Owens Valley is an interesting example of desertification. I'm not going to get into the details, but it has a long history of mismanagement. During the California Water Wars of the early 20th century, Los Angeles built an aqueduct that effectively hijacked ALL of the water that fed the valley. Having acquired virtually all the surface water, Los Angeles then built another aqueduct and filled it with water pumped out of the ground. In a short period of time springs dried up, killing groundwater dependent vegetation, farms were ruined, wildlife died off, and the large Owens Lake dried completely, leaving a salt pan in it's place. Now sand dunes are forming on the north end of the lake and the valley is sometimes plagued by alkaline dust storms.
Lone Pine has a nice little park with some big cottonwoods.
Despite all that, Owens Valley is still pretty, and anyone who visits will recognize it as a quintessential vision of the American West. It's a part of most every American's subconscious, as it has been the filming location of countless movies, assuming whatever location in the American West that the script called for.
I was going to try and see what kind of picture i could get out of this condemned house, but in the 15 minutes i was there 3 different sets of people drove up and started talking to me for a long time about it's history. One of them was a lady that stops by every day to feed a crazy cat living under the front porch.
I'm no William Eggleston, but I thought this was another neat little building.
The Sierra Nevadas
Years ago i had hiked from Kings Canyon to within 4 miles of this road, although at the time i had no idea. That blows my mind. I can't understand some of the things i didn't do back when i was in shape enough to do anything. That day of hiking, on summer solstice, after unwittingly coming to within 4 miles of this parking lot, i turned around and walked 12 miles back to the parking lot i had come from. There are longer routes you could take, making it a great idea for two carloads of people to exchange keys after starting on opposite ends.
Long switchbacks quickly descend more than 5,000 feet.
This looks just like one of the tracks in the game Dirt.
Only a few miles down the road from Independence is the town of Lone Pine. I'd been to Lone Pine once before, with my sister, when we climbed up Mt. Whitney years ago. At that time it seemed rugged but this second time it appeared very laid back and relaxing. I was amused after looking at a receipt from the local drugstore. I had been shocked at how much money it apparently cost me to buy a few items i needed, like sunscreen and some eyedrops. The receipt offered no help, listing every item merely as "Sundries." Technically, that was true.
The mountains along Owen's Lake are littered with old mines.
I'm no William Eggleston, but I thought this was another neat little building.
While exploring an attractive small town called Independence i was hugely surprised to find a road i'd never heard of. It went far up into mountains, to an altitude of 9,200 feet. It finally ends at an ideal entrance to the John Muir Wilderness. At the road's end you can take a trail that ascends only a couple of thousand feet before crossing the Pacific Crest and then dropping down into a vast area of wild tablelands high above treeline. From there you can continue north or descend down into Kings Canyon National Park.
The Sierra Nevadas
Years ago i had hiked from Kings Canyon to within 4 miles of this road, although at the time i had no idea. That blows my mind. I can't understand some of the things i didn't do back when i was in shape enough to do anything. That day of hiking, on summer solstice, after unwittingly coming to within 4 miles of this parking lot, i turned around and walked 12 miles back to the parking lot i had come from. There are longer routes you could take, making it a great idea for two carloads of people to exchange keys after starting on opposite ends.
Long switchbacks quickly descend more than 5,000 feet.
This looks just like one of the tracks in the game Dirt.
Only a few miles down the road from Independence is the town of Lone Pine. I'd been to Lone Pine once before, with my sister, when we climbed up Mt. Whitney years ago. At that time it seemed rugged but this second time it appeared very laid back and relaxing. I was amused after looking at a receipt from the local drugstore. I had been shocked at how much money it apparently cost me to buy a few items i needed, like sunscreen and some eyedrops. The receipt offered no help, listing every item merely as "Sundries." Technically, that was true.
Dust storms assault dried up Owens Lake.
The mountains along Owen's Lake are littered with old mines.
Panamint Valley
Looking like a mirage, Panamint Dunes beckon from about 9 miles away.
A brand new car.
Every hard surface inside the car was as dirty as this door...
...and i accidentally spilled a bunch of sand in the back seat that was hidden in the folds of my backpack. That was irritating.
In just a day and a half i had driven the brand new Jeep 345 miles by the time i got to Big Pine California (just after visiting Eureka Sand Dunes). Of that, approximately 145 miles were on dirt/sand roads, and i'd spent the night in a dust storm. The car was truly filthy, inside and out, and i honestly couldn't stand it. So i washed it in Big Pine, a town much smaller, ironically than Lone Pine down the road.
A brand new car.
Every hard surface inside the car was as dirty as this door...
...and i accidentally spilled a bunch of sand in the back seat that was hidden in the folds of my backpack. That was irritating.
