running and it was cool and refreshing.

We talked for a bit talking about our next stop and then planned our dinner. I made some shish ka bobs with sausage, onion and green peppers. Anne made some pasta salad earlier so there you have it, our dinner. Jim grilled the ka bobs and soon we were enjoying a meal with our friends.

Back home, we've showered and we're just relaxing with TV and computer games.