Scenic 395 - The Official Guide 2019/2020

2018-2019 Scenic 395 28 Lone Pine lovers in general. Owens Lake was a massive body of water that was used to ferry ore from the mines in the White Mountains across to the mule- teams that transported it 275 miles to Los Angeles. Now mostly dry, Owens Lake is a testament to the early water wars of California his- tory and one of its claims to fame now is that it is the biggest source of dust pollution in the entire United States. If you are interested in birds, Owens Lake is also designated by the National Audubon Society as an Important Bird Area due to the thousands of shorebirds that migrate through each fall and spring between the Arctic and Central and South America. So have your binoculars ready! Once you reach the other side you will come to a dead end at State Route 136. If you go right you will head toward Death Valley, and if you go left you will head toward Lone Pine, which will take you back to Highway 395. As you travel Route 136, you will go past a small cemetery that is where some of the folks from Keeler and Cerro Gor- do are buried, and then you pass through the town of Keeler, which was where much of the ore processing was done before it was shipped across the Owens Lake on its journey to Los Angeles. Now Keeler is somewhat of a ghost town as well as a home to sev- eral artists. It is worth a drive through to see some of the abandoned Continued on Page 29 Continued from Page 27 PHOTO BY AARON CRUTCHFIELD The remnants of an old tractor can be seen north of Keeler along Highway 136.