All you flatlanders have been posting your stories and pictures of warm, early springtime travels in your cars - pisses me off. In fact, the forecast for late Sunday/Monday is for another 1-2 feet of snow.
However, up here at 8,000 feet, we had a warm spell for about a week, leaving the roads dry (and swept), so I decided to break out my gal, put on some shorts, and meander up to Carson City for a few hours of shopping (& get out of Dodge City). I was pretty careful leaving, as the temp was somewhere between 27° and 33° and I had a scary experience a year ago on cold pavement and colder tires. However, everything worked out great, and by the time I'd driven the 135 miles to CC, I had the windows down and my jacket (Ford GT Track Jacket, of course) off, and was hot in my shorts and short sleeve shirt (In Mammoth, we tend to put on shorts when the temp reaches 40°). It was 67° in Carson City, and 57° in Mammoth when I got home. The drive was beautiful and uneventful (no black & white cruisers around, and the county mounties only looked as I passed and gave me :thumbsup going up and returning home.
I can tell you (as you all know) that it was a thrill to "get back in the saddle" and my gal didn't miss a beat the whole day. The countryside is still brown, as it doesn't start to turn green here in the high country until sometime in April.
Pic 1 - Walker Canyon (fishing season opens the end of April)
Pic 2 - Little Walker River Valley with mountains on northeastern quadrant of Yosemite National Park
Pic 3 - Close to Mammoth (US 395 about 3 miles north of Mammoth)
However, up here at 8,000 feet, we had a warm spell for about a week, leaving the roads dry (and swept), so I decided to break out my gal, put on some shorts, and meander up to Carson City for a few hours of shopping (& get out of Dodge City). I was pretty careful leaving, as the temp was somewhere between 27° and 33° and I had a scary experience a year ago on cold pavement and colder tires. However, everything worked out great, and by the time I'd driven the 135 miles to CC, I had the windows down and my jacket (Ford GT Track Jacket, of course) off, and was hot in my shorts and short sleeve shirt (In Mammoth, we tend to put on shorts when the temp reaches 40°). It was 67° in Carson City, and 57° in Mammoth when I got home. The drive was beautiful and uneventful (no black & white cruisers around, and the county mounties only looked as I passed and gave me :thumbsup going up and returning home.
I can tell you (as you all know) that it was a thrill to "get back in the saddle" and my gal didn't miss a beat the whole day. The countryside is still brown, as it doesn't start to turn green here in the high country until sometime in April.
Pic 1 - Walker Canyon (fishing season opens the end of April)
Pic 2 - Little Walker River Valley with mountains on northeastern quadrant of Yosemite National Park
Pic 3 - Close to Mammoth (US 395 about 3 miles north of Mammoth)
