Western Sojourns: Travels with Camissonia: EASTERN & CENTRAL SIERRAS: Summer Vacation July 6, 2016 (Day 5: Hartley Springs Campground, Obsidian Dome, Mammoth Lakes Scenic Loop)

Sunday, August 21, 2016

EASTERN & CENTRAL SIERRAS: Summer Vacation July 6, 2016 (Day 5: Hartley Springs Campground, Obsidian Dome, Mammoth Lakes Scenic Loop)

On day 5 of our Sierra vacay, I totally effed up. We got up early, packed all of our stuff (Gil spent 45 minutes loading the duffels, dog food bin, etc. onto the roof rack of the 4Runner), and checked out of our cabin at Convict Lake. By 8:38am, we were on the road heading north on Hwy. 395. The plan was to take a side trip to the Bodie Hills and then Green Creek Road en route to Bridgeport. All was well and good until about 10 miles into the trip when I had a weird deja vu kind of impulse to check our itinerary. So I did and, WTF! We weren't supposed to leave for Bridgeport until tomorrow! In other words, we still had another paid-for day at Convict Lake. Sure, I made the reservations like 6 months ago so the oversight might be semi-understandable, but still - how embarrassing! I had to eat humble pie explaining to Gil that we had to stop at June Lake or wherever the heck there was cell phone service asap so I could call Convict Lake and explain that we were checking back in today. I could tell he was snickering his ass off somewhere in his mind's eye. We pulled over at the Shell station at June Lake Junction but the cell service there sucked (or maybe it was because our provider was AT&T and not Verizon). Anyhoo, we proceeded to June Lake Village where I finally managed to connect to Convict Lake Resort and explain our laughable predicament. They were totally cool about it but, probably like Gil, snickering their asses off in the backdrop about this ditzy chick's senior moment.

Bodie Hills seemed a stretch at this point, so after consulting the map, I thought Obsidian Dome and Mammoth Lakes Scenic Loop would be our best nearby bets for day tripping. The unpaved road to Obsidian Dome is north of June Lake Junction about 1 1/2 miles west of Deadman Summit off Hwy. 395. En route, we detoured to Hartley Springs campground (elevation 8,400') on Forest Service Road 2S48. The 1-mile drive up the dirt road was narrow & bumpy, but when we arrived at the campground I was surprised to find that a few RVs actually made it there. The sites, 25 in total, are well spaced and forested/shaded with picnic tables and fire rings. Best of all, usage seemed light. Moreover, it's pet friendly, close to the headwaters of the Owens River tributaries, and there's no fee. I think we'll come back with our Winnebago ERA sometime soon.

After leaving Hartley Springs campground and rejoining Glass Flow Road, we drove about a quarter mile past the parking area for Obsidian Dome before turning back, as the road became narrower and more difficult to navigate beyond that juncture. There was only one other vehicle at the Obsidian Dome parking lot and that was great. We tried to chat with the husband-wife couple hiking around the dome, but Addy and Sasha were especially vociferous during our attempted conversation. I guess they were in their protective and/or flippy I just wanna bark mood...Obsidian Dome is a mile-long, 300 ft. high volcanic glass lava dome that's part of the Inyo Volcanic chain. The beautiful, albeit sharp, piles of obsidian rocks are a sight to behold and totally worth the offroad trip. On our way back to Convict Lake, we detoured off on Mammoth Lakes Scenic Loop through the town of Mammoth Lakes. Highlights along the drive were Showy Penstemon (Penstemon speciosus) and Leichtlin's Mariposa Lilies (Calochortus leichtlinii).

Obsidian Dome Road west off Hwy. 395 (between Mammoth Lakes and June Lake)

Skunky or foul-odored monkey flower (Mimulus nanus var. mephiticus). You probably won't want these in your potpourri mix, but they are, like all monkey flowers, as cute as a button. To really appreciate the beauty of these belly flowers, you have to get down, close and personal. There were quite a few growing en masse off parts of Obsidian Dome Road, forming patches of pink between the sagebrush.