Mountain mahogany
A baby bristlecone pinecone
I can't remember the name of this one. Maybe LeAnna does?
I'm surprised I was able to load all these photos at once! So, this will be the start of an epic recap of LeAnna and I's two-week honeymoon-roadtrip. One of our best and, hopefully, just one of many more to come!
After exploring Lincoln, Nebraska for a few days, we made it home to beautiful and toasty warm Blue Diamond. We hung out for all of three days before embarking on the next leg of our summer adventures. Honeymoon time. We had considered many, many options and variations before finally settling on a loosely organized trip to Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe had several positives on its side: we'd never been there but always wanted to go, it was relatively close (8 hrs), it was cooler than Blue Diamond, and we knew some friends in the area. When our trip got cut a little short by the Nebraska waylay, Lake Tahoe became our best option.
One of the main goals of the trip was to not drive too much. (A common problem for us.) We decided we would take a leisurely pace, stopping whenever and wherever felt good.
The first choice was an easy pick; we would head to Bishop! One of our all-time favorite places on the planet. And, we would finally go check out the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest (ABPF). We had tried visit a couple times in the past but it was either too early or late in the season and, being at 8500', the road was snowed in and gated closed. (The gate being the main deterrent.) But not this time. This time-mission success!
The trees here are among the oldest known living beings on planet Earth. One has been dated to be nearly 5,000 years old. They live in harsh dolomite soil where few other plants can survive. There are at least three large groves in this area of the White Mountains but they also have relatives elsewhere in the West, including the Great Basin bristlecone pines living in the Spring Mountains, otherwise known was Mt. Charleston. Very cool!
So there you have it. Day one: we drove about 4.5 hours to the ABPF, hiked a longer than expected 4.5 mile loop and took these here pictures. Then we camped nearby at an awesome developed-but-free (donations accepted) campsite at 8500'. It was a great start to the trip.
4 comments:
What a beautiful set of photos. Isn't it fun to relive your trip through your pictures? Did the Mt. Charleston forest survive the summer fire?
I believe the bird is the Clark's Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana to be more scientific. So glad you were finally able to post!! What a great trip!
Most of the bristlecones on Charleston were fine. I'm sure some got burned up but the majority are north and higher elevation than where the fire was luckily. You guys are going to have to get your traveling boots on! Tahoe was really amazing.
Wow. Incredible pictures. I love looking at the bristlecones. They're definitely one of my favorite species on earth. I can't wit for the next installment of the "Honeymoon Diary".
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