At the meeting last night we were told to expect BIG winds today. Most of us had to get up for a nature call during the night and were amazed how strong the winds were blowing during the night.

By the time breakfast rolled around the wind was howling! Suppose to be 30-40 miles and hour AND a head wind!

On the way out to town we all gave the lucky grizzly bear a rub on it’s none to get our good luck wish.

Some great views on the way out of town as we headed to the June Lake loop on our way to Mammoth Lake, our home for the next two nights.

The wind was HORRENDOUS as we road right into it. The wind was blowing us to the right and left, and actually stopped our forward progress in several instances. The forecast had been updated to 60 mile an hour gusts on the ridges. Within the first 15 miles at least 12 people bailed out and sagged into Mammoth lake. Seven more would also sag in before the end of the day because of the wind. In two cases several of the ‘lighter’ weight riders, including Josie, were blow off the road and crashed. Luckily all the mbbt riders had enough ‘ballast’ onboard and although we were tossed around for the whole ride did not get blown off the road.

There are four lakes on the June Lake loop and the first one, Grant Lake, actually had whitecaps on the lake.

The ‘wide open’ landscape allowed the wind to really get a run at us before were blasted.

Grant Lake, as many of the water features in the Sierra, are low because of the lack of snow last winter.

Here you can see where the dock normally would be and where it has moved because of low water. Didn’t stop the wind from blowing!!!!

Some of the best scenery we have seen on the whole ride . . .

You can see how strong the wind was with the flag standing straight out as we rounded the south end of the lake.

Between the first two lakes was this hydro plant that was capturing water from this waterfall .

Once we got into the wooded areas and sheltered it was great riding onto the next lake . . .

Here is a rather precarious situation with this ‘balancing rock’ next to the FD. Not an issue maybe except here in Mammoth Lake there are 3-4 earthquakes everyday. Today there was one measuring 3.5 on the Richter Scale . . . and we didn’t even feel it!!

Looks like the ocean!

Let’s go surfing!

Finally got to the first rest stop where one of the features was ‘Kevin’s Snack’ featuring bite size bagels with peanut butter, raspberry jam AND Nutella! Let’s load up.

Gary, one of the staff, Don our oldest rider at 82 and Don the Mechanic holding onto each other to avoid being blown away!

This is what you like to see on the Garmin GPS profile an uphill followed by a BIG downhill . . .

. . . and Greg leads the way. . .

. . . but gets passed by BillyB.

We finally exited the highway onto the Mammoth Lake Scenic loop which was actual constructed as an alternative exit avenue for the city of Mammoth Lake should they suffer a disastrous earthquake.

A high point as we ride a fast downhill into the city.

Here is Marcia with a sad looked on her face nursing an  injury she suffered when she was blown off her bike out on the road!!!!

BillyB has arranged a condo stay for us in Mammoth Lake with a friend of his who owns the condo. Nice place! Here Bill relives his near blow down from today’s wind.

I won the coin flip and got the master bedroom!!!!

TommyG and TommyH got the submarine.

Full kitchen too . . . but will probably not get much use.

Greg holds the last ride meeting of the Sierra Sampler. Wind is still blowing strong and the temps are near 50! Wind chills are applicable tonight!

Quesadillas, salad and soup for dinner.

Greg and TommyG do the ‘three tub dip’ with their dirty dishes!

Sweet dreams tonight in the condo, inside on soft beds WITH THE HEAT ON!

As we sat around at night reminiscing about the day there was another earthquake, one we actually felt. Probably lasted about 3 seconds. And another hit about 9:30! Exciting!!!!

Here is a 24 hour record of the activity around our condo. Condo, red star. Activity, Yellow circles. YIKES!!!!

We all slept like babies in the condo and everyone but me (sleeping in the king bed in the master bedroom) was up and down to The Loony Bean coffee shop by 7:00am.

