Lone Pine, California

May 14, 2023

We left Lake Mead and Nevada behind and entered California. After a one-night stopover in the desert, we journeyed north toward the Sierra-Nevada mountain range.

We caught glimpses of some Joshua trees along the way

Our overnight stay--all alone out in the middle of nowhere

Very quiet starry night

The moon rise was unusually colorful

Heading toward the foothills of the Sierras

Our first glimpse of Mt. Whitney (we think)

The road to the campground through the Alabama Hills

We were awestruck at the dramatic scenery of our campground right at the base of the mountains. We selected a campsite on the banks of a small creek and in view of the mountain range. The creek was mostly hidden by bushes, but the constant sound of rushing water was wonderful.

Right behind our deck--some fragrant wildflowers adjacent to the stream

Fantastic location to watch the sun set over the Sierras

A car happened to be coming up the road and illuminated the camper during this shot!

There was still a nice glow on the mountains as the stars started to appear

Most days were sunny and warm (mid-upper 70s/low 80s) with brilliant blue sky, except for the day after our arrival (Tuesday), where it was mostly cloudy. So, on that day, we drove north about 10 miles to the Manzanar National Historic Site. This was the site of one of the Japanese internment camps during WWII.

The museum was very well done and quite informative.

Most of the buildings had been disassembled and sold off after the war, but some of them were recreated for the exhibit.

The many buildings served as living quarters, schools, mess halls, etc.

Typically, more than one family had to share cramped quarters. Since the buildings were built quickly, they were very spartan.

After a time, several of the living quarters were "finished out" with wallboard and linoleum flooring. Families used blankets to create some personal space for themselves.

The kitchen for the dining hall. There were no private kitchens (or bathrooms) in any of the living quarters.

Dining halls were used for meals and various dances and social events.

We ended up spending 3 or 4 hours at this museum, as there were a surprising number of exhibits. The whole museum was quite thought-provoking, and it enabled us to place ourselves in the shoes of  both the government leaders (for and against the internment) and the actual people displaced by the hastily-drawn policy decisions. One of the things that amazed us was how many of the Japanese people made valiant efforts to transform an extremely unjust situation into one that was at least a bit more bearable. They created lush gardens in order to bring some beauty to a barren and utilitarian environment. They set up schools for their children and held sporting events and social functions. We were also were heartened by sympathetic local residents who lent a helping hand. All in all, we were impressed with the museum.

By the time we got back to camp, the weather turned darker and was windy and threatening rain, although we didn't actually get rain where we were.

On Wednesday, we went into Lone Pine to visit the Museum of Western Film History. The town is adjacent to the Alabama Hills Recreation Area, and many movies have been shot there, especially old westerns.

Lots of interesting old film cameras and equipment

Lots of original props to see from various movies

Tony Stark's "bloody" suit from Ironman

We ended up riding our bikes near this location on a separate day.

We decided we needed to watch "Tremors" that evening, since we hadn't seen it before. As expected, it wasn't super-cerebral.

An actual monster prop used in the film

Wow, there were actually 4 Tremors movies (and a TV show)??? It seems like one was more than enough.

An old camera car used to film action scenes

Lots of Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, and other western paraphernalia that was popular in the 50's

On Thursday, we drove up Whitney Portal Road to see how far it was open. Since the winter of 2023 had brought record-breaking snowfall to the area, most of the mountain roads (and the best hiking trails) were still closed. We were pleasantly surprised to find the road open almost all the way to the Mt. Whitney trailhead area. 

Along the way, Julie made Rick *STOP THE CAR NOW* to get some pictures of a huge field of purple lupine 😁.

It was incredibly hard to narrow down all the pictures taken to just these few!

There was a closed gate just before the end of the road, so we got out and walked around a bit.

Passed by an area that was recently cleared of avalanche debris

Kind of fun being amidst snow when it's almost 70 degrees!

Exhilaration and inspiration, please! This was posted at the trailhead to Mt. Whitney (the tallest mountain in the lower 48 at 14,500'). Rick's brother and his fiancee successfully ascended this peak not too long ago --and lived to tell about it! Way to go Ken and Maura!

On the way back, we decided to check out Lone Pine Campground, which happened to be closed due to flood damage that took out a bridge.

No more bridge over this creek.

Even the campgrounds are out to kill you here in California.

Aside from the threat of birth defects and reproductive harm, this was a very beautiful campground.

The following day, we went to the Alabama Hills area to do some hiking and ride our bikes around. This was such a unique geological area--it's no wonder lots of movies were shot here.  In fact, we were stopped at a police barricade for about a half hour while the filming of the Netflix show "The Old Man" was happening. We had a nice chat with the friendly police officer who seemed to have nothing better to do.

This is "Mobius Arch" with Mt. Whitney seen through the arch. This exact photo is probably plastered all over the internet. Now there's one more.

This is a different mountain peak framed by the arch. Perhaps there are less copies of this picture floating about.

Rick couldn't resist a photo of the photographer 😉

A fun little cave

The appropriately named "Shark Fin" rock

Locals said this was a very good year for wildflowers. We agree!

This was the area the filming crew of "The Old Man" was working in, just moments prior.

Julie had to stop pretty much every time there were flowers to be photographed

The trail was a bit sandy in spots, so it was good to have relatively fat tires.

The remainder of our time was spent relaxing around camp and soaking in the incredible views from our deck. 

We went into the cute little town of Lone Pine a few times during our stay.

It was hard to leave this campsite!

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