Lone Pine, CA - Part 2 - September 20-27, 2021

 The Owens Valley near Lone Pine was once much greener than it is today.  The Owens River had a much heavier flow and its terminus, Owens Lake, was huge.  The lake was so large that steamships were used to transport mining products, such as dolomite and silver ingots, across to the railroad for further shipment.  Then the Los Angeles Water Department, through various agents, began buying up land with streams without revealing the real buyer or ultimate purpose.  They eventually owned most of the water along the Eastern Sierra and began sending the water to LA via an open aquaduct system to help supply the rapidly growing population.  Owens Lake soon became Owens Dry Lake.

Today, LA allows a small amount of water to reach the lake bed to reduce the dust that would otherwise be released.  I'm not sure if this is the result of environmental concern or a court order.  At any rate, there are numerous dykes creating small areas of shallow water and migrating shore birds take advantage of it.  I spent several hours there trying to capture a variety of species.  Unfortunately, I was unable to get close enough for really good photos, but you will see the best I could do under the circumstances.

Wilson's Phalarope

Long-billed Curlew

American Avocet

Horned Lark

Least Sandpiper

Stilt Sandpiper

Semipalpated Sandpiper

Red-necked Phalarope

Lesser Yellowlegs

Killdeer

Sandpiper Convention

On the eastern side of Owens Lake, the Inyo Mountains were the home of significant mining operations in the 19th and 20th centuries, primarily silver, lead and dolomite.  Today, the salt flats of the lake are mined for borax, salt and soda ash.  The ghost town of Cerro Gordo is now owned by a man who intends to restore it somewhat as a tourist attraction.  The town of Keeler once thrived as the port for shipping on the lake.  Today it is practically a ghost town, with only about 65 stubborn residents who don't particularly welcome visitors.

On the western side of the lake, I visited the historic charcoal kilns used to supply the smelting operations back in the day.

A brightly colored inn, called the Lemon House Inn, caught my eye.

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Just off US 395, Diaz Lake is a popular recreation area, with camping, fishing and boating.  The lake was created by an earthquake in 1872, when the ground on one side of the fault dropped about twenty feet.

While driving back roads in the desert, I came upon a first for me.  It was a large pen where dozens of ring-necked pheasants are raised, obviously to be released for hunting by members of the club.  It makes me sad to see such an activity, but I suppose it's much like raising cattle, hogs or chickens.

Lone Pine, CA - September 20-27, 2021

 Lone Pine is a small town in the Owens Valley, high desert between the Sierra Nevada mountains to the west and the Inyo mountains to the east.  With a population of just over 2000, the town is described by the official census designation of "frontier".  Its main reason for being here was mining in the old days, but now depends on the film industry and tourism.  Paiute Indians lived in this valley for eons and still have a reservation here, shared with the Shoshone.

As I feared, the sky has been smoky most days, but I've had enough clear skies for my purposes.  From my point of view, there are three main reasons to come here: Mount Whitney; the Alabama Hills and Owens Lake.

Mt. Whitney is the highest mountain in the lower 48, so it attracts lots of hikers who aspire to reach the summit.  I'm not one of those.  My interest is in taking pictures of the Sierra Nevada mountains, including Mt. Whitney.  I did drive to Whitney Portal, which is the trailhead for the Mt. Whitney ascent,  a twenty mile long trail with some 6600 feet of elevation gain.  Since I've been there several times before, I did not even stop there on this trip, settling for new photos from the road.  Some of the surrounding mountains, such as Lone Pine Peak, appear to be taller, but that's only because they are closer.

My main interest lies in the Alabama Hills, a large area of hills and rock formations originally created by the same geologic forces that created the mountains behind them.  However, they have eroded much differently and therefore look much different.  The mountains appear smooth, while the Alabama Hills are rough textured, colorful and very fragile.  The constant erosion over millions of years has created fantastic irregularities, shapes and natural arches.  More than 400 movies and countless TV episodes have been filmed here, dating back to 1919.  Anyone who ever watched a Roy Rogers, Gene Autry or Lone Ranger movie has seen these rocks, perhaps with Tonto crawling around to get at the bad guys.  The hills have substituted for India in the classic "Gunga Din" and for Afghanistan in several war movies.

 Incidentally, the hills were named by miners in the 1860s who were sympathetic to the Confederacy during the Civil War.  The battleship CSS Alabama was sinking many Union ships, so the miners named this area for the ship.  Later, the Alabama was sunk by the USS Kearsage, so miners sympathetic to the Union started naming things after that ship.  Unfortunately, the town of Kearsage is no longer there.

Heart Arch

The"Hills" is on public land managed by BLM and camping is allowed pretty much anywhere, although several official campgrounds are located there.  People can freely drive all the roads and hike anywhere they wish, including on the fragile rocks.  A couple rocks have been decorated and allowed to remain, such as the "face" of Alabama Hills.

The town of Lone Pine obviously welcomes the film industry, which provides much needed revenue and fame to the area.  A museum highlights the many features shot here and the stars who made them.  Many stars considered this a favorite place.  In fact, Barbara Stanwyck specified that her ashes be spread over the area from a plane.  (A good day to stay indoors.)  Other buildings display murals representative of the town's history.

I'll save the rest of Lone Pine for the next update.

Sierra Vista, AZ - Summer, 2021

 I'm interrupting the 2004 Re-runs to return to real time.  I'm currently traveling in the Eastern Sierra of California, but first I'd like to share some of the activities around Sierra Vista this summer.

 My local travel has been mostly confined to the Huachuca Mountains and the several canyons there.  This is a premier birding destination, but there is also some worthwhile scenery.  First up, Garden Canyon in the Fort Huachuca Army Base.  As a result of summer rains, the creek through the canyon was flowing strongly, and the fields below the canyon were not only green but covered with wildflowers.

I made a quick stop at one of the pictograph sites, just because I had not been there for a while.  These were left by Apaches and are unlike any others I have seen.

Miller Canyon also showed the effects of the rainy season, much the same as Garden Canyon.

All these day trips provided lots of birding opportunities, as well.