Low attendance at breakfast this morning probably because over half of the group stayed in motels last night . It was chilly in camp and the ACA crew gave the campers packing blankets, that will be used to cover the bikes in the U-Haul truck on the ride back to Truckee, for added warmth.

Plenty of food available so Kevin made himself a scrambled egg sandwich using two pancakes!!!!

The wind was blowing all night and was gusting this morning which was enough to convince us not to ride today and face similar wind conditions we did yesterday. We will round up our steads, gather our shipping boxes, load them up and get them to the FedEx station today.

On the way to the condo after breakfast we met those ‘biker babes’ who were on their way to Reno for a big rally.

We checked our their rides and discussed the motor vs non-motorized versions. They were excited when they learned we were from WI since they were all riding Harleys.

We kept telling them Kevin was single and recommending  they take him along. Could have resulted in a “Hangover III’ type movie of a patent attorney from Chicago who never came home!!!!!

They had their own logo and sweatshirts, ‘The Gurlz, Reno 2104’ . . .

and matching fingernails to boot!

Mammoth Lake has a BIG problem with bears making their way through town at night sampling the leftovers in restaurant and hotel dumpsters. The city has an ordinance that all dumpster MUST be lock shut at 9:00pm to discourage bear activity. Surprised they haven’t become acclimated to the closure and show up at 8:30pm instead!

Bears  . . . bears . . . everywhere.

We went routing once Greg picked up the van and headed up to the Minatour Pass. Good views of the Mammoth Ski area. You can see the highest tram station which is at about 11,000ft.

All that altitude meant a stop at the Mammoth Brewing Company. A little chilly to sit outside . . . but the sun felt good.

Back in camp it would be the final dinner of the night, the final staff meeting and the awards and thank you’s. Kathy was fixing up some special viddles for the gang. tonight.

Our final meeting and good byes.

One last night through the chow line . . .

. . . plenty of food for second or third helpings!

Yes . . . after all we had to pack up the bikes today, go to lunch, ride around in the van, etc. etc. etc.

It was cold again today from the wind, and tonight as the sun dropped so did the temps. Here is BillyB eating ribs with his special rib eatin’ fingerless gloves.

It as so cold that 2 year old “Pumpkin” had to have her sweater.

 

Tomorrow we head for the next page of our adventure . . . Yosemite National Park!

Today it was time to move on to Yosemite Park for two more days of adventure. Unfortunately,  the weather was not going to cooperate, for today at least. We stopped in downtown Mammoth Lake at the ‘Breakfast Club’ for a hearty breakfast of Eggs Florentine, County Biscuits with Gravy, Omelets and Scrambled eggs. 

They had a similar sign to one we saw earlier in the week. Must be a trend!

 

Across the street was Rick’s Sports shop.I lost my Badger Trail baseball camp and was looking to buy on for use while hiking in Yosemite to keep my pate covered.

Greg strolled across to Rick’s, told him I, Rick, needed a hat and he gave Greg one for me . . . FREE advertising for him and a FREE hat for me!

We drove back up to Minator pass today hoping to see the ride of the Sierra Nevada’s but it was fogged in because of the rain. But on the way up we could see it had snowed the night before. Ski area is not open yet but it’s the first snow of the year!

More than a dusting. Glad the bike trip ended yesterday!

On the way down we saw this sign . . .

. . . and stopped to see the associated fault. The Mammoth Lake area is a hot zone for earthquakes!!!

We drove to the Tioga Pass entrance of the park and as we climbed it stopped raining. It was still cloudy but as the low clouds lifted the . . . 

. . . scenery was stunning!!!

The boys met Gehardt, the famous photographer Ansel Adams nephew,  and received a quick lesson in neutral density filters!!!!

We headed down the trail for an 8 mile round trip hike to North dome which is directly across form the famous, Half Dome. Except for Greg who wasn’t sure he wanted to go!!!!!

A GREAT view of Half Dome.

A slightly different angle. How could this natural beauty be improved . . .

. . . put several members of the mmbbt (madison mountaineering, biking and bowling team) in front of it!

