Lone Ranger Land

California (again)

Our detour to avoid Mammoth Lake was going to involve an overnight Boondocking stay at Walker Lake - until I read about the massive spiders on the loose there.  Not sure if it had anything to do with the gorgeous but eerie turquoise color of the water but I’d had enough excitement for the day and we opted to be safe in an RV park in the nearby town of Hawthorne.  And when I say safe, I mean really safe.


Hawthorne is either the World’s Safest Town  or the World’s Most Dangerous Town. Depends on your personal persuasion. It has a distinct honor, which I’ll get to in a moment.  It’s certainly a beautifully located little town and the RV park had some lovely views and, more importantly, NO spiders.

A view from our window.

But spiders now seemed pretty far down on the danger list.What we didn’t know was that Hawthorne is home to an Army Base.  But not just any old army base.


I was going to take a photo of the base and all the strange little conical mounds and weird little “buildings” that stretched for miles, but I decided that was just too risky.  As it is, I’m probably on a CIA watchlist now and, call me paranoid, but we did notice a very shiny black “bird” that seemed to be following us as we drove out of town. 

Our next stop was Lone Pine, famous for being the site of many a Western movie location.  We were proper boondockers this time (no spiders, only rattlesnakes) on the flanks of Mt. Whitney (14,505 ft.) and surrounded by the almost surreal landscape that made the town famous.  Our campsite was on BLM land (Bureau of Land Management) and would cost us $4.  Such a deal!



We visited the museum in town and it was rather fabulous, as so many small museums turn out to be.




Dan got to hang out with his childhood heroes and even spotted some bad guys.


And I learned that not only Westerns were filmed here.

                          

      



As the sun set slowly in the west I couldn’t have been happier here in Lone Ranger Land.  And tomorrow we ride - into the Valley of Death!  Hi, Ho Silver!







Comments

  1. Jim BOctober 31, 2021 at 9:45 AM

    Hawthorne looks interesting. It looks like the first photo is of Mt. Grant from Whiskey Flats in Hawthorne, the tallest mountain thereabouts. The deep blue of the sky. Spectacular photos of the weather. It seems crisp and quiet there and not doubt a geologists dream.

    If you see any old buildings, outposts, or ghost towns (today is Halloween), make sure you look around for glass objects that appear lavender or purple. From around 1850 to 1915, glass contained manganese which turned purple when exposed to the sun's UV for long periods. Such items are typically small glassware (like small bottles), very old electrical insulators, or worn glass shards. They are quite striking and easy to spot. Museums in this part of the West would display such items, no doubt.

    The Museum of Western Film History looks like a lot of fun and mystery. I especially enjoy seeing the three cinematic giants of western characters.

    Off into the sunset. "Hi ho, Silver! Away!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WinniwomanOctober 31, 2021 at 12:49 PM

      That little pink cloud over your camper says it all! 🎃 Happy Halloween!

      Delete
  2. MariNovember 1, 2021 at 5:55 AM

    Amazing photos Pippa! What an adventure!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dave P - Port TownsendNovember 1, 2021 at 5:25 PM

    Lovely views. We are so excited to follow your footsteps in the near future.

    ReplyDelete

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