#171: An Epic Road Trip Along California’s Highway 395

Dear Bob and Sue: A National Parks Podcast

Matt and Karen Smith

Places & Travel, Nature, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Science

5 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 24 October 2025

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

#171: An Epic Road Trip Along California’s Highway 395 The 150-mile stretch of Highway 395 from Bridgeport to Lone Pine takes travelers through a landscape of wide valleys, alpine lakes, volcanic wonders, and Old West history. Running along the eastern edge of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, this is one of the most scenic drives in the West. On our recent trip, we revisited some of our favorite places along the route, including towns and landmarks that feel like the land that time forgot. From the ghost town of Bodie to the alpine beauty of June Lake and the resort town of Mammoth Lakes, every stop had a story to tell. We explored hot springs, ancient forests, and film locations that have been featured in hundreds of Hollywood movies. In this episode, we share the highlights of this unforgettable road trip, including: · The eerie allure of Bodie Ghost Town, frozen in time, · Where to find the best fish tacos on the planet (hint: inside a gas station), · The alpine lakes, fall colors, and mountain views that make the June Lake Loop so special, · Hidden gems like Hot Creek and Convict Lake, · The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, home to trees nearly 5,000 years old, · The sobering history of Manzanar National Historic Site, · And our favorite way to end the trip – eating a pancake the size of a hubcap at Whitney Portal beneath the tallest peak in the lower 48. If you love mountain scenery, quirky small towns, and fascinating history, Highway 395 is one of America’s great drives. And one that every traveler should experience at least once. ----- Special Note: Join us on a festive European Christmas Markets trip in December 2026 (Germany and Austria). The trip opens for bookings at 9am on November 5, 2025. Follow this link for more information about the trip and how to sign up: http://bit.ly/48Mu0cU. Space is limited so check it out soon. If you have any questions about this trip, feel free to email us at [email protected] We now post ad-free versions of our episodes on our Patreon account (search for mattandkarensmith). If you are interested in joining, follow this link to check it out: http://bit.ly/3L7lCdZ Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show. Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Facebook at mattandkarensmith, or check out our blog at https://www.mattandkaren.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	To get to the top, you have to go around the dome, which I was a little scared to do because huge steep drop-offs on the sides.
0:07.4	Matt did it.
0:08.2	And I guess what you told me, it wasn't as difficult as I had imagined it to be.
0:12.7	No, sometimes you get to points on the trail and it looks a little sketchy and you're worried if it's safe.
0:18.3	And then you get to the top and there's like a four-year-old you know with his juice box up there so welcome to the dear bobb and sue podcast stories from our
0:36.0	journey to all the u.S. National Parks and
0:38.1	other remarkable public lands. I'm Karen Smith. And I'm Matt Smith. We're the authors of the
0:43.5	Dear Bob and Sue series of books. In this episode, we're taking you on a road trip down California's
0:48.7	Scenic Highway 395 on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We'll be showcasing some of our favorite stops, and these include a national park, a ghost town,
0:59.7	a couple of can't miss eateries, stunning lakes, a national historic site, a national forest
1:05.4	with the oldest trees in the world, and ending at the tallest peak in the lower 48.
1:10.8	This is a road trip that should be on everybody's bucket list, and we'll talk about when to go,
1:15.7	where to stay, and other important details.
1:18.5	Thanks for joining us today as we road trip down 395.
1:34.5	All right, before we start talking about today's subject, we wanted to mention some really exciting news.
1:41.5	We are going to be hosting a group trip in December of 2026 to... To the magical Christmas markets in Munich, Vienna, and Salzburg. And we would love for you to come with us. So a couple details. The dates are December 7th through the 13th, 2026. And we can take 20 people with us. Yeah. And the cost is $3,500, $3,499. And this includes hotels, transportation, a couple of dinners, tour guides.
2:10.4	Wait, we should say, Matt. Not us. Right. These are local tour guides. So included in this trip, we'll be visiting a palace, a fortress, and doing walking tours of Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna with local tour guides. So Matt and I are the host, but we are not the tour guides, which is really good news.
2:31.0	No, we're going to add comic relief is what we're going to add. Right.
2:35.1	But yeah, I just want to make sure everyone knows that it doesn't include all the meals or your
2:40.8	airfare, but it does include activities every day. Yes. And the transportation that you mentioned,
2:47.9	Matt, that means it includes transfers to and from the airports. It includes
2:54.0	transportation between these three cities. So that's what we mean by transportation. Now, we just
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