Injustice

 

As you enter the Alabama Hills there is one rock where graffiti isn’t discouraged. In fact if you google, “Nightmare Rock”, you’ll find it listed as a historical landmark. The history of the rock isn’t clear but perhaps it’s meant to be a reminder that this beautiful area also has a dark side.

A few miles from the rock sits Manzanar War Relocation Center. It came into existence, in the spring of 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. War hysteria, race prejudice and a failure of political leadership resulted in 110,000 men, women and children, of Japanese ancestry, being forced from their homes and relocated to remote, military style camps across the United States.

Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where 10,000 people were detained. The majority of them were American citizens. Those 10,000 lives tell 10,000 stories. By preserving and reconstructing portions of the camp, the National Parks Service has made the effort to show what the experience at Manzanar was like and the challenges of daily life there.

In the 1980’s, the US government issued over 82,000 apology letters and redress payments to Japanese Americans impacted by this injustice in order of age, oldest to youngest. The letter stated, “We can never fully right the wrongs of the past. But we can take a clear stand for justice and recognize that serious injustices were done to Japanese Americans during World War II.”

Thank goodness places like Manzanar have been preserved and help us “remember, lest we forget”.

Eastern Sierra

 

After leaving Death Valley we climbed from sea level up and over the White Mountains and are camping in Lone Pine, CA, in the foothills of the Eastern Sierra. Lone Pine is a gateway community to Mt. Whitney; the highest mountain in the continuous United States. We are too early in the season to try to summit this snow capped peak but have enjoyed hiking and exploring within its shadow. 

The incredible scenery near Lone Pine is enhanced by the Alabama Hills; unusual rounded rocks, eroded hills and arches sitting at the base of the jagged peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Because of their uniqueness, the Alabama Hills have appeared in over 300 movies; mostly Westerns - although they’ve also served as the backdrop for exotic places like India, the Gobi Desert various parts of Arabia and even Africa in two Tarzan films. We loved touring the Film History Museum, downtown, and couldn’t believe it was dog friendly so Starbaby got to go too! 

Hottest and Lowest

 

Death Valley National Park is the hottest place on earth with a recorded temperature of 134°F and features the lowest elevation in North America; 282 feet below sea level. When Mark and I planned this trip we worried that being in Death Valley at the end of March, might be a bit late in the season and we could find ourselves dealing with some really hot temperatures. Of course, most things you worry about never happen anyway and we have had some of the best weather of the trip.

I love the desert but realize not everyone shares that feeling. Most of the places we’ve seen in the park were given unflattering names, long ago, by prospectors crossing the valley to get to the gold fields in California. Because of the dangers the miners faced, they chose names for these beautiful places that often related to satan or death; The Funeral Mountains, Coffin Peak, Devil’s Golf Course, Devil’s Cornfield and Death Valley. Try as I might I just don’t see this landscape as a version of “hell”. In my opinion it’s  a wonderland of mountains, valleys, canyons and salt flats; the most magnificent of deserts!

Las Vegas

 

In March/April, 2020, Mark and I spent 45 days sheltering in place, in our small camper, at Nellis Air Force base, in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was my first visit to Las Vegas. The city shut down, like everywhere else in the world, but we were able to explore (without crowds) Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, Lake Mead and Spring Mountain National Recreation areas, Mount Charleston and the Vegas Strip. I thought it was a magical place. The only “must see” we couldn’t get to at the time, because of closures, was Hoover Dam. As soon as we got settled on this visit, priority one was to see the dam. With that mission accomplished we have tried to revisit a lot of the places we went three years ago but it is surreal how different and crowded everything is. You have to get a reservation to drive through Red Rock Canyon now and the quiet, deserted Strip I remember, from three years ago, is unrecognizable to the congested reality of the neon city today. I’m not saying we haven’t enjoyed our stay. In hindsight it just seems like Mark and I were sort of like time travelers, in 2020, seeing the area (after The Strip shut down) more in keeping with what the name Las Vegas actually means. The city was named, in 1829, by Rafael Rivera, a Spanish trader traveling to California. He was most impressed, on his visit, by the area’s natural springs and wild desert grasses, thus the name Las Vegas; literally translated, The Meadows….such a far cry from the attractions today, that make Las Vegas one of the most visited cities in the country.

“Oh Happy Day”

 

We are celebrating today in “Fabulous Las Vegas”. Nine years ago Starbaby was born. Her mom’s name was Twinkle Little Star, hence the name Starbaby. I’ve always loved animals but my attachment to this little terrier borders on the side of foolishness.

However, the birth of Starbaby isn’t the only thing we’re celebrating today. We are also celebrating the start of daylight savings time. I usually hate any kind of time change. One of the hardest adjustments, on the road, is traveling to new areas/zones and adjusting eating and sleeping patterns to the new time. Our regular life takes place in the eastern time zone. When we begin a trip, especially headed west, I always dread crossing from eastern to central, then mountain and finally pacific time. This year, without even planning it, we crossed into the pacific time zone just as time was “springing forward”. We didn’t have to reset one single clock. Oh happy day!

Lake Havasu

 

Today is our last day in the Grand Canyon state. We are camping on the shores of Havasu Lake, at Cattail Cove State Park. We are just a few miles from the border of California and the Mohave Desert, but we’ll head due north tomorrow, into Nevada, to wait for weather conditions to improve in the Golden State. Our weather and location have been practically perfect, at this small park, so we have enjoyed catching our breath and embracing the much anticipated spring weather that has been so elusive this year.

However, 15 miles down the road, the peace and tranquility of Cattail Cove gives way to the hustle and bustle of Lake Havasu City, where the second most visited tourist attraction, in Arizona (topped only by the Grand Canyon) happens to be; London Bridge. In case you didn’t know, London Bridge is no longer “falling down” in England. Lake Havasu City’s founder, Robert McCulloch, spent over 2 million, in 1968, to have the bridge that spanned the Thames River for 137 years, dismantled and reconstructed in Arizona. This is the bridge that survived the Battle of Britain, has felt the footsteps of royalty and still bears bullet holes from WWII.

McCulloch had a vision of turning a spot in the desert into a bustling city and holiday resort when he purchased the world’s largest and most expensive antique. It worked. Millions are expected to visit the tourist trap this year. I have to confess Mark and I were two of them!

Wishful Thinking

 

We’re camping for the week at Lost Dutchman State Park, 40 miles east of Phoenix, in the Sonoran Desert, at the base of the Superstition Mountains. If you like hiking, you’ll love this place. Several trails in the park lead into the Superstition Wilderness and surrounding Tonto National Forest.

We were a bit disappointed when we first got here because a front bringing rain and temperatures 20° below average were expected. Little did I realize what a blessing the “bad” weather would be.

When researching the area, I discovered there was an  obscure hike I could do to a place called Massacre Falls, just a few miles from the park. The falls are elusive and are only visible after a heavy rain. The forecasted rain came, despite my wishes, and brought something magical with it. We woke up to a beautiful snow in the desert.

You really have to be careful what you wish for. If I’d gotten my preference of a cloudless day in the 70’s, I would have missed an epic snow hike and rarely seen waterfalls!