After two false starts we finally made it out to Lopez Lake today. Conditions were excellent - warmer, less windy, very pleasant. This is a repeat for us - we rode out here almost exactly three years ago, in the Covid year, but I’m pretty sure we were here once before although I can’t find a record of it. It’s really a fine ride, even better than I remembered.
The big surprise for the day was the water level on Lake Lopez, which were very low when we were here three years ago. Then, when we looked down from the bridge by the campground at the upper end of the lake the ground was dry below and there was a peccary hustling away from the lake, pursued by a park ranger lobbing stones at him:
It’s not like that now. The lake above the bridge is full, with coots and cormorants drifting around as well as a few fishing boats. It makes me anxious to see Lake Mead when we stay at Boulder City next week. It was frighteningly low the last time we were there.
The blog may grow dim or completely dark for a few days, btw. We’ll be staying at Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley for the next four nights, and it’s not clear whether there will be enough WiFi access to upload anything. We’ll take notes and catch up when we can.
The bike/pedestrian overpass at the train station.
#217: Cassin’s kingbird. This is the first time I’ve knowingly seen this species, but I might have in the past and misidentified it as a Western kingbird. Cassin’s is a southern bird, and we’re at the northern end of its range here. The whitish mustache is a distinguishing feature to tell it from a western.
On Orcutt Road. As usual, Rachael springs ahead when I stop for a photo, not to be seen again until she’s turned back. For a change though, I don’t lag as far behind as I often do. I’m maintaining a faster pace than I have in the last year or two.
At the campground. Rachael got about a mile further than me, and came back complaining of how terrible the grade was. We sat here at the lake having a snack, watching coots splashing on the water while acorn woodpeckers chattered in the oaks over our heads.
Rachael returned with this photo at the far end of her ride, her only contribution to the ride. Somehow her download of her GoPro footage failed and was lost, and I fat fingered and trashed her GPS route also.
On Orcutt Road, approaching San Luis Obispo. The two peaks on the right (Cerro San Luis Obispo and Bishop’s Peak) are the two Rocky scaled on our visit this time. She’ll have to come back and knock of the nearest one, Islam Hill, next time we’re in town.
