In August, Mr. Ranney and I went on one of our favorite vacations, camping in the Rock Creek area in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We enjoy the clean mountain air at 10,000 feet above sea level. 
Our tent trailer is convenient and cozy.
We often have furry visitors at our campsite.
While camping, our favorite daytime activity is hiking. This trail is in an area called Little Lakes Valley. There are many sparkling lakes along the way.
We often see furry friends near the trails, as well - like this pika!
The mountains are spectacular. Because they are so high, there is always some snow on them, even in the summer!
This lake, called Gem Lake, is an emerald green glacial lake at the end of a 4 mile trail. We love to stop here and eat the lunch we've packed. You can see below how Mr. Ranney likes to relax at Gem Lake before the hike back to camp!
On another hike, we visited Emerald Lake. It's located near Mammoth, which is only about a 30 minute drive from Rock Creek. There are many beautiful hiking trails near Mammoth, and we try a different one each time we camp in the area.
Since our campground is also about 30 miles from the town of Bishop, we decided to visit the Laws Railroad Museum, which displays trains and railroad buildings dating back to the late 1800's.
This lake, called Gem Lake, is an emerald green glacial lake at the end of a 4 mile trail. We love to stop here and eat the lunch we've packed. You can see below how Mr. Ranney likes to relax at Gem Lake before the hike back to camp!
On another hike, we visited Emerald Lake. It's located near Mammoth, which is only about a 30 minute drive from Rock Creek. There are many beautiful hiking trails near Mammoth, and we try a different one each time we camp in the area.
Since our campground is also about 30 miles from the town of Bishop, we decided to visit the Laws Railroad Museum, which displays trains and railroad buildings dating back to the late 1800's.
Below is a classroom that was used in the 1880's. How does it compare to our rooms here at Chaparral?
This is the original Bishop ice house used in the early 1880's to store ice cut from local lakes. Back then there were no refrigerators or air conditioners!!
What adventures did you have over the summer?
Please leave a comment and tell about something fun you did!
Please leave a comment and tell about something fun you did!
Dear Mrs. Ranney,
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed reading your story about your trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and seeing the beautiful photos! Hiking in an activity I enjoy as well.
That was an interesting photo of the old school house. Just imagine heating the classroom with that old potbelly stove!
Your wildlife pictures were also great. My favorite was that one of the pika... peekin' at you!
It looks like you had great weather. What was the average temperature? Were there many mosquitoes?
I had a great adventure, too. My husband and I went fly fishing up in the Arctic Circle. We were so far north, the sun never set!
Your friend,
Mrs. Yollis
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment. I did have a wonderful vacation. The average temperature was in the 80's during the day and in the 40's at night. It was so clear at night that we could see the Milky Way! Because we went later in the summer, there were only a few mosquitoes. Thank goodness!
Your trip sounds fascinating. I look forward to reading about on your blog and commenting back to you.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Ranney
Dear Mrs. Ranney,
ReplyDeleteIt's me Joshua!!! It sure looks like you had a real adventure. Those squirrels are funny! They just make you smile! :D
My summer was at Disney Land/California Adventure. I had lots of fun and went on rides.
My mom wants me to go to bed now!
I'll submit another comment tomorrow!
From, Joshua
Dear Mrs.Ranny,
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky you got to go to Sierra Nevada. Did you get to ride on the train?
Love,
Scarlet
from Mrs. yollis class
Dear Scarlet,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment! I do feel lucky to be able to visit such a beautiful place. In regard to your question about riding the train: No, we didn't ride on the train, but we did get to climb inside! The trains at the museum do not run. However, I have ridden trains many times, both here in the United States and in Europe. In fact, Mrs. Yollis and I once took a wonderful train trip together!
Sincerely, Mrs. Ranney
Dear Mrs. Ranney,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you had a lot of fun! I really enjoy looking at your photos, especially the photo of the pika.
See you on Monday.
From Seruni
Dear Mrs.Ranney,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you had a lot of fun this past summer! I enjoyed looking through all of your pictures.I was wondering if the heater in that classroom still works? I was also wondering if that chipmunk was eating a nut?
This summer I went to Yosemite National Park. I was also camping, and I even saw a bear!I also went tubing at Bass Lake.
You have a been a really nice teacher and I love being in your class!
From,
Andy
Dear Mrs. Ranney,
ReplyDeleteThis summer I went to Hawaii and we stayed at the Royal Hawaiian hotel.
I really enjoyed boogie boarding with my dad
especially when I caught a wave really far out and landed on the beach.
I was hoping to see a giant Sea Turtle but I never did.
Eating fresh pineapple in the morning for breakfast was so good!
I had a really great time in Hawaii and I can't wait to go again.
From,
Andrew S. :>}
Dear Seruni, Andy, and Andrew,
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating by commenting on our blog. I'm impressed with your writing! Andy, the chipmunk was actually eating a tortilla chip we had dropped!
Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Ranney
Dear Mrs. Ranney,
ReplyDeleteThis summer my family and I went to Palm Springs with Eli and his family. We had a really fun time. These are some activities that I did while I was there.
The first thing was learning how to ride a bike. It took me at least 7 minutes to be able to balance and ride by myself. It was so cool.
The second thing I did was swim alot, and go to a place called Boomers. Boomers is a waterpark where we shot water out of these boats. My dad got so wet!
Next, Eli and I ran through the sprinklers. I slid alot on the wet grass. I was pretending to slide to home plate.
I watched alot of baseball games and Espn. We also went putting on the putting green everyday. I wasn't that good though.
Finally, when I would go to sleep, I slept on the trundle bed. It was nice and cozy.
I wanted to tell you that I think that the Pika from your trip was so cute!
From,
Carson
Dear Mrs.Ranney
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I have a question. Did you see Mt. Whitney? Hope you had a awesome time. I went to Bass Lake just like my brother did ,too.
Your former student,
Lucas Bartok
Dear Mrs. Ranney,
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you had a wonderful time, and I have a few questions. Because you were in the Sierra Nevada, were the trails that you hiked on steep, flat, or even rocky? My second question is where did you have your campsite, was it at the top or bottom of the mountain? I hope that you will have an even better time than this time in the coming years. This summer I went to San Francisco and I was saying to myself I want the warm weather back, and once I got the warm weather I wanted the cold! Did that happen to you?
Your former student,
William M.
Dear Mrs. Ranney,
ReplyDeleteI have one question to ask you. How could Mr. Ranney's feet not be cold in the water? This summer I went to Sea World. I had lots of fun there. I wish you a happy school year.
sincerely your new student,
Ethan
Dear Mrs.Ranney,
ReplyDeleteWow! It looked like you had a great time. On my vacation I went to Hawaii. In Hawaii I went to the beach and went boogie boarding.
l loved the pika because it is cute. You are the best teacher ever!
Your student,
Natalie del Carmen
Dear Mrs.Ranney,
ReplyDeleteYou must have had a great trip. My favorite picture was of Gem Lake. The most interesting picture to me was of the classroom because the heater they used, and I think you said it was called a porkbelly stove. I also thought the chalkboard was interesting too. Do you know if the water in Gem Lake was cold or hot?
Your Student,
Eli
Dear Eli,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. You proved that it's never to late to comment on a post. Gem Lake is a glacial, which means it was formed from ice. It is cold all year round, even in the summer! Of course, it's much colder in winter time. The stove was interesting to me too. It's actually called a potbelly stove, but I like your name just as much!!
Thanks again for your comment.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Ranney