Monday, July 20, 2009

Convict Lake Road

For two weeks every July, our friends camp with their 3 children in their trailer at the Convict Lake campground (seen on the left side) by the creek. Our son gets to stay with them and have a go at fly-fishing. So far, he caught & released 3 brown trout (they were too small to keep). When we arrived mid-day Saturday, there was a brief hail storm.
Convict lake gets its name from a gun battle that took place there in 1841, when a group of convicts from a state penitentiary in Carson City, Nevada escaped, headed South and were cornered in this canyon. During a fierce gun battle, a local merchant, Robert Morrison, was killed and the convicts escaped again, and were caught several days later. The high peak on the left is Mt. Morrison, and Laurel Mountain (on the right) was shown in yesterday's photo. From Hwy 395, Convict Lake turnoff is about 10 miles south of the Mammoth Lakes road.

9 comments:

VP said...

Catching up with posts, I have just found this little piece of history attached to this beautiful lake.

Hilda said...

Magnificent view! I love how the lake is nestled among the mountains. It looks so peaceful. Almost hard to believe that anything like a gun battle happened here.

Anonymous said...

I just assume that the convicts didn't go back to prison but were shot on the spot.

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RogerB said...

Beautiful photo - it has to be enlarged to really appreciate it. Those are some happy campers!

Lois said...

What interesting history!

Anonymous said...

I wanna go jump in a lake right about now.

Anonymous said...

I think I'll head up that way come fall. The colors are really spectacular then. Robert Morrison was a merchant in Benton. Thats where my childhood friend Ellen has her ranch Bartlett Training Stables. She built a room with bath off the side of the garage. As long as the kids don't return home I've got a place to stay.

Cezar and Léia said...

Hello dear Tash!
Very informative post and no doubt your son enjoyed this place because it is wonderful indeed!I loved this picture!
Greetings from Luxembourg
Léia :)

Lori Lynn said...

Love these! This is where we got married. And the moring of the wedding a group of friends and family joined us for a run around the lake. AND the date was July 20, 1996.