Life on Casa Diablo Road -

The last two weeks we were able to live at the Volcanic Tablelands near Bishop, California. We found an amazing site on Casa Diablo Road that was not too far away from the main roads so that it was safe to get our RV parked, and set up. As I was driving, Andrew literally directed me in to park. He watched to be sure we had plenty of clearance! That’s half the adventure, right?

This area is full of geologic and Native Peoples’ past. If you’re ever in Bishop and looking for a hike or a bit of riding trails in a 4×4 this is a beautiful, wild place.

Cloudy skys at the Tablelands with the mountains in the background. — Taken from Diablo Cirles Petroglyph area of the surrounding mountains.

RV is tiny from the view in Owens Valley. — Taken from Diablo Cirles Petroglyph area of the surrounding mountains.

What’s it Like on Casa Diablo Road?

Turn off Highway 6 and onto Five Bridges Road. As the road enters the Public Lands it becomes Casa Diablo Road. Climb up the plateau made of Bishop Tuff and you’ll overlook Owens River with amazing mountains in the distance. The land in Owens Valley and the Tablelands above is a stark contrast. Here, we experienced the gusty winds, and dust in the air from the volcanic action over 700,000 years ago.

This spring, the Tablelands are dotted by sagebrush, small green sprouts, and flowering plants. At night we could hear peepers (or another critter that sounds like them) from the river below. In the distance, we watched the snow continuously melt off the mountains and enjoyed the sunshine almost everyday.

Rock appears like Swiss cheese. — The rocks are spectacular!

one huge rock leans on another. The skyline in the distance can be seen between them. — The rocks are spectacular!

Exploring the area

We adventured out each day to explore when Andrew finished working. There are a number of blogs and the government website which give the history and suggestions of places to 4×4 on the dirt and rocky roads, to see petroglyphs (PLEASE DON’T TOUCH), climb, and hike.

4×4 roads

We didn’t drive too many of the off road trails that are all over the area. We did venture down a few when we were deciding where to park to take hikes. The roads, when dry as they were this spring, are very navigable and don’t require skill. It is an excellent way to see the Tablelands off Casa Diablo Road, Chalk Bluff Road, and Fish Slough Road.

Lara's fingers are in the photo to show how small the yellow flowers are. — Tiny yellow flowers were in the rocks all along Fish Slough Road.

Tiny yellow flowers dot the rocky land. — Tiny yellow flowers were in the rocks all along Fish Slough Road.

Petroglyphs

The petroglyphs we found off Casa Diablo Road, and Fish Slough Road are really amazing. The Paiute/Mono and Shoshone People used the geology of the area to make their glyphs stand out. The top layers of the rocks are dark, while the layer under is light in color. If you get to see these or any other petroglyphs please remember NOT to touch them.

Hiking to Casa Diablo Circles

We found the Casa Diablo Circles on our very first hike out from the RV. This ended up giving us the incorrect idea that finding other petroglyphs would be just as easy.

Closeup of Diablo's Circles Petroglyph — The lichens are stunning!

Gerrn lichens growing in the petroglyph — The lichens are stunning!

Driving to Fish Slough, Chidago Canyon, and Red Canyon Petroglyphs

During our second weekend we decided to take the advice of the notary, John, we met in town to sign for our second rental home sale. He said his favorite area was Happy Rock (which we knew nothing about before this) and that from that area we could hike to 13 Skipping Moons. He also told us about several petroglyph sites off Fish Slough Road that we could clearly see from the road.

Chidago Petroglyphs from a distance with the blue sky in the background. — Chidago Petroglyphs

Close up of petroglyphs — Chidago Petroglyphs

So, we took a drive and saw so many amazing petroglyphs off Fish Slough Road! The drive and hiking around each area took a few hours total, and then we hiked a couple miles into Chidago Canyon. The petroglyphs at Chidago Canyon, and Red Canyon were really amazing and so worth the drive.

Close up of Red Canyon petroglyphs — Red Canyon Petroglyphs

Petroglyphs from Red Canyon — Red Canyon Petroglyphs

Hiking to 13 Skipping Moons

After hearing about these two petroglyphs from another hiker and also from John, we decided this would be our little adventure. We looked online for directions and found none. However, we heard from a couple people that they were accessible from Happy Rock. Starting at the parking lot off Chalk Bluff Road we hiked up and into the boulder area. This is a popular spot for climbers from all over the country. It was impressive to see all the different license plates in these lots each time we parked or drove by.

We had no luck this first day. So we looked more carefully at the photos and tried again from another road off Casa Diablo Road. Here we found other petroglyphs! But it was terribly windy and cold so we didn’t stay long or really get to enjoy them.

Petroglyphs - it looks like one is a person climbing — These Pertoglyphs were not too far north from Sad Rock climbing area.

Petroglyphs with many squiggly lines and a couple circles with a single line through the middle. — These Pertoglyphs were not too far north from Sad Rock climbing area.

Finding 13 Skipping Moons!

We hiked a third day without success. Finally, on the fourth evening of looking for 13 Skipping Moons we found it! We were wandering around the edges, through and over boulders, and across the flat lands. We used a couple different photos posted online and happened to see a rock with markings on it not too far from 13 Skipping Moons. The rock that caught our attention had marks possibly from a gun? But it did draw us in the right direction, Then Andrew saw the petroglyph through the rocks from above!

Andrew wearing a black jacket and carrying hiking sticks on a large rock. A cloudy sky is in the background. — We are searching between Casa Diablo Rd and Chalk Bluff Rd.

The 13 Skipping Moons petroglyph is in the distance. It is off the cliff where we were standing. In the background there is a platau and another rocky ridge. — We are searching between Casa Diablo Rd and Chalk Bluff Rd.

Sky Rock Petroglyph

After getting some photos and spending time there admiring the work of the Native People, a young couple came along and told us where to find Sky Rock. It was nearby, so we continued our hike there. The four evenings of hiking from both Chalk Bluff and Casa Diablo Road were very worth the time!