Alabama Hills and Manzanar

After driving down the nerve-wrecking road from Horseshoe Meadows I had hours to kill before I could check in to the hotel in Lone Pine. As I drove passed an area called Alabama Hills I decided to drive in and take some photos. I was here once before and probably took the exact same photo, but one can never take too many pictures. Alabama Hills is famous for being used as a filming location for Hollywood movies. Once you have been there, you'll recognize the location by the unique rock formations in various movies, especially westerns.



From there I drove up to Whitney Portal just to get a preview of what it would be like the next day. I was surprised at how uncrowded the parking lot was. Last time I was there the parking lots filled up quickly, forcing you to park down the hill along the road. I found a spot right near the store and walked around, taking more pictures, including this one of some people fishing.



After only 30 minutes I drove down to the hotel to find out when I could check-in. They said come back at 1PM. So now I had two hours to fill. I drove up and down the main road a few times before deciding to head north to Manzanar Historical Site. Once again, I had been here years before with my brother. Back then, all there was to see were a few old cement foundations scattered along some dirt roads. Since then they added a visitors center. I was really surprised at how nice the center was. They have a huge room with dozens of exhibits that explain the history of this "relocation center" as it was used during WWII to house Japanese Americans. There was almost too much to see and read. I was actually "moved" as I walked around, thinking how bad it must have been to live there. This photo of a wall with all the names of the "residents" (and an exit sign) was very touching. I would recommend to anyone that they stop there next time they drive up the 395.