Halloween Hairiness & More Putzing…Lone Pine, CA
I left you hanging in the last post with the horror of an RV Halloween gathering right around the corner. Ooooooooo….
It all started with the ominous convergence of not just two, but three young & nutty RV couples right here in the Alabama Hills. Watsons Wander crept out of their BLM campground and sneaked into a spot just around the corner, while Gone With The Wynns slipped away from their Mono Lake hideout and furtively landed a rocky pad to our direct south. We eyed each other suspiciously for a day or so before bringing it all together in a horrifying Halloween bash at our home base. Pumpkins ready for the slaughter of carving knives, spider-web oatmeal cookes, zombie make-up….oh, the hideousness of it all! The creative Wynns, as is their way, even produced a snazzy video of the whole event (which I will link to as soon as it becomes available) in which their Youtube fan-base will vote for best pumpkin (hint: Vote wheelingit, or else….). A fabulous evening all-around which simply epitomizes the fun random RV-gatherings can be on the road.
While our pumpkins were withering and our stomachs processing the gruesome snacks we redeemed ourselves with further putzing…as promised of course. We’ve done many previous hikes around this area including the classic jaunt up the Whitney Portal and the more hidden (but equally lovely) hike to the Ashram. This time around we decided to attack the 13-mile road that winds precipitously up the hill just south of here to Horseshoe Meadows. The drive itself is quite exciting (and not for the faint of heart when it comes to sheer drop-offs) and takes you from 4,000 feet to ~10,000 in just 30 minutes with some pretty spectacular views. Once landed you’ll be in the midst of a vast high-alpine meadow where you can day-hike into the John Muir & Golden Trout Wilderness areas. We did a “putzing” kind of hike following the trail for a few miles until we got to a splendid stream that just insisted we sit down and rest. Not exactly an epic hike, but pretty darn lovely and it did burn off some extra calories from our pumpkin fest.
And of course there’s the general putzing. Really not much more to say about that since the photos speak for themselves…
This winds up our week in Lone Pine. Tomorrow we head on south back to civilization and our next destination. We managed to spend just over 3 weeks hanging around Hwy 395, all of it boondocking. Not bad for “beast” size and certainly perfect for the paws and our nature-loving souls. This route always refreshes me and sates my appetite for mountain highs. We may have seen the last of the Sierra’s for this year, but it’s certainly not the last for our RV travels.
P.S. Turns out putting “RV Sue” in the title of my last blog post snagged aaaalmost as many extra hits as when I put “naked” in there a few weeks ago. That girl’s got some fans! This of course prompted Sue to speculate what would happen if I put “naked RV Sue” in the title….hmmmm….may have to try that one sometime 🙂
POST EDIT. The video link is up and it’s a blast! Check it out:
How great to hook up with the Wynn’s and Watsons!! Good times!
Looks like lots of beautiful hikes and views.
It was such a happy coincidence that we were all here at the same time. Totally unplanned, but what a blast it turned out to be!
Nina
Full timers do really know how to make some fun. I can just imagine Halloween at Alabama Hills as it gets very dark there.
I usually wouldn’t comment twice like this, but the video wasn’t up when I first saw the posting. I had to give a big two thumbs up on that. Awesome fun. Keep it up. Well done.
Isn’t the video a blast?! Those Wynns did a pretty cool job!
Nina
We had several nights of superb stars while we were here. Amazing to see the Milky Way in such depth…and right outside your doorstep too!
Nina
Awesome that you all could randomly come together for a fun Halloween party.
Great photos as you always do, but I especially like the second set of the high country meadows. Those places are my favorite kinds of places to go and enjoy. I always feel “at home” and “at peace with myself” when I’m at those kind of locations. Have fun.
Sure do agree..and it was fun we could randomly get together this way. It’s part of the power of blogging. I’ve met so many interesting people through the blog. It’s made this whole RV experience so much richer.
Nina
Great video!!
What a fun group ! Beautiful area too !!!!
Yup..and yup…couldn’t have put it better myself!
Nina
One of the most interesting Halloween parties I haven’t been to. And so much fun. Great video of the events.
Glad you were able to enjoy it via the blog! Its fun to have our readers join the party that way.
Nina
How fun. The pumpkins were all awesome, and the video was a gas.
I agree! Everyone was mucho creative. We had such a fun evening!
Nina
I love the Lone Pine area and have hiked and camped there several times over the years. But after following your links I feel like I have somehow missed the vast majority of it. This is a fantastic wealth of info for my next trip, thanks!
