Alabama Hills

Wow!

We’ve blogged before about this area in our Dante’s Inferno post. This time the weather was absolutely delightful except for really strong winds on our last day. This is another boon docking spot. You gotta love free camping and no crowds. The Eastern Sierras are special, and this area is absolutely magical. No wonder they film so many movies and commercials out here. On my recent business trips back and forth to SoCal I scouted the area for spots where we could easily park the Airstream. I was afraid arriving on a Saturday it would be slim pickins. But to our surprise, one of the best spots was open. We had great views of the Owens Valley, Mt. Whitney, Lone Pine Peak, and Mt. Williamson. Because of the big drought year, the flowers in Borrego were a bust, so we were really stoked to see lots of little flowers blanketing the ground between the rocks in the Alabama Hills. One of our favorites is the Evening Snow. It’s completely closed up during the day and opens up at night.

We are now three for three on full moon risings. It’s tough to get all 12 in a calendar year. All it takes is bad weather or a cloudy night and you miss it. January was while we were at Mama Jean’s in San Diego. February we watched the moon rise above the White Mountains. And on this trip we saw it rise above the Inyo Mountains and set just to the south of Mt. Whitney. The setting was especially impressive; it was a windy day and with the moon glow you could see all the snow blowing off the mountain tops. It looked like wispy clouds. As great as the iPhone is it just can’t capture what we saw.

All told it was a nice little trip. Between Borrego and Alabama Hills we camped 11 nights and it did not cost a penny. And we ate in for every meal! Now I’m off for some Heli-skiing in the Ruby Mountains this upcoming Monday thru Wednesday with my two buddies, while Amelia keeps the home fires burning in Mammoth. Then April 1st we are off on some more adventures. Stay tuned!