Bristlecone Pine N M

Giant redwoods can live to be 2000+ years old.  Impressive.  However, some bristlecone pines have been around for 4700 years and are the oldest trees on earth by a considerable margin.

The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is in the White Mountains, east of Big Pine, CA.  Death Valley is just over the hill, and a big hill it is, over 10K altitude.  We visited the area while camped in Bishop, CA.  The visitor center was supposed to open at 10 AM but was still closed at 10:20 so we bagged it and headed back down the long, winding road to our campground in Bishop.

This viewpoint is at about 9000' altitude on the road to the bristlecones, fantastic panorama of the Sierra Nevada Mts.  Trish is taking a picture of Artie for her therapy dog travelogue.