Monday | 7 May 2007 | Bishop, California:  Well, we finally left Palm Springs. Hard to believe, eh? Trust me, when we woke to brilliant blue skies and not a hint of wind, I did have a fleeting idea of lingering one more day... but it was not to be. We were up early. I took the overnight orders to the fabulous Indio post office and we hit the road.

Just before ten o'clock, near San Bernardino, we left I-10 and started our several-day journey north on Highway 395. It was 80 degrees. We stopped at the four corners, made a pot of coffee and waited-out a miles-long train. We stopped again in pretty little Lone Pine. I had prepared a taco salad for lunch and it was a welcome cold meal in the hot sun at a nice park on the north side of town.

Our view at lunch: Inyo County is home to the highest (Mt. Whitney, 14,505 feet) point in the lower 48,
and the lowest (Badwater, 282 feet below sea level in Death Valley National Park) point in the western hemisphere. And this isn't even Mt. Whitney. Mt. Whitney is "behind" these peaks and is not visible from Lone Pine, California.


Lunch stop spot

Our other stop was to refuel in Big Pine - 88 gallons x $3.12 = about $275. Ouchers, but that tank will take us well over 700 miles. Even at 4,000 feet, the air in Big Pine was warm and roses were blooming in Big Pine gardens. We checked into a campground in Bishop and we both worked for a bit before going into town for a sushi dinner at Yamatani. We were not expecting much (I mean, Bishop is miles from the ocean), but they also own a popular Japanese restaurant in the nearby fancy tourist town of Mammoth. Yamatani was great, the fish was fantastic and the owner/sushi chef was friendly.

Yamatani sushi: Spicy yellowtail tuna roll


Unagi (grilled eel)


Chicken katsu (breaded cutlet)


Grilled beef kabobs

RV Park: Highlands RV Park (760-873-7616)