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The Getaway...Crom's build and adventures

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Builds (2005-2015)' started by Crom, Feb 11, 2015.

  1. Jul 2, 2016 at 9:36 AM
    #1921
    Crom

    Crom [OP] Super-Deluxe Member

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    Thanks!

    Yes there was a lot of streams flowing and plenty of snow for late June.

    We were on our way to camp in Yosemite NP when we found it. It is Lake Tioga Campground. We like the first come, first served campgrounds... We keep our plans flexible, I think it adds to our adventures. My wife only has one criteria for summer camping, and that is, wherever we go must have a place to swim. She doesn't care if it's cold, but she prefers warmer water to snow melt. lol :D

    We had really great camp neighbors. By far most of the campers during the week were 50+ and all were very quiet. Not once was was there a nuisance of any kind. We had great conversations, shared food, and it was fun to meet new people. Our neighbors on one side were from Denmark and Switzerland. The camp host was this burned-out-grouchy hippy. I got a tip about him from another camper so when I met him I knew what to expect. I even messed with him a little bit. lol He was actually pretty funny once we got passed his disagreeableness.

    He had a nice new clean wheelbarrow which he let me use to give my kids rides through the campground. Kids liked it best when we took the wheel barrel "off pavement" for an off-road experience. lol

    DSC05963_1287739256735476657f4aeb204472857a035f7d.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2016
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  2. Jul 2, 2016 at 9:58 AM
    #1922
    Bman4X5

    Bman4X5 There is no substitute for square inches.

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    There is a trip report on Expedition Portal. A guy and his young son spent hours clearing one of those snow banks on the same trail, only to be stopped a short distance later by an even bigger bank.
     
  3. Jul 2, 2016 at 10:26 AM
    #1923
    Crom

    Crom [OP] Super-Deluxe Member

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    Ha-ha! That sucks. And it's the exact reason why I didn't even bother. Just go somewhere else, come back another time. There is a plethora of great places to visit up there. Of particular interest were all the places along the June Lake Loop. The aqua blue color of June Lake was quite amazing to see.

    I have to go catch up on the portal thanks for the tip on the story report. Thanks Bruce!
     
  4. Jul 2, 2016 at 3:18 PM
    #1924
    scocar

    scocar hypotenoper

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    We love the campground at Silver Lake. And across the road at the lodge are the best damn omelettes in the Sierra. And it fits your wife's water criteria.
     
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  5. Jul 2, 2016 at 8:02 PM
    #1925
    HB Taco

    HB Taco Well-Known Member

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    yea thats a good one and along Gull lake there are a few really good first come sites. Good luck in the summer getting the lake front ones. But my buddy has a condo at Interlaken looking over Gull Lake and Carson peak - Gods Country! My winter home - well a few times a season anyway :) Oh and stop by the new June Lake brewery next time. Good beer and people. Family friendly, same at Mammoth brewery downstairs.
     
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2016
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  6. Jul 6, 2016 at 8:57 AM
    #1926
    Crom

    Crom [OP] Super-Deluxe Member

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    Mono Lake, CA June 30, 2016
    DSC06041_eda8ea43746b0baa53a7e0fba11daa87e45176e1.jpg

    I have yet to really explore in and around Mono Lake. Most of what I know from this landmark feature comes from the The Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center which is where these photos were taken.

    The lake is said to have about a dozen inlets, and no outlets, hence it is three times more salty than the ocean. The lake produces several different kinds of Tufa formations which rise up out of the water.

    You can see in the photo above that a fire had ripped up the side of the mountain, just a few days prior. It was called the Marina Fire. The smoke from the fire on June 26th had traveled pretty far south in the Owens Valley, which isn't surprising given the terrain.

    I like these quotes from Mark Twain who described Mono Lake:

    Mono Lake lies in a lifeless, treeless, hideous desert, eight thousand feet above the level of the sea, and is guarded by mountains two thousand feet higher, whose summits are always clothed in clouds. This solemn, silent, sail-less sea--this lonely tenant of the loneliest spot on earth --is little graced with the picturesque. It is an unpretending expanse of grayish water, about a hundred miles in circumference, with two islands in its centre, mere upheavals of rent and scorched and blistered lava, snowed over with gray banks and drifts of pumice-stone and ashes, the winding sheet of the dead volcano, whose vast crater the lake has seized upon and occupied.

    The lake is two hundred feet deep, and its sluggish waters are so strong with alkali that if you only dip the most hopelessly soiled garment into them once or twice, and wring it out, it will be found as clean as if it had been through the ablest of washerwomen's hands.


    Half a dozen little mountain brooks flow into Mono Lake, but not a stream of any kind flows out of it. It neither rises nor falls, apparently, and what it does with its surplus water is a dark and bloody mystery.

