The view from our motel in Lone Pine across to the Alabama Hills, with the snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background. What a contrast to yesterday’s drive through Death Valley!
A zoom in of the spikey peaks of Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the tallest mountain in the USA at 14,505 feet.
We decided to go into the Film Museum in Lone Pine. Turned out to be terrific. We learnt about the hundreds of classic westerns and other movies and TV shows that were filmed (still are sometimes) just out of the town, with the magnificent hills and mountains as a backdrop.
Lots of memorabilia displayed. This stagecoach was used in Rawhide.
John Wayne was filmed in this area often of course.
Gene Autry, a popular actor in western movies.
The corny singing Cowboys. Don't you just love them!
This one of the more modern movies filmed here, Iron Man. Gladiator was another.
They have even used the area for destinations in other countries, for example, this movie set in India.
After learning all about it, we were keen to explore Movie Road, as they call it, and see for ourselves just what these movie locations were like.
The hills, mountains and rocks do make perfect backdrops for westerns.
No posse at this pass, just campers.
We're sure this rock must have featured in a movie or two.
We drove on up the beautiful Owens Valley to Mammoth Lakes, with the Sierra Nevada Mountains on one side and the White Mountains on the other. On the way we stopped to see the internment camp, Manzanar. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in 1941, all West Coast Japanese, most of them American citizens, were placed in internment camps. Manzanar was built in 1942 and held 10,000 of these people, men, women and children.
Conditions very very harsh, although they did improve over time. People had jobs in the camp and the children were well educated. However it was very sad to hear the stories at the excellent interpretative centre.
We drove up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to get to Mammoth Lakes. The temperature dropped considerably. This is the balcony of the lodge we stayed for a couple of nights. You can see the snow right up to the windows of the lodge opposite.
It has been the snowiest winter for 35 years. The advantage was that the ski fields were still going strong. The disadvantage is that many roads are closed. We took a gondola up to the top of Mammoth Mountain.
Great views of all the skiers and snowboarders. The mountain is huge and there are ski slopes of all grades everywhere.
Up the top - 11,053 feet.
Looking through snow shapes on the window of the interpretative centre at the top.
Imagine our surprise and delight as we stood on this balcony...
looking at this display of skis and snowboards...
And we heard our names being called, and there was Kirk, Ella, Jarrah and Hugo. Amazing! Must be a small country after all. They were there for a Mothers Day treat to ski and snowboard.
Ella with her two cool skiers.
A skier and a snowboarder, Hugo and Kirk.
One of the lakes at Mammoth Lakes. The walks we had intended to go on at Mammoth Lakes were not possible as many of the roads and trails were closed due to snow.
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