White Mountains Ridge

WhiteMountainRidge2005|08|06: Ridge. White Mountains. August 6, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Ridge. White Mountains. July 6, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.

Last Saturday I found myself with a free day in the town of Bishop in California’s Owens Valley east of the Sierra Nevada. I decided to follow the road up into the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest high in the White Mountains, the next range east of the Sierras.

I drove as far as the highest grove at over 11,000 feet, something like 12 miles out on a narrow dirt track. The road continues another four miles to a locked gate, beyond which are UC research facilities including one at the top of 14,000+ White Mountain.

—–

Pastures Near Bishop, California

BishopPasture2005|08|06: Pastures and Eastern Sierra Nevada near Bishop. August 6, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Pastures and Eastern Sierra. Bishop, California. August 6, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

There were thunderstorms up and down the eastern Sierra on this late August afternoon.

A little story about getting this photo: I had spent the day up in the White Mountains visiting and photographing the famous Bristlecone Pines. It had been a long day – longer than expected – and I had finally made my way back to Owens Valley to begin the long drive back to the San Francisco Bay area. I had done so much photography already that I was feeling burned out when I saw this lovely light in the pasture area just north of Bishop. I almost drove right past it, but at the last minute took a quick exit from the highway and drove off onto a side road where I found this wonderful scene.

keywords: pasture, bishop, california, eastern, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, highway, 395, owens, valley, thunder, storm, clouds, dark, meadow, tree, agriculture, usa, travel, scenic, landscape

Back Early

To my surprise, I’m back early from my Sierra backpack trip. It was supposed to last 14 days but I exited on day 5. The good news is that I had a chance to visit the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains of eastern California and then to travel through Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite on an evening of stunningly beautiful light.
—–

On Vacation

I’ll be out and about during the first part of August and this site will not be updated again until mid-August. Watch for new photos here at that time!
—–

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.