The Great Escape - Reno Road Trip via 395!

[Granny Fish]

Labor Day Weekend Agenda:
Deliver my daughter's car to Reno via Hwy 395

Planned order of events:
Leave after work Thursday - Arrive in Bishop 1AM
Sleep a little, fish a little, and arrive in Reno by 6PM Friday.
Take Stickfighter fishing for his birthday.
Have Fun!
Leave Sunday evening to fish all day Monday in the Sierras.
Arrive home early enough to get to work on Tuesday.

Sometimes the best laid plans don't turn out the way you had hoped. With that said.... we managed to have fun regardless of the circumstances.

After 5 years of not being able to get up to the Sierras, the prospect of driving up 395 got my blood going. With Grandpa in my daughter's car and me following behind we were on the road as planned. Little did we know the events that were about to follow....

Fun every 5 minutes!
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My daughter's car over heated about half way to Bishop, however; we proceeded to stop frequently to cool the engine and add water. Determined to get to Bishop for needed repairs we trudged on. We arrived 5 hours later than expected, just in time for the sunrise.

Bishop Sunrise
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We parked at the canal behind town in hopes of getting a little shut eye and waiting for the mechanic shop to open. But who can sleep when there are fishy waters nearby?

Bassy looking canal
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We spent the early part of the morning playing with the bass and hooked into a few smallish large mouth and small mouth bass (all safely released to play another day). Then it was off to find the appropriate professional to diagnose our car problem. It would be three more hours before he would have the results, so we had to go fishing.

We would find out later the nature of our problem was a blown head gasket. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Clouds on the horizon
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Since we had to go fishing... we decided to hit the Owens River and found the fish jumping and ready to play. Being sleep deprived over 24 hours we were not trying very hard to catch, but it didn't take but a few minutes to get this limit of small variety rainbows. We tried to get some sleep but it was hot and who can sleep when there are fish to catch?
The Fishing Diversion
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Sage advice from a woman in a man's world...
-never try to take a car with blown head gasket up a mountain
-keep your AAA membership active for such cases
-pray your cell phone gets service where ever you may be
-make friends with the local indians

If your ever in this situation... save yourself some trouble and
Say Goodbye to the Problem
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Thanks to the hospitality of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Bishop, we were able to park the car behind the Paiute Casino to deal with on the way back so we could continue on our travels. We later donated the car to a member of the tribe who was willing to fix it.

40 plus hours of no sleep... we parked on a dark hill and slept for 3 sweet hours that felt like 10 minutes. We arrived in Reno in time to have breakfast with Stickfighter and his family. After a long nap our daughter and son-in-law took us to the Best In the West, Rib Cook-off http://www.nuggetribcookoff.com/

Best in The West Rib Cook Off
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6PM it was about 100 degrees, but Reno knows how to beat the heat.
The Fountains at The Nugget
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Stickfighter turned 5 last week and I had promised him I would take him fishing when I came up for his birthday. Being unfamiliar with the area we headed for the local sporting goods Mecca that rivals BPS and found a veteran local fisherman of the area to point us in the direction of success. He recommended a little lake by the name of Frenchman's Lake in the little town of Chilcoot, CA, about 40 minute drive north of Reno on 395.
Family Fishing
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It was a nice little lake and before long everyone was catching fish. Stickfighter reeled in about 7 bullheads, that we threw back and a long and lean 14' trout. The tail was full and the meat was a nice dark red. Grandpa caught a similar model just a little smaller.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/cairnst/Trip%20to%20Reno/IMG_1248.jpg

I was so proud of my little Stickfighter. He realized that everyone had caught a fish except his dad and told him the next time he had a fish on he was going to let Daddy reel it in. :wink: Then it happened! Pole goes bendo, and like a little pro, he runs down to his rod, sets the hook, checks to see if he has fish on and calls over, "Daddy, here's your fish, come reel it in!" :lol:

Stickfigher Reels'em in
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Sunday Night on schedule: we headed back down the mountain with a few stops along the way. My only regret is not having time to fish until we had our business in Bishop taken care of.

Back down the mountain - Little Virginia Lake
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Mono Lake on the horizon
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Really long trailer - Really small car
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Moral of the story is... "Even the worst situations are better when you mix it with family, fun and fishing. 8)

[Sue]

GF, those are awesome pictures and a great report :D
I miss the Stickfighter, he's such a cutie :)

Apart from the car troubles, I'm glad you guys had a fab time - see you Saturday then? ;) :rofl:

[sansou]

Awesome pics Granny!

Sounds like you guys had one heck of a trek though, but still managed to dabble in some trouting. Good stuff!

[matt duarte]

looks like you guys had fun! i cant wait till i cant get a chance to get up and fish some of those waters! it would be sweet to launch a tube on that virgina lake! that cook off looks like some good eating to! glad to hear you all had a good safe trip! oh and i love the pictures! it looks awsome up their!

