Death Valley Visitors Guide - 11th Edition

Owens Valley Paiute Shoshone Cultural Center and Museum to learn about the first inhabitants of the area and to enjoy experiencing one of the tribe’s cultural events. Today, Bishop is the center of operations for the largest public utility in the nation, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which provides water and power to the nation’s most populated city and provides access to the streams it manages for fishing. Southern California Edison also got its start in Bishop, and continues to operate hydroelectric power plants in the Bishop Creek Drainage, and its efforts to dam up streams and enlarge natural lakes created a world-class string of fishing holes. Big Pine – This small town prides itself on being a gateway to the majestic Sierra Nevada and White Mountains. Drive east and you find the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Drive west and you find trailheads that lead to the Palisade Glacier and Eastern Sierra. Outfitters run horse packing trips to remote alpine lakes. Numerous fishing holes are found along Big Pine Creek and the Baker Ponds. The Owens River teems with trout, catfish and bass. Independence – The county seat since 1866, Independence is the center of regional history with its historic courthouse; the Edwards House, oldest structure in the county; the Commander’s House, a century-old Victorian home; the Mary Austin home (she wrote Land of Little Rain); and the Eastern California Museum, with its extensive exhibits, artifacts, photographs, native plant garden and historic mining and farm equipment. Good fishing is found nearby at Independence Creek, the Onion Valley and along the Owens River. With a name like Independence, it’s understandable why the town has one of the best Independence Day parades with traditional early morning flag raising, pancake breakfast, fun run/walk, small-town parade, homemade ice cream and pie social, kids’ games, an arts and crafts show, deep-pit barbecue and sunset fireworks show. Lone Pine – One of the most filmed and photographed landscapes in the county is found surrounding Lone Pine. West of town are the Alabama Hills, named by locals who were Southern sympathizers during the American Civil War. This collection of irregular, ruddy, windswept boulders backed by a horizon of Sierra peaks, has been the backdrop for about 400 Hollywood films from “Gunga Din,” to “Gladiator,” to “Rawhide,” to “Iron Man.” It’s where Roy Rogers first mounted Trigger, where TomMix rode to the rescue and where Robert Downey Jr. got blown up. Lone Pine has been seen in so many movies, that it has commemorated its fame by hosting the annual Lone Pine Film Festival. The Lone Pine Museum of Western Film History preserves the motion picture history of Inyo County with filmmemorabilia, cars, western carriages and an 84-seat theater. Manzanar National Historic Site – During World War II, about 10,000 people of Japanese ancestry, about 60 percent being American citizens, were brought here to the Manzanar War Relocation Center as part of the “war hysteria” and racism that swept America after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Manzanar was one of 10 Relocation Centers that eventually held about 120,000 people of all ages of Japanese descent for the duration of WW II. Finally, in the 1980s, the US government formally apologized to the internees for their imprisonment without charges. The site in now in the 22 Death Valley Vistiors Guide • 11th Edition 104 East Sydnor Ave. Ridgecrest, CA 93555 (760) 446-1968 113 E Sydnor Ave Ridgecrest, CA 93555 (760) 446-1630 C alifonrias W estern G ateWay t o D eath V alley - s tay i n G reat r oom a t a G reat P riCe • o nly 72 m iles t o t he n ational P ark Stay for the Night • Stay for theWeek Stay as long as you need. We welcome all! Come Stay Wi th Us • Over 100 RV Hookups 520 S. Richmond Rd., Ridgecrest • (760) 375-8000 The Allure of Inyo County It’s always a good idea to take water and friends when hiking in Death Valley. DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK PHOTO CONTINUED ON PAGE 23