    There are no fish in Mono Lake--no frogs, no snakes, no polliwigs --nothing, in fact, that goes to make life desirable. Millions of wild ducks and sea-gulls swim about the surface, but no living thing exists under the surface, except a white feathery sort of worm, one half an inch long, which looks like a bit of white thread frayed out at the sides. If you dip up a gallon of water, you will get about fifteen thousand of these. They give to the water a sort of grayish-white appearance. Then there is a fly, which looks something like our house fly. These settle on the beach to eat the worms that wash ashore--and any time, you can see there a belt of flies an inch deep and six feet wide, and this belt extends clear around the lake--a belt of flies one hundred miles long. If you throw a stone among them, they swarm up so thick that they look dense, like a cloud. You can hold them under water as long as you please--they do not mind it--they are only proud of it. When you let them go, they pop up to the surface as dry as a patent office report, and walk off as unconcernedly as if they had been educated especially with a view to affording instructive entertainment to man in that particular way. Providence leaves nothing to go by chance. All things have their uses and their part and proper place in Nature's economy: the ducks eat the flies--the flies eat the worms--the Indians eat all three--the wild cats eat the Indians--the white folks eat the wild cats--and thus all things are lovely.

    --Quotes found here.

    Marina_Fire_19f4cc393c170d961882bada0c81e40caf4f3926.jpg

    One of the many Tufa formations that rise out of the lake.

    DSC06042_866ed77ac55abbc08ca9000a3d596e71eda864a5.jpg

    It has two islands.
    DSC06039_c80140c207ceda70ba6d3da1c50793d2ca2554c0.jpg
     
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  7. Jul 6, 2016 at 10:13 AM
    #1927
    Scott B.

    Scott B. Well-Known Member

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    Beautiful pictures of Mono Lake.

    It's been 20 years since I've been there. I think it is time to make a trip to the Cali backcountry...
     
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  8. Jul 6, 2016 at 10:31 AM
    #1928
    Crom

    Crom [OP] Super-Deluxe Member

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    The Mono Lake visitor center is where I first learned of California's water wars.

    The California Water Wars were a series of conflicts between the city of Los Angeles and farmers and ranchers in the Owens Valley of Eastern California.

    As Los Angeles grew in the late 19th-century, it started to outgrow its water supply. Fred Eaton, mayor of Los Angeles, realized that water could flow from Owens Valley to Los Angeles via an aqueduct. The aqueduct construction was overseen by William Mulholland and was finished in 1913. The water rights were acquired through political fighting and, as described by one author, "chicanery, subterfuge ... and a strategy of lies."[1]:62

    Since 1913, the Owens River had been diverted to Los Angeles, causing the ruin of the valley's economy. By the 1920s, so much water was diverted from the Owens Valley that agriculture became difficult. This led to the farmers trying to destroy the aqueduct in 1924. Los Angeles prevailed and kept the water flowing. By 1926, Owens Lake at the bottom of Owens Valley was completely dry due to water diversion.

    The water needs of Los Angeles kept growing. In 1941, Los Angeles diverted water that previously fed Mono Lake, north of Owens Valley, into the aqueduct. Mono Lake's ecosystem for migrating birds was threatened by dropping water levels. Between 1979 and 1994, David Gaines and the Mono Lake Committee engaged in litigation with Los Angeles. The litigation forced Los Angeles to stop diverting water from around Mono Lake, which has started to rise back to a level that can support its ecosystem.

    When out wheeling very near the trail head in Inyo Nat'l Forest, west of US-395, I've seen signs that say "No Trespassing, Property of "City of Los Angeles".

    We've discussed the water wars in this thread before, don't really want to rehash it, but seeing Mono Lake again and the signed fence described above, it's hard not to think about it.

    I really wish L.A. / DWP would do a desalinization plant in the ocean or something.

    I like this SacBee article on point for the ugly issue:

    Outrage in Owens Valley a century after L.A. began taking its water


    Thanks Scott!
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2016
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  9. Jul 6, 2016 at 10:39 AM
    #1929
    Crom

    Crom [OP] Super-Deluxe Member

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    Free gas?

    Well something funny happened last Sunday.

    I pumped approximately 15 gallons of gas and I got this receipt.

    IMG_20160706_082156_b8ede5b9705e64526eb03b2dd154d7e89b6c88ac.jpg

    I paid at the pump, but the pump was f'ed up and none of the pumping registered.

    I could have drove away, but instead I moved my truck out of the way and went inside and tried to pay.

    Long story short, the clerk could not ring up the sale correctly, and other customers were waiting. I wrote my name and number down and asked the clerk to have the manager call me, and I would return and pay. If they call, I'll pay, if not, well free gas. lol
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2016
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  10. Jul 6, 2016 at 10:40 AM
    #1930
    Bluegrass Taco

    Bluegrass Taco Politically incorrect low tech redneck

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    I'm a believer in Karma.....You should get free gas!
     
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  11. Jul 6, 2016 at 10:41 AM
    #1931
    ChadsPride

    ChadsPride Tacoma Owner & Enthusiast

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    The universe thanking you for all the extensive write ups and Grade A pics!!!!!!!!
     
