Alabama Hills, CA

I was on the road before 9 AM carefully navigating that fresh mud which collected along the Sylver Gypsy. It took more than four hours as I meandered through some small towns in California before I hit the Lone Pine area. There was one town in particular that was so dilapidated, it was actually unbelievable. It was not just one house that look like a junkyard, but every single one of them looked abandoned and wrecked as if a hurricane came through and wiped everything out. The small town was literally near nothing, so I always wonder how people survive… or are they? It became noticeably colder and as the snow capped mountains came into view. I found a campsite called Tuttle Creek. Recommended by the forest ranger who also indicated that the dirt roads would be tricky. Getting into the campsite was perfectly fine and I found a quite spot near a running creek behind me. Even though I can’t see the water I can hear it racing down the mountain. There was a lot of cloud cover, so I couldn’t appreciate the full glory of the mountains until the next morning when the blue sky came in. it’s utterly breathtaking and the air was crisp and clean and refreshing. I decided to stay here for a few nights. With my senior pass each night is only five dollars and they do have refuge collection although it’s off-season where normally there would be a dump station and fresh water. I did a small hike to “shark fin” and unfortunately the road is closed to the main part of this area due to excessive rains. I went into town to visit the western museum where they depicted memorabilia from the hundreds of movies that were made here in the 1920's through the 1960's. Famous people such as John Wayne and many others along with television shows like Bonanza were filmed here. Modern films such as Iron Man and Gladiator were filmed here to take advantage of this unique terrain. I went back to do a little more hiking along the road side, saw a fox, and then return to camp to work on the dreaded 2022 taxes. Some thing I’ve been avoiding, but can’t ignore forever. I also used my brand new awning for a tiny bit, as the sun is piercing. The views are just breathtaking, so close to these mountains covered in snow. This is a place where one comes to get away from life’s hassles to take in these gorgeous majestic views.































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