Bristlecone Pines Trip
I grew up in Bishop and the first time we visited the bristlecones
my family drove up the 4wd and very steep Silver Canyon Road out
of Laws.  Someday I'll drive the road again - going up.  I don't think
I have the guts to go down.  The second trip was with 4wheelbob on
his first attempt up White Mountain Peak.  The third I climbed
White Mountain Peak while Bob made it just a short ways up.  The
fourth trip we were again with Bob while he was acclimating - a
couple of days later was when he finally summited :)

This time we drove up Friday with the trailer to Grandview
Campground, elevation 8,600', and stayed there until Monday.  The
campground is free (donations are accepted) and there is ample
room between sites which makes it very nice.  There are beautiful
big and ancient-in-their-own-right junipers in the campground as
well as scenic views towards the Sierra Nevada and east towards
Deep Springs. There were many astronomers out that first night
with telescopes to watch the meteor shower.

On Saturday we drove up to the new visitor center, elevation about
9,800' and we saw the first interpretive talk of the season.  We
then hiked the Methuselah Grove Trail.  It was my first hike at
elevation this year and I huffed and puffed a bit along its 4.5 mile
route.  I hadn't hiked the whole trail before and I'm very glad to
have finally done so. They don't tell you which tree out there is
Methuselah, the oldest known tree in the world.  But I had fun
guessing which one it could be.  There are no doubt even older trees
out there as well.  There was a little bit of snow left on the
north-facing slopes, and flowers blooming on the south!  It was a
gorgeous day to hike.  I only saw a few other people on the trail, but
lots of squirrels, chipmunks, and Clark's Nutcrackers.  We then
drove up the road a little ways to where there are some
bristlecones clinging to the edge of the mountain and gorgeous
views of the Owen's Valley.

Sunday we drove down into Bishop and went to the city park.  Mule
Days is the big event every Memorial Day Weekend and the park
was buzzin' with vendors and events.  The kid had fun swinging and
we cooled off in Bishop Creek which flows alongside the park.  We
then took a drive up Pine Creek Canyon while the kid napped.  The
stopped at Schat's Bakery for my favorite Chileno Cheese Bread :)

Monday we packed up and headed down the mountain, stopping to
photograph the many flowers in the canyon that the highway
descends.  We took a drive up to the Sage Flat Trailhead and had
lunch with a gorgeous view of Owen's Lake and the surrounding
mountains.
Methuselah is somewhere on the hillside behind me