Lone Pine is the last stop on our Highway 395 adventure, but certainly not the least! An interesting note: We have traveled just under 200 motorhome miles from Topaz Lake and the Walker River Valley, averaging about 50 fuel-friendly miles per destination. The jeep, with several all day drives, not so much!
Not unlike Bishop, Lone Pine is a thriving small town offering lots of recreational, scenic, and historical sites. It is the gateway to Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the Lower 49 states, sweeping upwards of two vertical miles from this high desert location!
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| Mt. Whitney, 14,505' |
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| The vertiginous Whitney Portal Rd. |
West of Lone Pine the Alabama Hills present an enchanting, convoluted vision, complete with keyhole canyons, steep slopes of shattered granite boulders, and an arch:
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| Mt. Whitney from the Alabama Hills |
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| A short hike to the Alabama Hills Arch |
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| Howard w/Mt. Whitney framed by the Alabama Hills Arch |
These hills are a popular filming location for TV and movie productions, especially westerns set in a "rugged" environment. The Lone Pine Film History Museum as well as the annual film festival in October are tributes to this spectacular area.
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| Us in the Alabama Hills |
And then there is Manzanar, one of 10 war relocation camps, where thousands of Japanese Americans were "retained" during World War II. Touring this site, with its movie and exhibits, was a truly humbling experience.
Thus ends one of our best motorhome trips... along Highway 395! We hope you have enjoyed riding along. But stay tuned as we'll take you on yet another very scenic drive along California's Coast Highway One.
4 comments:
I have enjoyed every mile of your trip along Hwy 395. Some day I hope to say I have traveled the complete length of this highway. Love Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills. Thanks for sharing all the neat pictures.
I sent your link to my grandson Taft, who has climbed Mt. Whitney - the year he graduated. Your photos give a new and terrific point of view to someone who saw it up close and personally!
My kind of country, arch, boulders and mountains.
Great photos as usual. Love the pic of Mt. Whitney. Thanks again for taking us along 395 - and rekindling memories of our 2008 trip.
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