I am a Filipina and I’ve been living for decades in Southern California famous for its state and privately owned sun-kissed and surf beaches. Now that summer is gone and cooler temperatures are setting in, it’s not as fun to go to the beaches anymore
It would be interesting to see the fall colors without traveling far. Searching through places to go I read about Bishop a small city in the Eastern Sierra region of California. It is about 286 miles from Anaheim, home to Disneyland and mine too.
On the way to Bishop, we stopped by the Red Rock State Park in Cantil, CA 120 miles north of Los Angeles.
This is a small park compared to Bryce Canyon in Utah or Grand Canyon in Arizona but you can hike up close and slip in between the giant columns of rocks that have tones of red, orange and brown. The high concentration of iron, and its exposure to the elements caused the iron minerals to oxidize or “rust” resulting to these colors. According to parks.ca.gov, during the early 1870s, the colorful rock formations served as landmark for 20-mule team freight wagons that stopped for water.
The combination of desert and rock formations scenery served as backdrops for TV shows and movies. Some of the movies filmed in this park were the opening scenes of Jurassic Park-1993, Westworld-1973, Beneath the Planet of the Apes-1970, Capricorn One-1977.
A short drive further into the park are less buff in color rocks. Weathering, erosion and surface water may have leached out the iron oxide or there was none at all. The formations look like old civilization.
The road is well paved and a smooth drive. Further up you can already see some yellow colored bushes but the trees are still green. At the backdrop, is the majestic view of the distant mountains already covered in snow.
At the top are the vivid colors of orange and yellow. The lake has an elevation of 9,163 feet. There is no cell phone signal but it is many times more than compensated by the beautiful scenery. It is a crowded weekend. Visitors like us enjoying the view.
Lake Sabrina offers great hiking and fishing opportunities. The lake is stocked every year with rainbow trout. The surrounding is a spectacular color of green, yellow and orange leaves and the relaxing sound of flowing water.
Our first time to see the amazing fall colors in California and certainly wouldn’t be the last. It was a beautiful and well spent weekend. After an awesome trip, ready to go back to work feeling recharged.
