Devils Postpile National Monument...

is a mere freckle compared to Yosemite, but still worth the bonus miles to gander at. After all, how often do you get the chance to see one of the best examples of columnar basalt in the world. I never even knew basalt could columnar until I witnessed it myself. Way cool.

And... If that's not enough, there's Rainbow Falls, plunging 101' along the San Joaquin River. It requires a five mile RT mosey to see Mother Natures shower. I didn't mind. 

Devils Postpile historical factoid: In the early 1900's some Bozo proposed blasting the columns to pebbles to facilitate constructing a hydroelectric dam. John Muir and his cohorts came to the rescue once again for another ecological/wilderness  save. 

America's chubbiest President William Howard Taft (340 pounds) proclaimed the site a National Monument in 1911. (I don't think our 27th president would have been able to walk those five miles).

No one would ever recall another hydroelectric dam (unless you are a civil engineer), but you will surely remember this pile of rocks. 

Cheers from Mammoth, California. 

My picnic lunch companion

Midnight Lake...

Yep, still part of the aww-inspiring John Muir Wilderness.

Standing tall behind this alpine wet spot is Mount Darwin at 13,831'. Ain't it a beauty?

Here's a bit of Sierra granite history for you. Way back in 1895, Stanford professor Theodore Solomons punched in a route from Yosemite to Mount Whitney. (Much of it became the John Muir Trail). Teddy was rolling along, naming stuff along his merry way, when he noticed six gnarly light-colored peaks raising up from a basin.At that moment,  he decided "what the heck!" and christened them after the proponents of the new (at the time) scientific concept of Evolution. 

In parts of the US, it's still a new found idea! 

Evil-lution, I guess. 

I've been called a lot worse things than a descendant of a monkey. I can live with that.

Onto Mammoth Lakes mañana, so long Bishop, CA.

Enjoy your weekend

For years, I've been...

stating the Europeans make Americans look like a gaggle of "Sissy-La-Las." Those folks on the eastern side of the Atlantic are hard-as-nails tough.

Over there, no one would think of rolling around atop a scooter in a supermarket. Everyone walks and they are really good at it.

Great Britain yields the toughest of the tough.

I know this because I've been hiking and backpacking with Jonathan Deeks for years.

Jonathan embodies the True Grit of the Not-so-United Kingdom. 

He has the survivor/leadership gene of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

He's an explorer and adventurer in the mold of Captain James Cook and Doctor 

David Livingstone combined. 

Jonathan has the stamina of Robert Falcon Scout. 

He makes me look like a statue. He possesses an inhuman amount of crazy energy. He doesn't even require coffee (drugs) like me. Truly amazing.

He's smart too.

Alas, the trips with Jonathan will be coming to an end. 

Soon, he'll be trading cactus for peat.

He and his delightful wife Donna will be moving to Ireland. 

The same Donna Deeks of foodie blogger fame.

( http://www.redmountainrefuge.com/ )

We've had a great run and it's a shame it's over on this side of the Atlantic. 

Thank you Jonathan for putting up with my strange and weird Yank ways. 

Cheers and best of luck to you and Donna on the Emerald Island.