So day 7 of our Eastern Sierra trip this past July took us briefly back up Twin Lakes Road from Bridgeport to revisit the happy cows of California before heading south on Hwy. 395 to Virginia Lakes and Lundy Canyon for some wildflower viewing (at least for me, since Gil was frankly more interested in anything other than wildflower viewing). We left Bridgeport around 9:30am and it was a super pleasant 66F. When we arrived at Virginia Lakes around 10:30 am, it was slightly cooler at 64F, but still quite comfortable, except for the ubiquitous mini-swarm of mosquitoes that seemed to materialize over our heads whenever we were in the shade. Highlights of this trip were the cows in Bridgeport and what looked like a juvenile Red-tailed hawk perched on a pole off of Twin Lakes Road, our spur-of-the-moment off-road trip on Dunderberg Meadow Road (dirt track from Virginia Lakes Road) where we encountered the same couple in the white Range Rover that we came across on our trip to Green Creek, and the gorgeous, albeit somewhat sparser, blooms along Lundy Canyon Trail.
Western Blue Flag (Iris missouriensis), Big Virginia Lake
Western Blue Flag (Iris missouriensis), Big Virginia Lake
Big Virginia Lake
Big Virginia Lake
Big Virginia Lake
Jessica's Stickseed/Small-Flowered Stickseed (Hackelia micrantha)
Off banks of Virginia Creek, Big Virginia Lake
Virginia Creek
Trail near Virginia Creek
Virginia Creek
Rosy Pussytoes (Antennaria rosea), Virginia Lakes
Shrubby Cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa), Virginia Lakes
Sticky Cinquefoil (Drymocallis glandulosa), Virginia Lakes
Sierra Penstemon (Penstemon heterodoxys), near Virginia Creek
Brewer's Mountain Heather (Phyllodoce breweri), along banks of Virginia Creek
Western Wallflower (Erysimum capitatum), Virginia Lakes
False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum stellatum), Virginia Lakes
Mountain Monardella (Monardella odoratissima), Virginia Lakes
Timberline Phacelia (Phacelia hastata), Virginia Lakes
California Dock (Rumex californicus), Virginia Lakes
Sulfur Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum), Virginia Lakes
Mountain Snowberry (Symphoricarpos rotundifolius), Virginia Lakes
Cute little squirrel (unidentified), off parking lot at Virginia Lakes
Turnoff from Virginia Lake Road to Dunderberg Meadow Road
Dunderberg Meadow Road
Dunderberg Meadow Road
Dunderberg Meadow Road
Dunderberg Meadow Road
Dunderberg Meadow Road
Sierra Angelica (Angelica lineariloba), Dunderberg Meadow Road
Hoary Aster (Machaeranthera canescens), Dunderberg Meadow Road
Dusty Maidens (Chaenactis douglasii var. douglasii), Dunderberg Meadow Road
Mountain Monardella (Monardella odoratissima), Dunderberg Meadow Road
Sulphur Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum), Dunderberg Meadow Road
Lupine species, Dunderberg Meadow Road
Showy/Royal Penstemon (Penstemon speciosus), Dunderberg Meadow Road
Bridge's Penstemon (Penstemon rostriflorus), Dunderberg Meadow Road
Rayless Daisy (Erigeron aphanactis), Dunderberg Meadow Road
Turnoff from Dunderberg Meadow Road back to Virginia Lakes Road
Virginia Lakes Road
Shining Pepper Grass (Lepidium nitidum), Virginia Lakes Road
Hoary Aster (Machaeranthera canescens), Virginia Lakes Road
Mule Ears (Wyethia mollis), Virginia Lakes Road
Leichtlin's Mariposa Lily (Calochortus leichtlinii), Virginia Lakes Road
Mule Deer, Virginia Lakes Road
Virginia Lakes Road
Wyoming Paintbrush (Castilleja linariifolia), Virginia Lakes Road
Brewer's Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja applegatei ssp. pallida),
Virginia Lakes Road
Brewer's Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja applegatei ssp. pallida) and Leichtlin's Mariposa Lily (Calochortus leichtlinii), Virginia Lakes Road
Burn area of the June 2016 Marina Fire near Lee Vining off Hwy. 395
Mono Lake
Mono Lake
Beautiful log cabin home for sale off Lundy Lake Road
Lundy Lake
Beaver dams in Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
Beaver dams in Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
Common Horsetail (Equisetum arvense), Lundy Canyon Trail
Water Buttercup (Ranunculus aquatilis), Mill Creek, Lundy Canyon Trail
Naked Buckwheat (Eriogonum nudum var. deductum), Lundy Canyon Trail
Wood's Rose (Rosa woodsii var. ultramontane), Lundy Canyon Trail
Leichtlin's Mariposa Lily (Calorchortus leicthtlinii), Lundy Canyon Trail
Giant Red Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata), Lundy Canyon Trail
Tobacco Brush (Ceanothus velutinus), Lundy Canyon Trail
Bush Chinquapin/Sierra Chinquapin (Chrysolepis sempervirens), Lundy Canyon Trail
Anderson's Thistle (Cirsium andersonii), Lundy Canyon Trail
Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolius), Lundy Canyon Trail
Richardson's Geranium (Geranium richardsonii), Lundy Canyon Trail
Sierra Tiger Lily (Lilium parvum), Lundy Canyon Trail
Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
Mill Creek
Mill Creek
Beaver dams in Mill Creek
Mill Creek
Beaver dams in Mill Creek
Beaver dams in Mill Creek
Mill Creek
Northern Goldenrod (Solidago multiradiata), Lundy Canyon Trail
Rangers Buttons (Sphenosciadium capitellatum), along Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
White Clover (Trifolium repens), Lundy Canyon Trail
