3 - RED ROCK CANYON STATE PARK

After leaving Sacramento, we are heading to Red Rock Canyon State Park in the Mojave Dessert for a three day stay. Driving through Central California can be really boring. 

However, there has been substantial rain in California recently. Actually they had too much rain at one time. The result has been that it is really green here making the scenery far more interesting than usual. As we drove Hwy 58 toward Tehachapi, the hills were really beautiful...untill they covered them with windmills.

We arrived at Red Rock State Park in the Mojave Desert.

This was the view from the front window of the RV.

The red rocks are not actually inside the RV park, but on the way in. These Hoodoos, or whatever they are called here, make up very high cliffs that surround the edge of the park. They are formed from wind and water over time. The RV's all park at the base of the cliffs. 


What we didn't remember from being here previously is that there is no cell or Internet service, so we have gone dark for the last few days.  Sorry about that. 



While parked here for three days we did some sight seeing away from the park. We decided to drive north up the 395 toward Lone Pine, California.

First stop was in Olancha, just a wide spot in the road but with really great jerky.

 The high Sierra mountains were spectacular against the gold color of the dry valley floor.

In Lone Pine we got a perfect view of Mt. McKinley that towers over this little town. Our destination at this point is the Alabama Hills west of Lone Pine.

 Alabama Hills is a large area of winding roads among huge monoliths that set the stage for many, many wild and woolly old Western movies.

 The snow capped Sierra Mountains are in the background,

 and many strangely shaped rocks reach into the sky.

The road was 4-wheel drive and very narrow. We were given a map which was pretty much useless as there was only one road that actually had a sign on it. From that point on it was total guess work.

Remember all the Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and Hop Along Cassidy Westerns? Well, many were filmed here, including some John Wayne movies and many, many others. We had a good time driving around here for an hour or so. We could easily have spent half a day.


Our next stop was about 20 miles or so further north to Independence, CA. 

We drove past the Independence Courthouse, where Charles Manson was first charged and incarcerated.

Then to the Eastern California Museum. A small museum with an amazing collection of basketry made by native Indians of the area. Since I am also a basket maker, this is of particular interest to me. These pictures are of only a small number of the baskets on display here.

There were beautiful examples of native bead work.

There are displays of Manzanar, the Japanese Interment Camp that is nearby as well as of Norman Clyde. 

Norman Clyde, (1885-1972) was an eccentric outdoors man in the area for quite a number of years. He was known as a mountaineer, mountain guide, freelance writer, nature photographer and self trained naturalist. 


He was also known for achieving over 130 first assent mountain climbs, many in California's Sierra Nevada and Montana's Glacier National Park. 


The last time we were here a couple years ago, Don picked up a book on Norman Clyde. If you have an interest in mountaineering, the story of his life is definitely fascinating.


Next blog, Fossil Falls, Randsburg and Jeeping through Jawbone Canyon.