shirohniichan
Forum Member
Southern California has all kinds of attractions. A big ski resort is in the town of Mammoth, and those coming from the Los Angeles area usually speed up US 395 (which runs through the Owens Valley) with little regard for what lies on either side of the roadway.
In my trip 2 weeks ago, I decided to see the sights on either side of the highway. At one time it was known for its rich minerals (mostly silver, but some gold, zinc, tungsten, others) and agriculture, but after the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power bought up the water rights and shipped off most of the water via the infamous California Aquaduct most of the farming disappeared.
Here's our camp in Onion Valley, 2,800 meters in elevation (about 1,500 meters above the desert valley floor in the Sierra Nevada range):
The temperature in the valley was around 30 degrees, but by the time drove up to our campsite the temps had dropped to about 18 in the mountains. I'll see if I can post some photos of the jagged peaks that surrounded the campsite on 3 sides.
On Friday we crossed the Owens Valley and headed up the White Mountains to see the bristlecone pines, the oldest livings things on earth.
The bristlecone forest was about 3,000 meters high. The oldest tree is supposedly 4,700 years old, but this one is probably "only" 1,000 or so.
The view across the Owens Valley to the eastern Sierra Nevada was spectacular. The road up from Big Pine is paved the whole way, but we took a "shortcut" down a nasty dirt/gravel road called Silver Canyon Road to take us into Bishop. There were times I wondered if my Outback could make it. My friend's family, following behind us in a Toyota Land Cruiser, had an easier time with the road.
After this point the road got so bad I didn't take any more photos on the way down (my hands were glued to the steering wheel).
The good thing about the road is that it is so seldomly traveled that the endangered Sierra Nevada big horn sheep were around.
On Saturday we drove up the Cerro Gordo Road from Keeler (on the eastern side of Owens Lake) to the ghost town. This road was used in the movie "Iron Man" as the terrorist camp in Afghanistan (set designers attached a fiberglass cave to the side of a canyon wall).
Cerro Gordo literally means "fat hill", and in the 1860s the mountains around the town were found to be fat with silver and lead. It was about 21 miles up the road to the ghost town. Parts were very narrow, and others were steep and ran along a sharp drop-off. Those afraid of heights would do well to keep your eyes on the road.
This is part of the steep grade looking west towards Owens Lake and the little town of Keeler:
Our long drive was rewarded by the chance to see Cerro Gordo, one of the best-preserved non-touristy ghost towns in California.
This was taken from a mine facing southeast toward the town (with the Sierras and Owens Lake [dry] in the background).
This is the American Hotel, the best preserved building in Cerro Gordo.
Supposedly it was built in 1872 and fixed up in 1916.
Here's what the inside of the bar room in the American Hotel looks like:
The former owner spent much of her life restoring and preserving the town. After her death her husband has kept up the work, and every so often enough volunteers get together to do some of the heavy work.
In my trip 2 weeks ago, I decided to see the sights on either side of the highway. At one time it was known for its rich minerals (mostly silver, but some gold, zinc, tungsten, others) and agriculture, but after the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power bought up the water rights and shipped off most of the water via the infamous California Aquaduct most of the farming disappeared.
Here's our camp in Onion Valley, 2,800 meters in elevation (about 1,500 meters above the desert valley floor in the Sierra Nevada range):
The temperature in the valley was around 30 degrees, but by the time drove up to our campsite the temps had dropped to about 18 in the mountains. I'll see if I can post some photos of the jagged peaks that surrounded the campsite on 3 sides.
On Friday we crossed the Owens Valley and headed up the White Mountains to see the bristlecone pines, the oldest livings things on earth.
The bristlecone forest was about 3,000 meters high. The oldest tree is supposedly 4,700 years old, but this one is probably "only" 1,000 or so.
The view across the Owens Valley to the eastern Sierra Nevada was spectacular. The road up from Big Pine is paved the whole way, but we took a "shortcut" down a nasty dirt/gravel road called Silver Canyon Road to take us into Bishop. There were times I wondered if my Outback could make it. My friend's family, following behind us in a Toyota Land Cruiser, had an easier time with the road.
After this point the road got so bad I didn't take any more photos on the way down (my hands were glued to the steering wheel).
The good thing about the road is that it is so seldomly traveled that the endangered Sierra Nevada big horn sheep were around.
On Saturday we drove up the Cerro Gordo Road from Keeler (on the eastern side of Owens Lake) to the ghost town. This road was used in the movie "Iron Man" as the terrorist camp in Afghanistan (set designers attached a fiberglass cave to the side of a canyon wall).
Cerro Gordo literally means "fat hill", and in the 1860s the mountains around the town were found to be fat with silver and lead. It was about 21 miles up the road to the ghost town. Parts were very narrow, and others were steep and ran along a sharp drop-off. Those afraid of heights would do well to keep your eyes on the road.
This is part of the steep grade looking west towards Owens Lake and the little town of Keeler:
Our long drive was rewarded by the chance to see Cerro Gordo, one of the best-preserved non-touristy ghost towns in California.
This was taken from a mine facing southeast toward the town (with the Sierras and Owens Lake [dry] in the background).
This is the American Hotel, the best preserved building in Cerro Gordo.
Supposedly it was built in 1872 and fixed up in 1916.
Here's what the inside of the bar room in the American Hotel looks like:
The former owner spent much of her life restoring and preserving the town. After her death her husband has kept up the work, and every so often enough volunteers get together to do some of the heavy work.
