On our final day in California, we visited another site I have been interested in going to for many years.  The Hot Creek Geological Site will never be mistaken for Yellowstone but, it does have hot springs bubbling in and around the creek.  

It's interesting in that the water in the stream is cool like any other mountain stream.  But, around the shoreline it is like bathtub water where the shallow water and the riverbed is being warmed by the hot springs below.

The most interesting aspect of this location for me is that this was one of the filming sites for the 1960 John Wayne movie, "North to Alaska."   It was fun to walk around on the ground where this classic film was made.   Today, there is nothing there to indicate this location's film history,  just folks fishing along the shore proving that Hot Creek is one of the premier fly-fishing destinations in the state.

On a final note from the California trip, one of my top target species was the White-headed Woodpecker.  This one flew in for a brief pause before moving on.  Right place at the right time for me, I suppose.

And, there was the "California Suite" of birds including California Quail...

California Gull...

California Scrub-Jay...

California Thrasher...

And, California Towhee.

Perhaps we could add California Sea Lion to the suite.  Just a note for my good buddy Judson, this is not a bird.

We saw a lot of wildlife.  From coyotes to bears to marmots.  And otters.  Lots of sea otters. Here there are at least 8 together in a 'raft' above the kelp beds.

We are back in Key West for awhile having travelled 49 of the last 67 days to Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Michigan, Ohio, Nevada and California.  

The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains is thawing quickly, forming raging cascades along the trails.

This panorama provides a nice view of our final California trail near the town of Bishop.

The night before we had a fun dinner at a small restaurant in Big Pine called Rossi's.  What a hoot.  The owner was there.  He is in his late 80's.  The waitress mentioned something to him as he walked through the restaurant to which he replied, "Shit, everything I have is run down."  I think he was mostly talking about himself.  

His cowboy cousin showed up shortly after that and sat down at the bar.  His usual adult beverage was promptly placed in front of him without him having to say a word.  He said he will be 89 soon.  He talked about the booming days when films and tv shows were made there.  He talked about taking trains of pack mules into the mountains to supply camps for hikers and horseback tours.  He talked about how they prevented massive fires in the old days by clearing out the fallen trees instead of leaving them as they do today to create the monster fires we see each year in California.  He was a walking, talking museum and a lot of fun to chat with.

Our spaghetti and meatball dinner was served in paper bowls with plastic dinnerware.  It was nothing short of awesome.  An old western movie was playing on one screen and the 250th Army anniversary parade was on the other. This place is what America is all about.  Even in California.  At least the part of California that is still part of America, that is.

500!

We were about 2 miles into the final hike in California when we saw our target species for the day.   The Gray-crowned Rosy-finch spends its summers high in the mountains.  We got ours around 10,000 feet elevation.

So, mission accomplished.  Goal attained in the usual DJ fashion.  Now, I'm left to ponder whether to try for 600 or not.  We have another trip planned for late August to Washington and Idaho.  550 might be doable.  But 600 would require a lot of travel just to pick a couple species here and there.  So, we'll probably focus on playing with Henry and OG in the pool and doing some shelling around Sanibel in the weeks ahead.

Today, we hit 499 for the 2025 species count.  More about that in a minute.

The lower Owens Valley between Lone Pine and Bishop is an area I have wanted to get to for many years.  I'm glad I finally did.  The towns look like they are mis-placed Route 66 relics with their classic signs and buildings.  This one is still advertising 'color tv' as an amenity.

We had the pleasure of meeting the head of housekeeping at our hotel in Big Pine.

The Alabama Hills have been featured in more than 400 movies since the 1920's, mostly old Westerns.  John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Randolph Scott and many others made movies here.  TV series such as Bonanza, Wagon Train, and the Lone Ranger were also filmed in these iconic rock outcroppings below the summit of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the continental U.S. at 14,505 feet above sea level.  I'm showing my age but, it must have been fascinating to see so much golden age of Hollywood hubbub going on in such a remote area.  This is where real movies were made in the real West by real movie stars.  Not just people who star in movies like we have today.

We also spent an amazing day hiking the Methuselah trail around the Ancient Bristlecone Forest in the White Mountains at an elevation of more than 10,000 feet.  

This barren forest consists of the oldest living trees in the world with some exceeding 4,000 years in age.  Many of these trees were alive and well when Biblical stuff like the Hittites conquering Babylon, the Myceneans settling Greece and the emergence of the Minoan culture occurred.  You can bet that Pharoah Amenemhet I did not have to deal with the fake news  when these trees were saplings.

The views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains across the Owens Valley from the White Mountains are spectacular.  This is why I don't get too excited about the mountains in the east.

And yes, we've been looking for birds too.  The final countdown to 500 looked like this.

496 - We found Chukars (lifer 575) in the White Mountains foothills before dusk yesterday.  They flushed from near where we parked to the hillsides where they made their way into the sagebrush and obscurity.  This one provided sentinel duty as the others dispersed.

497 - This morning we found the Bell's Sparrow (lifer 576) in the dusty sage brush near Independence, CA.  

498 - A few minutes later, we found LeConte's Thrashers (lifer 577) in their classic sage brush habitat as well.  Jimmy Durante would be proud of the schnoz on this bird.

The morning could not have gone better.  But wait, it did get better.  