On the way down we had to scale some BIG timber. It had been 4 miles down to the overlook and instead of going back up the hill to the car BillyB decided to continue down the mountain 8 miles to Yosemite Village where we would be staying for two nights. We would meet him in the bar!

We had been hearing about bears for the last 9 days and with our limited ‘old guy’ vision we thought we saw one in the distance. Fooled again!!!!

Once back to the trailhead, we motored down to Curry Village where we would be staying for the night. BUY . . not without a stop at the other famous Yosemite landmark, El Capitan. Stunning in it’s size!!!

Curry village has several hundred platform tent dwelling to rent and ours was #529. Each tent comes with a bear box to keep all food and ANYTHING that smells in it. Bears cannot open them.

Cots,  chairs, two blankets, sheets, a room safe, and showers and bath down the hall. Almost luxurious!!!

Happy hour in the tent. Break out the booze!!!

BillyB FINALLY showed up from his long hike. It started raining heavy about an hour into his three hour hike down to our camp. Luckily he had his rain gear!!!

Into the lodge we went for dinner. Not fine dining but very hearty and with the addition of dessert . . . we were happy campers!

It was then time to check out the Activity Lodge where all the seats were taken. We would try it again a  little later!

Great night of sleeping in the tent. Ear plugs and a warm sleeping bag insured sweet dreams.

After a BIG breakfast what to old guys do . . . read the paper and solve the problems of the world!

Interesting how the local fauna have adapted to the 24/7, 365 day a year constant flow of humans. The deer are tame, we saw a coyote saunter across the street in camp . . .

and the squirrels  are constantly running in and out of the buildings looking for handouts. They even know how to open zip lock bags!

This little girl tried to pet this one and it nipped her, probably because didn’t have any food.

Here is a great model of the the valley area of the park showing half dome and El Capitan. Today we would be exploring the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.

But not before heading to the visitor center . . .

. .  for mass with Father Paul.

. . . held in the theater there were about 100 in attendance. Half staff . . . half visitors. Needless to say, our whole group did not attend.

A view from Tunnel Point, on the way to the Grove . . .

On the way to the grove we also stopped at El Capitan to check out those wild and crazy climbers.

The two circles show at least three overnight biveywacked campers we spotted . . .

. . .who hang their bivy bags from ropes. No camp noise  up here!

Fire is a huge part of the parks ecology and there are signs of past fires everywhere . . .

Heading towards the Big Grizzly . . . appropriately named.

. . . the Bachelor and Three Graces. The bachelor is 1,800 years old!

Good things come in small packages. The sequoias cones are about the size of an egg!

One of the tunnel trees from the past . . .

. . . has healed closed some, but still big enough to accommodate the girth of the mbbt representative contingent.

Yeah, these are BIG trees.

The 7th Calvary, stationed at Yosemite all lined up on this fallen tree . . . with their steads!

BIG fire scars.

A  man outstanding in the forest!!!

Greg and TommyH were moving to the other side of the tracks for our second night . . . no photo of the room because by the time I decided to take one, us three ‘free loaders’ had trashed the room too much on our visit!

The famous Auwanee Lodge. Rooms start at $500/night!!!!

Nice common area, cocktails with a man playing the piano . . . .

The formal dining room, ready for hungry visitors.

Greg, TommyH and I dined at the Yosemite Lodge, one step down from the Auwanee dining experience. Greg and I had the pork schnitzel and TommyH had the lamb.

Pork with red cabbage salad, pureed sweet potatoes, light breaded and sautéed pork. Preceded by a Caesar salad and followed by . . .

Crème brulee was had by two. You will need to guess who had the small one . . .

. . . and who had the large one!

I had this . . . flourless chocolate cake. YUMMMMMMM!

We tied up with TommyG and BillyB who had shared a big bowl of chili, with crackers.

Soon it was off to bed for all as we prepared for our last day in Yosemite.

Woke up still dreaming of the nice Pork Schnitzel from the night before . . . we had ‘artfully’ prepared the presentation of the credit cards for our server.

