This trip was planned six months ago. It was an overnight backpacking trip camping at Finger Lake to summit Middle Palisade (https://www.summitpost.org/middle-palisade/150514) the following day. Our group of six had been looking forward to this backpacking-peak bagging adventure.
The permit ran from Saturday to Sunday. Three in the group drove up there after work on Friday night and spent the night in their car near Big Pine Creek trailhead. The rest of the group headed out Saturday morning at 5:30am to plan on meeting up with the group for breakfast at Big Pine.
Shortly after we got on Hwy 395, we were rewarded with a spectacular pre-sunrise view. The sky was painted in a myriad of colors. 
I took many pictures and videos of the sunrise. 
When we passed Ridgecrest, we received a picture message from the front group showing the extent of smoke from the wild fires burning in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs. Visibility was low and smoke was heavy, not ideal for the mountaineering route up Middle Palisade. We were advised by our organizer Craig, a two-time Everest guy, that we should abort the trip. Craig takes calculated risks all the time in the mountains and if he says no, it's a no. 
By that time we were near Fossil Falls by Hwy 395 so we decided to hang out there for a while before coming up with a plan b. The unique geological features at Fossil Falls makes a wonderful stop for all travelers, families included.
Some of the rocks there are good for climbing too but I wouldn't trust the anchors set up there. We didn't bring our rock climbing gear so we just did some fun exploration. 
The plan b was to wing it by driving back on hwy 395 and stop at any places that may appear interesting. There have been many.
An abandoned store/house by the old hwy 395.
Dried up creek bed.
Old "billboard" advertising grocery and other goods and services.
Further south, we got on the 9-mile canyon road off 395 towards Kennedy Meadows between Ridgecrest and Fossil Falls. It was a standard Sierra blue sky, free of smoke. After assessing the burned area leading to Chimney Peak there, we decided it was not a pretty trail to hike. Turning around I spotted this cool chute with decent elevation gain. There is a generous space for a few cars to park at. We parked, put together a day pack and headed towards the saddle. The ascent was short at 1.13 miles but at a rewarding climb of 2115' gain. It's of loose scree, talus, and dried twigs. At the steep sections, we'd often slide back a bit. It's a slow going but that means coming down would be quick and fun. Later it took me less than 10 minutes to descend the chute. Many bear tracks and droppings were found along this chute, some as high as near the saddle. Good to know the bears here love the climb too.
After the saddle we climbed over a rocky peaklet to the left for a view north. It was a bit hazy but the sky seemed to have cleared a bit. We had a lunch break here. Then I looked up and noticed the smoky sky right above us. Time to descend. 
Very quickly the sky was veiled by the fast moving smoke. I ran down the chute, loving the walking-on-the-clouds descent.
Randsburg, the old western town was nearby so we decided to check it out. It turned out 9/18-9/18 were the annual Western days: music, some antique car show, craft and knickknacks stands, folks dressed up in pioneer outfits... We did a walk through of the Main Street. 
This city jail holds two cells, the one on the left is for women and the one on the right for men. It's a hot day with temp at low 90s but it's nice and cool inside the jail. Each cell is equipped with a single bed and a toilet but it can only take one criminal each.
Love the color on this car.
Love reading about the women of the Wild West.
It was a bummer we got smoked out of our long anticipated Middle Palisade climb but the alternative turned out to be quite pleasant. We will return another time for Middle Palisade and its neighboring peaks.