[Nessie Hunter]

Outstanding...

It is often the trip not destination that is exciting.......

You had the best of both worlds, an exhausting & trying trip with some problems that worked out, and a destination that was cool.. Good trip... You made the best of the problems, and had fun....

Old Stick Fighter.. :D :D

I sure remember his day at the Vine, fighting everyone he saw.. :lol: :lol: :lol:

He must have been about 3 then... 5 Now?? Wow, time flies....... :shock:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY little Buddy.... :thumb: :group:



.

[FishSum]

I went to lake Tahoe for a week in July and stopped in Bishop for breakfast only to find out I had lost a buddy bearing on the boat trailer.
Maybe this is how people end up living in places like bishop?
Glad to see it worked out and you guys were able to spend good time with the kids and get on some fish...

[Granny Fish]

You had the best of both worlds, an exhausting & trying trip with some problems that worked out, and a destination that was cool.. Good trip... You made the best of the problems, and had fun....


By Friday night I felt like I had driven cross country, not 4 hours away.
I did miss being able to stop at Mahogany Smoked Meats on this trip,

http://store.smokedmeats.com/info.html

and Eric Schat's Bakery

http://www.erickschatsbakery.com/

my two stand by stops when I drive through town. :cry: But I was relieved to sign over the car along with its problems and go fishing. :D


Maybe this is how people end up living in places like bishop?

That is exactly what was going through my mind about 10pm Friday night.

If you ever drive through Bishop and need gas, stop at the north end of town at the Paiute Gas Station. Those folks put service back in service station.

[Beeracuda211]

Way to Chief it up Granny... Beautiful Pictures... :) Thanks for sharing with us.. See ya soon...

B/C :beer:

[one_leg]

Granny, thanks for the report.
The pics were great!!!!

You lost so much at the casino you had to bet your daughters car?
Sounds like you need a GA meeting ASAP.

That guy in the fountain kinda looked a lot like Trolly.
Are you sure he didn't stow away in the trunk?

That long trailer had a glider in it, right?

One_Leg

[Nessie Hunter]

Paiute Gas Station, sounds like 'the place' from now on..

I always fuel at the Arco station next to McDonald's, I will drive the extra to show them we are family and pay our dues...
:thumb: :group:


3 weeks to Cabo Wabo... :bigsmile:
:banana: :banana: :banana:




.

[Granny Fish]

Nessie - we dealt with several businesses in Bishop over the weekend. Most seemed jaded by the holiday weekend crowds and some were down right rude.

While we were waiting at the Paiute station we witnessed so much kindness... Case and point: A gentleman came in with a gimpy leg and was struggling to get out of his car to gas up... one of the station attendants seen him struggling and gassed up his vehicle for him. That's not all, the gentleman needed to use the restroom in the store and they told him to wait in the store until the car was gassed and they would pull the car up for him so he wouldn't need to walk so far.

That is only one example of the kindness we witnessed. With our situation, everyone there and at the casino showed so much compasion for us. If it wasn't for the Paiutes, our situation may had cost us a lot of money. Especially considering the nearest junk yard is 60 miles away in Benton.

We will be stopping by everytime we pass through from now on. They have won my loyalty.

[Troutoholic]

Nice pictures, thank God for nice people in this world. It looks like you guys had fun even though the mechanical problems, but thats what makes a trip an adventure. The Owens river rocks for quick limits, the only thing is it gets hot later in the day.

[DreStyle]

Yeah Tammy !

[Fisher-of-Men]

Great report Grannyfish! Sorry to hear that your car put a damper on your trip. :( Sounds like you made the best of things. :D

Fisher-of-Men

[Troutman65]

Wow, I can not believe I had not seen this post untill today. What an adventure. Sorry about the car trouble. Thats really cool you donated it to someone who could use it. The pics. are great. The best in the West rib cook off . How cool is that ? I' ll bet there were some tasty eats there.

Cool you got to take Stickfighter fishing for his B-day. Looks like he is well on his way to to becoming a great fisherman.

Congrats to you all on the fish you caught.

Thanks for the great report and Pics.


Troutman65

[Troutman65]

Wow, I can not believe I had not seen this post untill today. What an adventure. Sorry about the car trouble. Thats really cool you donated it to someone who could use it. The pics. are great. The best in the West rib cook off . How cool is that ? I' ll bet there were some tasty eats there.

Cool you got to take Stickfighter fishing for his B-day. Looks like he is well on his way to to becoming a great fisherman.

Congrats to you all on the fish you caught.

Thanks for the great report and Pics.


Troutman65

[Troutman65]

Now this thread got moved to the No. Cal. Gen Message. Hopefully more people will view it.

Thanks for sharing with FNN GrannyFish.

Troutman65

[johnsfishing]

nice post Granny Fish.
:D
congrats on the fish. and the trip.

johnsfishing