We woke to a BEAUTIFUL blue bird sky day. A wonderful way to spend our last day in Yosemite.  Another pack up before we toured the park and headed out to Sacramento.

Before we left, I spent some time in the guest lounge using the wifi, checking email and watching the squirrels chased each other around in the lounge and looking for snacks!!

Here is the other side of the North Dome we ascended on our first day in Yosemite as we gazed east towards Half Dome.

The falls . . . nothing falling at this time of year!!!

We drove up to Sentinel Point and had a great view of Half Dome. The valley has quite an ecological history . . .

. . . having cooled from the magma that formed the mountains . . .

. . . having been scoured by the first glacial period . . .

. . . and a second . . .

. . . the retreat of the glaciers  . . .

. . . leaving behind what we see today.

. . . mbbt tour director, Greg, explains the geology to willing listeners. “Look this way, grasshopper!”

The hotel that had been erected at our second stop, Glacier Point, is long gone . . .

. . .but at the time would have offered fantastic views  . . .  and to sit and enjoy a cocktail. Something we plan to do tonight!

It was time to head to Sacramento as we began our long descent out of the park. Fall colors along the way . . . . No, just mile after mile of trees killed due to forest fires.

We stopped in a cute little town named Groveland for a little lunch. How about a tea room for our gentiile group of mbbt members? The G went across the street and had a beer at the oldest tavern in California!

It was onto Sacramento where we lodged ‘down by the river’. It’s a renovated area trying to look like San Antonio but more of a Mackinaw Island  feel with the t-shirt, fudge and candy shops.

On the river . . .

Hey, how about a Vesper martini . . .

. . . followed by a nice lime tequila marinated steak . . .

BIllyB and Greg had the quiche, French onion soup and Caesar salad.

The B considers dessert . . . buts decide against it.

Not Greg or me as we feast on pieces of Mud Pie! The diet and new way of life starts TOMORROW.

For the B and TommyH too, who on the way back to the hotel couldn’t resist . . .

. . . stopping for a sweet

. . . in the form of a chocolate covered Twinkie!!!!

Full tummies led to a full nights sleep with no one stirring until 5:30am.   Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . .

As usual we were up by 5:30-6:00am, had the standard  made-to-order hotel ‘waffles’ continental breakfast and were on the way to the Sacramento airport by 7:15am. One last luggage transfer on the way home. We’re getting pretty good at this! The plane was full and TommyG and Greg held out as long as they could with a seat between them until the last minute when Jenny, and her little 6 month Australian Shepard puppy, Coyote, ask . . “Is that seat between you open?” Made for a long, crowded trip for those two. But Coyote was very cute. Its seemed they held the plane longer than they needed to before closing the door, evidently waiting for some final luggage . . . . . . that delayed closing caused us on the Milwaukee end of the trip to miss our 5:30pm Badger bus to Madison by 5 MINUTES! As we waited the luggage carousal for our bags, Greg ran out and asked the bus driver if he could wait for us. He really didn’t give him an answer and when we did our “OJ airport dash” to the curb at 5:35pm, the bus was gone. The next bus was at 7:45pm so we had time for one more meal together, and a change to reminisce about the trip.

We had about every weather variable thrown at us on this trip and it was  GREAT. Great scenery, challenging riding, great and ample food (no scale weigh-ins for at least a week), and great camaraderie among the mbbt members. Of course none of it would not have happened without Greg’s meticulous advanced planning. He did a great job and we all appreciate his efforts. He should be in the tour business! Here is an interesting comparison of a photo that was run in the LA times a couple of weeks ago when there was a fire burning in Yosemite . . . . . . and the same view we had yesterday.   . . .  oh yeah . . .while at the airport there was time for one more goodie. The new way of life starts Oct. 1!

But don’t unpack yet  . . .we’ll work those calories off on our next adventure . . . a mountain biking trip to northern WI sometime before the snow flies!!!