Highway 395

US Highway 395 travels south from the Canadian border (just south of Grand Forks, BC) all the way down into Southrn California (my map doesn't show it blelow the town of Hesperia). According to Wikipedia, 395 once extended into downtown San Diego. but that portion has been run over by Interstate 15. Along its route, 395 travels through Washington, Oregon, Nevada and California.

On this trip the section of US 395 we are concerned with runs from Kramer Junction to Reno, NV. And the part we are on these days has been blasted by severe cross winds, making driving tough for Suzy. But Suzy and Rosie are a team, and they've done just fine. Thursday we made it as far as the small town of Inyokern, where we had arranged another stop from the Escapees Club's Days End listing.

This is a private home set on two acres, with a delightful view of the Sierra range. The owners, Philip and Patricia, have room for a visitor's RV, with water avaiable, a 15amp hookup, and a sewer dump to use on your way out. They also have two dogs who are gentle, loving, and mind their manners.


Rosie in place beside Phil and Patricia's garage.

View of the Sierra from Rosie's entry door.

Phil and Patricia used to be full-time RVers, but found this place available at a good price, It had been tied up in an estate situation for several months, and had gone to seed and to pot in the meantime. In two years, Phil and Patricia have made a major difference, adding a small pond, a major vegetable garden, and lovely flowers. The are also raising sheep.

The pond holds small fish and assorted aquatic plants.

The vegetable garden starting to show: carrots, chard and lettuce.




Greens for your salad.




These are Dorper sheep. They shed, so they don't need shearing.

In addition, Phil and Patricia are delightful people. On our arrival, Phil told us we were welcome to stay two or three nights, whatever, and made their place available to us, no demands, no expectations. They also stressed that they want people to stop by for a night or two; they love visiting with Escapees! In fact, Phil told me that he could site a group of five or six Escapee rigs on a caravan!

We joined them for happy hour.

That's Phil on the left. His hat reads "Hat goes on top."



Gotta fire that photographer. He nearly cut me out of the shot!

We had origianlly planned to stay just one night, but because of wind advisories for the area, added a second night. And this is what the mountains look like at sunset.

And so good night in Inyokern.

Driving north this morning on 395, headed for Lone Pine, we passed the now totally dry Owens Lake. It looked to us like it had been dry for ages, but we learned it all occurred just last century. After pioneers first crossed Death Valley in 1849, they setted in the rich Owens Valley around the lake. Lone Pine became an active supply town for nearby mining communities. In the early 1900's, landowners in Owens Valley were conned into giving up their rights and properties to a man named Mulholland, so the growing city of Los Angeles could divert the Sierra mountain water which once flowed into the lake, instead to flow into an Aqueduct and supply water for domestic use in LA.

Owens Lake is now a dry lake supplying minerals which can be used to make glass. But they also pollute the atmosphere. In fact, north winds rushing down the valley yesterday nearly obscured the view of the mountains from our place in Inyokern.

Now for a week we are staying in Lone Pine, near where Al and Kelly of the Bayfield Bunch boondocked for a while, and not far from where Russ and Donna of Travels in Therapy romped just weeks ago.

This is our home for a week, a very nice park, right in the shadow of Mount Whitney, at 14,497 feet the highest point in the contiguous United States.

Boulder Creek RV Park, full featured, with a welcoming weekly rate!

We come to the end of another post. We've already started poking around Lone Pine, so there'll be some more stories to tell soon about ... Our Life on Wheels.