Clear and open vistas, streams, wildlife, snowfields on the high peaks, meadows, silence, wildness, chill at sundown, bright stars and the Milky Way, sighing pines in a breeze, fluttering aspen leaves.....and perhaps a sense of aloneness, a facing of oneself and a sorting of what is important.
Like most travelers to the Eastern Sierra, I passed through Bishop on my way to Mammoth and the fly fishing streams and lakes of the "high country". Bishop represented the near-end of the journey. One could relax knowing that some portal had been passed through....the trip was almost over. Perhaps a stop at Schats and almost always a topping of the gas tank at the Shell station constituted my acquaintence with Bishop.
 |
| Turn Left at Mumy Lane off of W. Line |
But I had always wanted to spend time exploring the immediate countryside that surrounded Bishop. There were the treelined lanes that started in town and stretched straight out into open land and usually ended at a ranch or simply died out in the sagebrush. Fall colors had begun to paint the trees in yellows, golds and reds. I found several of the treelined lanes off of West Line Street and walked for several miles up and down Mumy and Reata Lanes. A number of "ditches"...streams of crystal clear water...crossed under the lanes, bringing water to the croplands and grazing fields to the east. Each ditch was identified as to owner, though I wondered if any of them were still alive because the ditches looked as if they had been flowing for decades. These waterways played, and still do play, an important role in the development of Bishop. They existed long before the suburban sprawl that has grown up around the perimeters of the town, and represent the result of the complex water-rights issues that had to be worked out by early settlers.
West Line was also the road to the high country lakes west of Bishop. I had time and I had always wanted to visit those lakes. Lake Sabrina (Sa-brine-ah as the locals call it) is the largest and closest.
Taking a left, I drove up an ever-ascending road into golden aspens and pines. But that is another story.
SRH
 |
| "Ditch" Water Passing Under Mumy Lane |
 |
| The High Country West of Bishop (From Reata Lane) |
No comments:
Post a Comment