We are on our first big “boondocking” adventure, thanks to RV buddies Nina and Paul. They slowly indoctrinated us at June Lake where we were dry-camping but now it is the real deal, truly goin’ naked out on BLM land. I must say it is invigorating, just like running around naked in the wilderness would feel, and now that I mention it, we could definitely traipse through the desert au natural if the mood hit as campers are few and far between here.
Our location, chosen by none other than the lovely RV bloggess Nina, is in the Owens Valley just west of Lone Pine, CA in the Alabama Hills. If you have never been, this place seems a bit otherworldly. Technically the Alabamas are part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains but considered more a range of hills and they look nothing like the Sierras.
The Sierras stand as tall, rugged granite peaks all around us, with Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the lower 48 states towering above them all at 14,505 feet. The Alabamas, however, although about the same age as the Sierras, roughly 150 million years old (give or take a few million years), are a volcanic rock that has been weathered over millions of years to resemble large potato-shaped boulders that have been turned on their ends. It is believed that the same cataclysmic events shaped both the Sierras and the Alabamas. A millennia of driving winds and snow are the tools that sculpted the unusual shaped granite boulders that are now the Alabama Hills, strewn throughout this desert landscape.
Approximately 300 arches dot these 30,000 acres of Alabama Hills, the most famous being the Mobius Arch, which is a favorite of photographers. If you place yourself just right, you are able to capture Mt. Whitney within this lovely curved arch. The trail to the arch is a short ¼ mile hike and from there you are free to explore the many unusual boulder pilings against a backdrop of granite peaks. It is important to keep your bearings out here as the piles of boulders all begin to look alike after a time. I must admit to getting a bit turned around and coming out at a completely different location than I had entered but was still able to find my way back home.
With landscape this otherworldly, you gotta know that something special has happened here, right? Heck, the name alone had me wondering why ‘Alabama Hills’ in the middle of California? First, let’s get that answer out of the way. The Alabama Hills were named for the Civil War Confederate warship, USS Alabama. It seems there were a few wayward prospectors wandering them thar hills who were sympathizers to the Confederate cause. They named these hills and it stuck!
Probably what this area is most noted for is the 150+ movies and roughly a dozen television shows that were filmed here, most notably old Western movie productions, dating back to the early 1920’s. A few of the more notable Western films include Gunga Din, How the West Was Won, Rawhide, Bad Day at Black Rock and a few non-Westerns filmed here were Gladiator, Iron Man, and Star Trek Generations. A few of the old television productions, for those of you who can remember (I was a wee bit too young!) were Tom Mix, Hopalong Cassidy, The Lone Ranger, and The Gene Autry Show.
If you tour the Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center at the south end of Lone Pine, and you should because it is very well done, you can pick up a booklet that will take you through a self-guided tour of the Alabama Hills movie filming locations. As long as you are in the area, a stop by the Beverly and Jim Rogers Museum of Lone Pine Film History is pretty fascinating as well. We discovered shortly after flipping through the Movie Road tour guide that our rigs are situated at the Rawhide movie Grave Site. Does Nina know how to pick a site, or what?!
I have lots more to share about this amazing area, along with a couple fabulous hikes, which I will do in subsequent posts, provided my Internet connectivity cooperates. We are out in the boonies, you know! Although it hasn’t stopped those techie engineers Nina and Paul from blogging away!
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Paint Your Landscape 
Lovely photos, as usual. I did wonder about the name of “Alabama Hills,” so now I don’t have to look it up. What’s the weather forecasted there? Supposed to snow in Tahoe tonight. Are the Rogers related to Roy Rogers? Love these blogs. Thank you so much.
The weather is cooling down but still in the 70’s. As far as the Rogers’ name, I don’t know if there is a relationship there or not.
I am so jealous! I love those hills and you are just about two hours away from me. I can’t wait to see more!
It is really fabulous here. You are blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the country Nancy.
i hope you publish a pile of pictures of this wonderful excursion
I’ve got a few more left to post, which I should be doing in the next couple of days. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
What a cool history the place has and it certainly does look like the boonies! I can totally see Ironman there. Watch out for movie cameras if you go streaking. Heh!
I will be on the lookout for movie cameras when out in the buff. Good advice Angelia! 🙂
Oh….how fun! Do you use a generator or have solar? We may have some solar installed this winter. I hate the noise of the generator. Good food, good drink, good company, stunning scenery…..savor 🙂
We are currently using a generator but are planning at some point to go with solar. Our generator is pretty quiet but we have always thought we would do the solar thing. 🙂
Great history lesson. I, too, wondered how the Alabama Hills got their name.
