Tioga Pass

...In the Sierras, is where me and mine have been these last few days, camping at Saddlebag Lake, around 10,000 feet. The picture above is me looking over the pass from Gardisky Lake, a beautiful little lake nestled among some high peaks. A bone-grinder of a hike, but well worth it. Great fishing, and an even better view.

This is the view from our campsite of Saddlebag Lake. Plenty of trout in there too. We never went a day without catching something. Best fishing I've done in quite a while...

Here's a pic of the camp. Note the big brown box in front of my truck. That's a bear-proof box - you have to put your food in there overnight if you want something to eat the next day. We didn't have any problems with bears though.
Here's My Little Princess holding her catch, up at Gardisky Lake - one of two she nailed up there on her mighty Barbie fishing pole...

Here is a shot of Bennettville, an old abandoned silver mining settlement. You can go in those shacks and check them out. Pretty cool. That murkiness around the trees isn't the camera; it's huge clouds of pollen being lifted upon the breeze.

I don't know if you guys can tell from the pictures, but this is some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen. This was my first trip up into the Tioga Pass, and it is without a doubt one of the best camping experiences I have ever had. We will be going back, that's for sure. There's so much to explore that we didn't even touch on - high mountain lakes, great hikes, beautiful vistas. This is God's own country, let me tell you.

I hope everyone else had a great fourth of July. We didn't see any fireworks this time around, but no-one missed them.