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  12. Jul 6, 2016 at 10:52 AM
    #1932
    Crom

    Crom [OP] Super-Deluxe Member

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    Thanks!!!

    Lord knows, I could use the small break! And the multi-national corporation that gave the gas, probably wont notice. :fingerscrossed: Please don't call, please don't call. lol
     
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  13. Jul 6, 2016 at 10:55 AM
    #1933
    Subway4X4

    Subway4X4 Shameless Copy Cat

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    Are you sure you pumped gas into (Y)OUR Tacoma?
     
  14. Jul 6, 2016 at 11:01 AM
    #1934
    Crom

    Crom [OP] Super-Deluxe Member

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    haha yeah. When I paid I choose the 91 octane, and started pumping, then popped the hood, checked oil, and did an inspection of suspension. I finished that, and returned to the pump and was like, shit it's not pumping because I saw the $0.00! But then I could hear the pump working, and when I put my hand on the hose I could feel the gas moving. And sure enough, when I started the truck up it had a full tank! lol :D
     
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  15. Jul 6, 2016 at 11:36 AM
    #1935
    Crom

    Crom [OP] Super-Deluxe Member

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    Why I think window tint is a good idea.

    Sometime in the fall of 2010 I wrote to Toyota and got an answer about the glass in the truck. My interest was in stopping UV radiation.

    Toyota faxed me this document which I then scanned and posted in the forum. As you can see, each piece of glass has different characteristics.


    Glass_a12ac2e096debb91d36ef27107e434661e856321.jpg

    What was very interesting to me was that, I have the dark gray privacy glass on the back windows, and it had the worst UV reduction ratio compared to the others. So that's when I learned that color had little to nothing to do with UV filtering. Also interesting to note that the windshield provides 100% UV protection. After some cursory research, I have learned that virtually all laminated automotive glass should have this quality. And so the lesson there is, perhaps it is not smart to pay to tint your windshield for UV filtering alone...

    What I did was pay a reputable tint shop in my area (San Diego Tint) to tint the Tacoma. I can not remember what configuration I settled on for tinting. I know I choose a lighter shade for the front windows to get the 100% UV protection, and slight reduction in visible light, with the hope of not attracting police. I think I did a darker shade for the back wall and back door windows. The tint shop did a great job. It's been six years and, near flawless as far as I can tell.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2016
  16. Jul 6, 2016 at 11:56 AM
    #1936
    Soul Surfer

    Soul Surfer J!m! Was Last Seen: Roam in’ Around…

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    I love my tinted windows! A must in my environment. Thanks for the info on the windshield. I do have the 6" limo tinted strip along the top of the windshield which is also a big help.
     
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  17. Jul 6, 2016 at 2:48 PM
    #1937
    DVexile

    DVexile Exiled to the East

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    Catching up here, looks like a you had a fun trip! How were the bugs in the Eastern Sierra?

    As to kids and Star Wars...

    [​IMG]

    (Comic is from before Episode VII was released)
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2016
  18. Jul 6, 2016 at 3:50 PM
    #1938
    Crom

    Crom [OP] Super-Deluxe Member

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    Thanks Ken. :)

    The only bugs that bugged us were the tiny blood suckers that kill about 725,000 people a year. The mosquitoes were heavy at Tioga Lake in the mornings forming these tiny floating clouds about 3-4' in diameter about 3-6' from the ground. I think they may have been breeding clouds as I walked through them a few times and they didn't seem to care. I reached for my flame thrower, but I think I left it at home. :notsure:

    They tried to feed after sundown (normal), and we wear long sleeved clothing / neck scarfs and things, so we manage quite well.

    Both my kids managed to escape them the whole trip, while my wife and I received about 4-5 bites each. Of all the living things on earth, I truly wish humans could wipe out the 200 or so species that feed on people. :)
     
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  19. Jul 6, 2016 at 3:58 PM
    #1939
    socalktk

    socalktk Well-Known Member

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    Nice trip reports, love reading them and checking out the photos.

    I also hate mosquito's. I'm always in long sleeve breathable clothing, and use DEET when im not. Have you tried using Permethrin on your camping equipment?

    I also saw this someone posted awhile ago somewhere: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0031ESIVK/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER , something you can use for your your tent/cooking area?
     
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  20. Jul 6, 2016 at 4:26 PM
    #1940
    Crom

    Crom [OP] Super-Deluxe Member

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    Thanks.

    Thanks for the hardware item tip. :D I too wear long sleeve shirts. I haven't had to use any special mosquito chemical repellents in recent years. Usually only twice a year we're in areas with mosquitoes, so long sleeve clothing works fine for us during these times. On this trip the times I got bit where when I was in shorts and didn't change. One other advantage we have is that having young kids, we try to turn in earlier than perhaps most other campers so less exposure outside perhaps when most biting occurs.
     
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