Thanks Susan. Who would have guessed that out in the desert a warship would have come into play.
I love the Alabama Hills! Looking forward to playing there with my boy one day. 😉
I can just see him scrambling around on these boulders given some of the photos you have posted of him. 🙂
Marvelous… it’s so much fun traveling with you!
Ditto! 🙂
Well that’s really nice. Which rig is yours? We RV too.
This area is quite beautiful. We have the 5th-wheel but after spending time with friends and lengthy discussions regarding both Class A’s and 5th-wheels, we are going to do some more homework on Class A’s. Our 38-foot 5th-wheel may not make the cut after this. Who knows? What type of RV do you have Mike?
35 ft class A with large slide. Gas powered and a 1997 we paid cash for. Just got set up to tow and will be going to south Texas for a month mid Dec.
Wonderful. Enjoy your time on the road. 🙂
Mother Nature is magnificent , but we have to take into account more love and respect . , to tell us your beautiful photos I enjoyed reading this history lesson
Thanks Stefan and you are right, Mother Nature is indeed grand, providing such fantastic gifts! 🙂
What a great area. Get all that good experience boondocking and then you can show us the ropes. Trying to check on the blog whenever I have good internet but that is pretty flakey, on minute we have it the next we don’t. We may not be boondocking but we are definitely off the grid a little. Enjoy those great spaces! 🙂
We are finding that we love boondocking and we have Nina and Paul to thank for that. We have learned lots from these two “kids”. Hope everything is going well with you. I know how frustrating it can be to not have Internet, particularly when you write a blog. 🙂
These hills were the landscape of my childhood dreams. Everyday, Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger, rode “with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hardy “High-O Silver”, through these impossible boulders in the opening title sequence of the Lone Ranger television show . I sat amazed as this trusted horse found it’s way down a twisted and sudden path that no one else could have seen coming, all the while moving at a breakneck speed with the sure-footed confidence of the greatest horse of the greatest hero of the west … that is, until Roy Rogers and Trigger came on in the next half hour.
Good morning Devon. So happy to hear from you. I, of course, was much too young to remember these television shows (lol) but so glad to provide you with a blast from the past! 🙂
Gorgeous sunrise. Just starts the day off with a smile on your face!
You placed yourself perfect for the Mt Whitney…just lovely!
Fabulous sunrises here and the photo opportunities are endless! Hope you both are preparing to escape Ohio soon. I have had limited Internet access so I don’t know if I have read your latest update yet. I am so far behind! 🙂
We lived in the Owens Valley for over 15 years and didn’t know all that you have learned about the Alabama Hills! As with so many places, the visitors are the ones who marvel at the sights we take for granted in day-to-day living. Marvelous photos of Mt Whitney viewed through the Mobius Arch, which I never did see, even though I tramped around those hills many times.
Thanks for showing it all to us.
You are welcome Gale and so right, often times what is right under our noses goes undetected. Have a great day! 🙂
Thank you for the grand tour of the Alabama Hills, LuAnn! Enjoy reading the history of the Hills. Hope the Internet connection works well for you (I’ve wondered about that); look forward to reading more about this amazing area. 🙂
Thanks Amy. These hills are really quite amazing. 🙂
Nice to have a gathering of RV boondockers in such a gorgeous place. Keep your eyes open in case there’s a shoot out.
Will do Gaelyn! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
LuAnn what a simply excellent post. Beautiful, interesting and informative all in one, I really enjoyed this! A lot! 🙂 xxxx
Thanks Penny and I now have good internet service available so I will be coming over to visit. 🙂
It will be nice to have you visit. Re: real world – I’ll be in San Francisco on the 12th, (12-12-12 – interesting huh!) for a few days, but I don’t think close enough for us to meet, but hopefully early in the spring! 🙂
I would love to visit (as in real world) with you. Right now I don’t know what our work schedule is to be, effective 11/1 but I will keep you posted. If not in SF, perhaps somewhere else. That is quite the interesting date that you will be in SF. 🙂
Yeah, good thing I’m not superstitious, mostly! 🙂
Beautiful pictures. Great story about Alabama Hills. This should be one of our stop on our way down.
I think you will love it!
We are headed there soon, thanks to these lovely pictures. It sounds like a perfect spot to enjoy the hills and life for a bit. Thanks for “paving” the way 🙂
Enjoy and safe travels. It is beautiful and so unusual. 🙂
Wow! What an amazing experience this must be to drive and camp amidst that fabulous landscape! Thank you for sharing your experience with us LuAnn.
If you like simplifying life, this is a good way to do it. Not for everyone I am sure. 🙂