Back in June we drove up to Anacortes, Washington to see my wife’s parents. Our first driving vacation in many years. We went up the Eastern Sierra on US Highway 395 up into Northern California. When I was a kid, we went camping and skiing up on the Easter Sierra and at Mammoth, so it was great to go up that road again.

We got up early, heading out of the city at 7:30am, going north on Interstate 405 to California route 14. On the 14 just north of Mojave, we stopped at Red Rock Canyon State Park. It is a nice desert badlands park. There is nice hike in the wonderfully named Nightmare Gulch, but we just stopped for a snack. With the wet Winter and Spring, the plant were in bloom and covered in interesting bugs. Click on the picture for a larger version.

Red Rock Canyon

The Sierra was beautiful and snow-covered. North of Lone Pine and just south of Independence, we stopped at Manzanar. There is now a Park Service-run facility there with very good exhibits and a good short film describing the internment of the Nisei during WWII. The facility was built in 2002. Here is the iconic memorial at the cemetery.

Manzanar Memorial

We stopped for lunch in Independence, California, population 250. The post office has a fresh coat of paint.

Independence Post Office

Not knowing were to stop for lunch, we stopped for gas first. Right across the street from the gas station was a small restaurant advertising itself as a “Biere et Vin Bistro.” We had to try it. It is the Still Life Cafe, run by a French couple. The food was wonderful. I had sausages, my wife had a brie sandwich. An amazing find in this pretty small town.

Still Life Cafe

Of course we had to stop at Mono Lake. Believe it or not, Tioga Pass which goes to Yosemite from the east, was still closed due to snow, and this was in mid-June.

Mono Lake

Our first night stay was in Minden, Nevada. We continued north on 395 to Susanville where we turned off to visit Lava Beds National Monument.

We went through two lava tubes at the park. Here we are at the entrance to the second one, known as Skull Cave.

Skull Cave Entrance

There is permanent water ice at the bottom of the cave. We all made it down, even my wife who had a badly sprained ankle.

Water Ice in Skull Cave

After spending the night in Klamath Falls, Oregon, we drove north and then cut over to the west through Eugene to the coast at Florence. Just north of Florence, we visited Sea Lion Caves which has nice views of the coast and some nice views of sea lions.

Looking South on the Oregon Coast

Looking Down at the Sea Lions

We spent our third night in Tillamook, Oregon and had a nice visit at the Tillamook Cheese Factory the next morning.

By this time, we could smell the barn. We drove with purpose the final day to Anacortes. (Well, we did stop for a walk but that will wait for a post update.)

Several days after arriving in Anacortes, my wife’s sister and her family joined us. My daughter, my nephew, and I walked around Cranberry Lake in Anacortes and visited an abandoned mine there. I have no clue what they were trying to mine.

Cranberry Lake Mine