Sierra. A Pashnit Motorcycle Tour.

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Ready kiddies?

Put the little ones to sleep, pull up a chair, and take a little ride with me. This coming weekend marks the close of running these tours for the last 6 years as we head out to the ocean on Friday to wrap up the last tour of the season. Then to begin setting up the 7th year already. Lot of miles traveled, lot of twisty road. :thumbsup:

So, ready? Pashnit Motorcycle Tours heads into the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

(these are just the foothills before the mountains.)
:laugh:

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See the dual GoPro's? Yes Virginia, running off a 1" RAM ball bolted into the mirror mount. Works very well.

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This lil road you're looking at is Hwy 49 - commonly referred to locally as 'The Little Dragon'. Super twisty, long way down. Perfect pavement.

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Yosemite National Park - on into Ahwahnee for lunch

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Price of a room starts at $400 on up to $1000 a night.

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The Ahwahnee Hotel was designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, who also designed the Zion Lodge, Bryce Canyon Lodge, and Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge, with interior design directed by Dr. Phyllis Ackerman and Professor Arthur Upham Pope.

The site for the hotel is below the Royal Arches rock formation in a meadow area that had served in the past as a village for the native Miwoks, who formerly lived in the valley, and a stables complex known as Kenneyville. The site was chosen for its views of many of the iconic sights in Yosemite, including Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and Glacier Point, and its exposure to the sun allowing for natural heating.

The hotel was constructed from 5,000 tons of rough-cut granite, 1,000 tons of steel, and 30,000 feetof timber. The 'wood siding' and 'structural timber' on the exterior of the hotel is actually formed of stained concrete poured into molds to simulate a wood pattern. Concrete was chosen as the material for the outside 'wood' elements to add fire resistance to the hotel. The construction lasted 11 months and had a cost of US$1,225,000 upon completion in July 1927.

Just before opening, the director noticed that the porte-cochere planned for the west side of the building, where the Indian room now sits, would cause exhaust fumes from automobiles to invade the premises. A hastily designed Douglas Fir pole porte-cochere entry and parking area was erected on the east side of the hotel to correct this. The logs were replaced in the 1990s.

Almost immediately after opening, the next of many alterations were made to the hotel. In 1928, a roof garden and dance hall were converted into a private apartment after the dance hall failed to draw an audience. It was found that the load-bearing trusses in the dining room were barely adequate to support the snow load on the roof and potential earthquake stresses. This led to the trusses being reinforced in 1931-32.

When Prohibition was rescinded in 1933, a private dining room was converted into the El Dorado Diggins bar, themed to the California Gold Rush period.

1943 saw the United States Navy take over the hotel for use as a convalescent hospital for war veterans. Some of the changes made to the hotel by the Navy were repainting of the interior, conversion of chauffeur and maid rooms into guest rooms and enclosure of the original porte-cochere.


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On up to Olmstead Point to see the view of Half Dome

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What's interesting about this pic, is if you have decent enough binoculars or telescope, you can see people sitting atop Half Dome looking back at you. :laugh:

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The guys check out the relief which is really cool.

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Spectacular views along Tioga Pass

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On through Tuolumne Meadows.

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Mono Lake calls next. Really a beautiful place. We hit it just right with a lone rain cloud on the far side of the lake combined with the setting sun. :thumbsup:

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Wondering about that arm & GoPro Hero setup? Get to that in a bit. :whistle:

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1 mile of gravel to get down to the lake.

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Wow! Those are some great shots!! I now MUST make a trip there. The pictures of that hotel and the write up are much appreciated. Thanks so much for sharing Pashnit! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: I LOVE that camera setup you've got. If you need someone to 'test' one of those systems for you I'd be glad to use it! :rofl:

OH- Youre still posting..... sorry!! Didnt mean to cut in!

:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:
 
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No worries Josh - it's only Day 1. :laugh:


Mono (pronounced Mō-Nō) Lake is a dead lake. With a bit of interesting recent history. This court case was alive and well when I first came to California in '93.

In order to provide resources for the growing Los Angeles area, water was diverted from the Owens River. In 1941 the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power extended an aqueduct system into the Mono Basin. So much water was diverted that evaporation soon exceeded inflow and the surface level of Mono Lake fell rapidly. By 1982 the lake was reduced to 37,688 acres having lost 31 percent of its 1941 surface area. As a result alkaline sands and once-submerged tufa towers became exposed and Negit Island became landbridged, exposing the nests of gulls to predators (chiefly coyotes) and forcing the breeding colony to abandon the site.
Exposed tufa towers in Mono Lake; South Tufa, 1981

In 1974, Stanford University graduate student David Gaines studied the Mono Lake ecosystem and was instrumental in alerting the public of the effects of the lower water level. The National Science Foundation funded the first comprehensive ecological study of Mono Lake, conducted by Gaines and undergraduate students from UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, and Earlham College. In June 1977 the UC Davis Institute of Ecology published their report, "An Ecological Study of Mono Lake, California," which alerted California to the ecological dangers posed by the redirection of water away from the lake for municipal uses.

Gaines formed the Mono Lake Committee in 1978. He and Sally Judy, a UC Davis student, led the committee and pursued an informational tour of California. They joined with the Audubon Society to fight a now famous court battle to protect Mono Lake through state public trust laws. While these efforts have resulted in positive change, the surface level is still below historic levels and exposed shorelines are a source of significant alkali dust during periods of high wind.

Owens Lake, which once sustained a healthy ecosystem, is now a dry lake bed during dry years due to water diversion. Mono Lake was spared this fate when the California State Water Resources Control Board issued an order to protect Mono Lake and its tributary streams on September 28, 1994. Since that time, the lake level has steadily risen. In 1941 the surface level was at 6,417 feet above sea level and as of August 2006 it was at 6,385 feet .The lake level of 6,392 feet above sea level is the goal, a goal made more difficult during years of drought in the American West.


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See the texture of the ground? Those are flies. Millions of them.

Dead lake, but ecosystem alive and well as you can see.

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Setting sun... and I get the color. The yellows and oranges. Sweet.

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Still raining on the far side of the lake.

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Snapping away as the sun sets into the Sierra

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Cool, huh. What you can't see in the pics, is a line of photographers set up here with their long lens' and tripods clicking away. If you want The Shot, this is the place.

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Finally, the close of day 1 & we all head out to get some grub!

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Day 2 - The Sierra Passes

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If you are ever in the Lee Vining area on the eastern Sierra, this is a little place called the Tioga Lodge. Old stagecoach stop. No phones. No TV. Just incredible view and a great cook on site to provide for us.

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Heading on up to Bodie Ghost Town at 8400 feet

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My buddy Tim's ride motto is 'I never brake. Just lean it deeper.' :laugh:

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After 10 miles of awesome high desert twisty, comes 3 miles of gravel

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Off road machine for the moment.

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Another teaser of the GoPro arm... ;)

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