First Ever Owens Lake Fall Big Day, Saturday, August 23, 2008

Hello Owens Lake supporters,

We are planning our First Ever Owens Lake Fall Big Day for Saturday, August 23^rd. This survey will be smaller in scale and should take roughly half a day by beginning at 6:00AM. The areas to be covered will be the dust control ponded areas that will be shrinking and exposing lots of feeding habitat. The natural sites (seeps, springs and artesian wells) around the shoreline of the lake will not be covered because of their diminished size at this time of year. We will need five teams of 3-5 counters to do the census.

If you would like to be part of this first ever Fall survey please contact me via email or phone. During this part of August we can expect BIG numbers for every group. Make motel reservations early. Camping is available at Inyo National Forest sites and can be arranged on line. We have shady lawn space and limited number of beds at the Prather home.

There will be a tally and FREE food (BYO beverages please) after the count – don’t miss it

Mike Prather’s contact information – mprather@lonepinetv.com  (h)760.876.5807 (cell) 760.715.0692

What to wear and bring? – It’s Fall so dress in layers (cool morning in the 50’sF and warm afternoon in the mid 80’s to 90’sF). Footwear that might get muddy or wet. Protect yourself from sun. Take water, food etc. The hard hat and vest safety requirement for the lake has been waived by LADWP (thank you!)

Equipment - Binoculars, field guides, spotting scope (if you have one), camera.

Vehicles – Carpooling if possible. Unless it has recently rained, all roads (paved and dirt) should be fine. (There can be some soft areas and some high centers)

Distances – 60 miles to Bishop, 215 miles to downtown LA, 175 miles to Bakersfield, 260 miles to Reno

ATM’s – El Dorado Bank and Alta One Bank,

Also – Hospital ER, grocery store, drug store and two bars.

Accommodations –

MOTELS:

• Frontier (Best Western) – 760.876.5571
• Dow Villa Motel – 760.876.5521
• Mt. Whitney Motel – 760.876.4207
• Trails Motel – 760.876.5555
• Portal Motel –760.876.5930

CAMPGROUNDS:

• Diaz Lake County Park - 3 miles south of Lone Pine on Hwy 395)
• Tuttle Creek BLM -  Take Whitney Portal Rd. west for three miles. Turn left onto Horseshoe Meadow Rd. Go a little over a mile to turnoff to campground on right.
• Lone Pine Campground – Inyo National Forest. Reservations can be made on line. Campground is less than 10 minutes from Lone Pine. Drive west on Whitney Portal Rd.
• Boulder Creek RV Park – 4 miles south of Lone Pine on Hwy 395.  760.876.4243
• Portuguese Joe Inyo County Campground – go one half mile west of Lone Pine on Whitney Portal Rd. ; turn left on Tuttle Creek Rd. and campground is immediately the right.
• Whitney Portal campground, Inyo National Forest; 13 miles west of Lone Pine at 8,500 feet.

Food:

• Hi Sierra Café – next to the Dow Villa Motel. Open 24 hours
• Mt. Whitney Restaurant – open 6AM – 9PM. At the stop light.
• Alabama Hills Café -(Post St. west of Hwy 395 just north of Pizza Factory) –breakfast and lunch. Open at 5:30AM
• Bonanza Mexican Restaurant - One block north of stoplight on east side of street.  Open 11AM for lunch and dinner Mon. – Friday. Open at 8AM for breakfast Sat. and Sun.
• Expresso Parlor – GOOD coffee. Opens at 6AM. Second block north of light on west side.
• Merry-Go-Round  - Dinner only; open at 5PM. Next to the Seasons at the stop light
• Seasons – Dinner only; open at 5PM. At the stop light.. Fine dining (excellent, $$$)
• Pizza Factory – Across street from Dow Villa Motel. Opens at 11AM.
• Carl’s Junior – Open at 6:30AM. North end of town.
• McDonald’s – Open at 6AM. South end of town.
• Ranch House Café – Olancha; On Hwy 395, 22 miles south of Lone Pine at southern end of Owens Lake. Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Gasoline  - Mobile and Chevron

Local birding –

• Diaz Lake – 3 miles south of town on Hwy 395
• Edwards Field – riparian area behind Carl’s Junior (north end of town)
• Lower Owens River – Access where the Lone Pine Narrow Gauge Rd. or Hwy 135 cross the river. Walk upstream or down stream wherever habitat looks good.
• Whitney Portal – 8,500 feet; 13 miles west of Lone Pine on Whitney Portal Rd.; stream, large Jeffery pines and white firs.
• Horseshoe Meadows – 9,500 feet elevation, stream, meadow, foxtail pine forest; 23 miles SW west of Lone Pine.

Local Attractions -

• Lone Pine Film History Museum
• Manazanar National Historic Site -10 miles north of Lone Pine on Hwy 395
• Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce – On Hwy 395 on first block north of stop light on east side in Old Lone Pine Hotel.
• Inter Agency Visitor Center – 2 miles south of Lone Pine at jct. of Hwy 395 and Hwy 136.