Cow's Clover (Trifolium wormskioldii), Lundy Canyon Trail
Sierra Larkspur (Delphinium glaucum), Lundy Canyon Trail
Coulter's Daisy/Large Mountain Fleabane (Erigeron coulteri),
Lundy Canyon Trail
Lundy Canyon Trail
Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
Mill Creek off Lundy Canyon Trail
Mountain Monardella (Monardella odoratissima), Lundy Canyon Trail
Bridge's Penstemon (Penstemon rostriflorus), Lundy Canyon Trail
Sierra Rhein Orchid (Platanthera leucostachys), Lundy Canyon Trail
American Brooklime (Veronica americana), Lundy Canyon Trail
Cabin off Lundy Lake Road
Descending Lundy Lake Road, with view of Mono Lake in the foreground
Dog Town marker off Hwy. 395, seven miles south of Bridgeport. Nothing much left of this gold mining town of yore except for the marker. Here's a blurb from Wiki on Dog Town's history:
Dog Town
Dog Town
The happy cows of California, Twin Lakes Road, Bridgeport, Eastern Sierras, Mono County
Twin Lakes Road
Twin Lakes Road
Twin Lakes Road
Juvenile Red-tailed hawk? Twin Lakes Road
Twin Lakes Road
Meadow Arnica (Arnica chamissonis), roadside near pastures
off Twin Lakes Road, Bridgeport
Yellow Salsify or Goat's Beard (Tragopogon dubius), roadside near pastures
off Twin Lakes Road, Bridgeport
Pastures off Twin Lakes Road adorned with the yellow blooms of Meadow Arnica (Arnica chamissonis), Bridgeport
Pastures off Twin Lakes Road, Bridgeport
Pastures off Twin Lakes Road, Bridgeport
Pastures off Twin Lakes Road, Bridgeport
Twin Lakes Road
Twin Lakes Road
Twin Lakes Road
Our 4Runner parked off Twin Lakes Road
Shining Peppergrass (Lepidium nitidum), roadside near pastures
off Twin Lakes Road
English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), roadside near pastures
off Twin Lakes Road
English Plantain, Twin Lakes Road
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), roadside near pastures
off Twin Lakes Road
Virginia Lakes Road
Virginia Lakes Road
Virginia Lakes Road
Virginia Lakes Trailhead
Virginia Lakes Trailhead
Virginia Lakes Trailhead
Off banks of Virginia Creek, Big Virginia Lake
Virginia Lakes Road
Large Mountain/Tiling's Monkeyflower (Mimulus tilingii) next to Mill Creek,
Lundy Canyon Trail
Lundy Canyon Trail
Cabin off Lundy Lake Road
History[edit]
The town was established in approximately 1857 by Carl Norst as a placer mining camp.[4] By 1859, a group of Mormons had arrived as miners at the site and a mining camp arose.[3] Dog Town became the site of the first gold rush to the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. Prospectors rushed here after hearing rumors of gold being washed out near Mono Lake. A small camp and trading center sprung up immediately. Dogtown did attract attention to the area as a whole, including the subsequent discoveries of much richer gold deposits in nearby areas such as Bodie, Aurora and Masonic.
Town name[edit]
The name "Dogtown" was often applied by miners to camps where living conditions were miserable.[3] It was derived from a popular miner’s term for camps made of huts. A cemetery and ruins of the makeshift dwellings that once formed part of the “diggings” here are all that remain of this rugged, yet historically significant town; making the name "Dogtown Diggings."
It was also said that the town got its name from the amount of dogs there actually were in the town. According to passed down history, a woman had come to the town with her three dogs which began breeding. Then as she found that the male miners felt alone without their families, she sold them the puppies for pinches of gold. This then led to even more puppies being born and populating the town, hence the name Dog Town.
Mining success[edit]
Dog Town was said to have produced the largest gold nugget ever found on the Sierra’s eastern slope. However, its overall gold production was not extensive. Within a couple years of its establishment, the town was abandoned as miners left in search of more profitable strikes. Nearby, the more appealing and profitable town of Monoville was booming, eventually expanding to a population of 700 pioneers.
In its prime from 1849 to the turn of the century, Dog Town was also one of the biggest hydraulic mining camps in California. Hundreds of men operating giant hoses equipped with rotating nozzles washed down vast mountain slopes in search of gold.
Today[edit]
As of 2005, the surviving remnants of Dogtown are the walls of several stone huts, a few roof timbers, and a single gravesite. The ruins have been mildly vandalized. All that remains of old Dogtown are scattered building foundations and a few wooden structures on the verge of collapse. Surrounding ranches and three homes of relatively recent vintage along French Gulch Creek occupy what once was a riotous mining camp.
People today still continue to search for gold in Dog Town. While the older miners gave up on striking riches there, prospectors insist that not all the gold was taken and some still remains in those hills and old diggings.
The site is registered as California Historical Landmark.[2] A landmark plaque by the side of nearby U.S. Highway 395 marks the location.
Dog Town’s ruins and its commemorative plaque is located on Highway 395 at post mile 69.5 (7 miles south of Bridgeport.)
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