This is our 3rd time here and I admit we discover something new each time. Love this area!
Nina
With Halloween behind you, Thanksgiving plans should begin…tho it’s not nearly as much fun. Why don’t we dress up as pilgrims?
Nice shots…one that looks as if it was shot from an airplane.
Box Canyon Mark
Probably won’t be much dress-up going on for Thanksgiving in our house, but I have no doubt we’ll find a good excuse to eat 🙂
Nina
We love your blog!! We like to boondock a lot and have found more places to go to through your website. We are now in an RV park in Casa Grande and although we love it here we are anxious to go out to the desert and “putz”! One question that comes to mind, as we have a furry friend with us, is what do you do about snakes? Have your paws people had rattlesnake vaccinations or? Hopefully we meet up along the road somewhere!!
Geoff and Pat
Happy to have you guys along for the ride, and great that you are getting “out there”! Regarding snakes this time of year we don’t really worry about them…winter most of tge rattlesnakes hibernate and they don’t really become an issue until Spring. In general we just use common sense…we keep the paws away from groups of hidden rocks plus we’ve taught Polly a strong “leave it” and “back” command. In all the time I’ve lived around rattlesnakes we’ve only ever seen a few.
Nina
Hi Nina
Thanks for the reply and the welcome ! We worried about Laci our furry one out in the desert because she just loves everyone and everything and considered getting the vaccine but we heard that if bitten you still need to get the antivenin . Winter and the snake aversion training that Bayrider mentions sounds like the way to go! Thanks to you both.
Now back to our busy RV day doing nothing BUT it takes all day to do it and we still don’t have enough time!!
Geoff and Pat
Find a trainer who will give your dogs snake aversion training. They use a shock collar and live snakes in cages. It is painful to hear your dog getting shocked but it stays with them, a good trainer teaches avoidance by smell, sight and sound of the rattles. We have broods of rattlers occasionally getting under our decks and in our gardens and yards. I found one in the gravel driveway this summer, when I showed my dogs where the snake had been laying they jumped back instantly as soon as they got a whiff of it. They let us know when one is under the deck, they can smell it. The funny thing is they are not really wary of the racers or gopher snakes, only the rattlers. We paid $60 per dog for the training, it only takes a few minutes.
My vet insists that the snake vaccine is a waste of time and does not really work.
Loved the halloween party and the jack-0-lanterns and the video. I can tell you all are on the young side by the way you’re all sitting on the ground while doing the carving! Great job. Hope to see you down the road somewhere. Kathie
Good point about the ground LOL…I’d like to say I have the “padding” to support it 🙂
Nina
Love all those pumpkins. What fun!
You guys were in the same site we occupied. Recognize the little cave and hole in the rock. The cats loved it there!
Oh how fun! We discovered that site last year (we stayed just down the way at the Rawhide site) and thought it would be a great spot to come back there. Our cats loved that cave too!
Nina
Awesome you all met up,awesome video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Nina
That pumpkin carving contest was a great idea and the video was a blast!
Yeah it was a fun time…and sure did appreciate the excellent video production. That’s a new one for us, and will keep that memory alive for many years to come.
Nina
It was pretty awesome! 🙂
We had so much fun hanging out with you guys once again. Thanks for hosting the carving party and we can’t wait to cross paths again!
Really, really glad our paths crossed on the 395. Had so much fun hanging both at Mammoth, Bishop and here. See ya down the road!
Nina
That was a really fun video and how much fun it was to see you, Nina alive and walking and talking. It added an extra dimension to your blog. Paul sounded just like what I thought he would sound like. Those were some really fun people and I have seen the Wynns videos before, they really do great job, they make me want to move my timeline up and get out there! Safe travels from Shirlene in Cali.
I’m glad you got to “see” me in a new way 🙂 Sure was fun to have the Wynns apply their professional touch to the video. No way I could have captured the evening in such a fun way.
Nina
Wheelin It Wins, knife . . . err, hands down.
Well thank you 🙂 I guess that potato peeler did the trick..
Nina
I’m gonna have to go with Wheeling It for the WIN! Nina’s pumpkin DOES get extra points and it is AWESOME. I think it carries Paul’s pumpkin lol! Go Team Wheeling It! 🙂
Glad you liked the pumpkin. I was quite proud of my 2nd ever attempt although I’m not really sure what I created LOL.Thanks for the vote!
Nina
Love the wheeling pumpkins best.