MC Raven Trip Report 26 – Eastern Sierras Part 1

9/15 Left Furnace Creek at about 0730 – it’s already 87 deg F. Leaving Tom L and his wife, a Canadian couple who’ve relocated to Texas. He’s opened his own specialty car customizing shop. As I pulled in yesterday he saw how tired and HOT I was and offered me a beer. I was so dehydrated that that one beer gave me a buzz! A very kind gesture and, very much appreciated. He gave me a couple of his business cards and stickers. I’ll try to find just the right place to put one of those stickers. They look like a little 50’s vintage pickup truck.

I headed west towards Highway 395 and Lone Pine. For 2-hours my road snaked its way up and down, zig zagging up and around mountains. Great Motorcycling road. I was riding along just enjoying the ride when suddenly, I was hit by a blast of noise that practically threw me off the road. A jet, probably from China Lake, went overhead at about 50 ft.! Jet noise – the sound of freedom! Unless it kills you!

Made it into Lone Pine and headed up the hill to our campsite from back in the mid-70’s.  Even after all this time, I was able to drive straight to it! It’s all still the same. Amazing! I was half expecting this whole hillside to be covered with condos or ranchettes and it’s not.

The tree just behind Raven is (I believe) the one we hammered .22 shells into. The bark is now so thick that I couldn't find any sign of the shells.

The boys (aged 4 and 5) wandered from our camp and got stuck part way up the face of the rocks on the left of this picture. They blew on their emergency whistles until Christine and I came along to rescue them.

 I was so pleased with myself I spread out a tarp to lay on – remembering Jeremey’s being bitten by a crab (scorpion) when we were here last and spent about 3-hours just day dreaming and remembering that vacation.

I tried cell phoning Jeremey to tell him where I was but the call was dropped. After standing up to move out from under the tree cover, I took a quick break to water a tree when who should come moseying along – a rattlesnake! I almost squirted him! If there’s one thing that can get you peeing its having a rattler come by to see what all the racket is about. I’d planned on camping there for the night but ‘ole Shakey convinced me to go elsewhere.

I spent the night at Tuttle Creek Campground. Probably just as any rattlers around here as where I’d been but, I didn’t see them so, all is well.

9/16 Just north of Lone Pine is the location of Manzanar; one of the places where, during WWII the US relocated/interred Japanese from all along the west coast. There’s now a National Historic Park there that wasn’t there when we used to vacation in this area back in the 1970’s.

Highway 395 goes by within about 50 yards of the entrance gate and, we never even knew it was there!

Thanks to the reparations movement and President Reagan in the 1980’s this blot on US history is finally recognized. Some things are better recognized and acknowledged.

I took the driving tour, watched the 20-minute video and toured the museum exhibits. All the buildings except the large gymnasium are gone. The Park Service has built example barracks and a mess hall to show conditions.

More than 10,000 people were interred here from 1942 through the end of the war in 1945. The desert has reclaimed almost everything except the cemetery and monument and the rock and water gardens (no water in them these days) that were excavated about 10-years ago.

Altogether, a very moving experience for me.

The wind, which almost never stops, rattles those paper ribbons.

After Manzanar, I rode up Hwy 395 to Big Pine and took the road up to the Bristle Cone Forest.