The Great Escape - Reno Road Trip via 395!
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!
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
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
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
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
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
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
6PM it was about 100 degrees, but Reno knows how to beat the heat.
The Fountains at The Nugget
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
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.
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
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
Mono Lake on the horizon
Really long trailer - Really small car
Moral of the story is... "Even the worst situations are better when you mix it with family, fun and fishing. 8)
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Nessie Hunter
