Ancient Bristlecone Forest & Alabama Hills fnear Lone Pine, CA

When my brother Chuck learned we are in the Owens Valley, he gave me a lot of insight into the area. He said not to miss the Ancients in Bristlecone. Twenty four miles off the highway, high into the hills live the worlds oldest living organisms. Oldest in the world.

The Methuselah Trail was snow packed and with a sheer drop off, not what I do for fun, so we went on the Discovery Trail. We parked at 10,000 feet elevation. The trail goes up about another 1000 feet. It has interpretive plaques along the way and benches to sit and take in the view.

The fallen logs are as hard as petrified wood. The resin prevents insects and erosion from deteriorating the tress. You'd think the tallest, biggest trees are the oldest. They are not. The low, scruffy ones are the oldest. The man who discovered this forest took core samples and was amazed to find them to be over 2000 years old.

The 40 degrees didn't seem cold, but the wind was wicked.

The cascading sandstone rocks is the result of an ancient ocean.

Some trees are over 4000 years old and still living. They are scraggly, low to the ground, and their wood is hard as nails. The environment is harsh. It is May and the high is 40 degrees, it is windy, and we are so happy to be here. 

It's movie time! The famed Alabama Hills are the location of many a western movie and more recently, sci-fi movies. Do you remember Tremors? It was filmed here. So was Ironman, Star Wars. John Wayne stayed at the local hotel, Ginka Din movie set built a temple, and the list goes on and on.

This great little museum in Lone Pine has many a movie poster and several items of interest including the dentists wagon from Django.

So these are the Alabama Hills. You can get some perspective with the campers.

Anyone can dry camp for free. Can you imagine the stars at night?

So we're driving down the road and looking out into the distance visualizing horses racing through the brush with cowboys shooting each other. Then you realize they were racing down the road, not through the brush. The way it's filmed you don't see these roads.