499 - Upon our arrival to the Bristlecone Forest Visitor Center, we found a flock of Red Crossbills.  This is a species we looked for in Minnesota back in February.   These birds use their uniquely shaped beak to pry open tough pine cones to get to the pine seeds.

Do we hit 500 tomorrow?  We'll see.

We strolled around Lake Sabrina in the eastern Sierras this morning looking for Red-breasted Sapsuckers while admiring the surrounding peaks that rise to altitudes of 13,000 feet above sea level or greater.  It was a refreshing 48 degrees when we started.

We found birds nesting everywhere.  A Hairy Woodpecker was delivering a meal to one of its young in an aspen tree.

Just feet away in another aspen, Mountain Bluebirds were also busy working their nest cavity.  I caught the male taking a break from its food-gathering chores.

Mountain Chickadees were working a cavity in a fallen tree.

And, finally, Crystal spotted the Red-breasted Sapsuckers working their nest just two feet below another cavity in the same tree that was occupied by White-breasted Nuthatches.  

Yesterday evening we decided to go in search of Sagebrush Sparrows and Sage Thrashers at Mono Lake.  

Not only did we find them, but they happily posed for photos.  None of these species will win any awards for being colorful or unique.  After all, they are made to blend well with their surroundings.

Sagebrush Sparrow

Sage Thrasher

We also found a Brewer's Sparrow bringing a beak full of alkali flies to its nest.  There are gazillions of these flies all the way around the edge of Mono Lake.  They make what appears to be about a 2 foot wide black line around the edge of the water. These flies were once a major source of food for local Native Americans who would gather and dry them to eat in the winter.

Tonight we had dinner in Lee Vining at a 1960's era diner I like to call Nicely's... mainly because that is the name of the place.  Some foreign tourists asked the waitress, "What is split-pea soup?"  To which the waitress replied, "It's like smashed green beans in a soup."  They did not order the soup.

One thing we did not do during our stay in Lee Vining was get gas.  I don't believe further explanation is needed.

The total bird count for 2025 now stands at 495.  Just 5 away from the goal of 500.  For the trip, we have observed almost 150 total species with 31 being new for 2025.  14 of the 31 have been lifers which has raised my lifer total to 574.

We are three days into our trip and I have finally learned what a double solid yellow line on a two lane road means in California.  It means absolutely nothing.  I have been illegally passed more times in three days than in my entire 45 years of driving.  My theory is that everyone is rushing to the nearest filling station to get the $5.69 per gallon gas before it goes any higher in price.

We started our birding efforts on this trip at the campsite of the ill-fated Donner Party.  It's hard to put into proper perspective that we were merely birding exactly where these pioneers were forced to cannibalism when their wagon train was stranded in the Sierra Mountains during the winter of 1846.

Just above the historical marker in a large dead tree that would have been alive and well in 1846, a pair of Pygmy Nuthatches were tending to their nest.

On Day 2, the State Park road I had planned to bird for most of the morning was closed so, it was off to Monterey Bay where we were treated to point-blank looks at a Whimbrel and Black Oystercatchers.

We enjoyed dinner out and ice cream in Carmel-by-the-Sea with my cousin's daughter and her 3 year-old twin girls.  After skipping and trotting around Carmel, Dan had to help them with the sticker books Crystal bought for them.

Today we drove down Big Sur on US 1, hugging the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean.  While stopped to photograph this mother Sea Otter with its pup...

... A car stopped, a woman approached me, and the following conversation ensued...

Her:  "I have a question for you."  Before I could respond she said, "Is this road really closed in 10 miles?"   

Me: "Yes it is."  

Her: "You mean you can't go through? Really?"  

Me: "Really, it's back to Monterey for you."  

Her: Isn't there another road we can take?

Me: "No, no there is not."

She looked bewildered at another gentlemen standing there and he advised, "No, there is not."

Now, let me fill in the back story.  US 1 is one of the most scenic drives in America, following the California coast between Monterey and San Luis Obispo for about 100 miles.  There are no other roads that intersect the highway through this stretch because of the rugged Coast Range Mountains.  In February, 2024, a highly-publicized massive mudslide closed US 1 about 30 miles south of Monterey.  So, every 10 miles there are large signs indicating, "Highway Closed in xx miles.  No detours."   

Did she really think they were kidding?  Whomever proclaimed "Ignorance is bliss" was an idiot.

So, with the road being closed, we ventured as far as Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to see the famous McWay Falls that drops 80 feet straight into the ocean.  The park was closed but, we managed to get this view from the roadway above.

There is sort of a recurring theme I'm seeing with places being closed in California.

After a relaxing, over-priced lunch at Big Sur, we got great looks at the California Scrub-Jay...

And, the California Towhee.

We have also picked up the California Quail and California Gull.  So, we only need to find a California Thrasher to complete the "California Suite of Birds." 

Yet another drab bird, the Wrentit, not to be confused with the Bushtit, has been a common site.  Really, who gave the birds their names?  This one had dinner ready for its young'uns.  

Tomorrow, we finish up on the coast and head into the Central Valley with Yellow-billed Magpies at the top of our wish list.   So far, the trip has yielded 19 new species for 2025 bringing the YTD total to 483.  8 of the 19 have been lifers.