Sunrise at Red Rock Canyon

And may the dawn of a new year be everything you hoped for.

Happy New Year everyone and thank you for following along on the adventures of Sinbad and I.

A Morning Walk Out Back

I was in no hurry to leave the next morning so took a walk in our "backyard".

Monday Mural - In the Movies

The Lone Pine Film History Museum

 Lone Pine, California

The nearby Alabama Hills was the location of many Hollywood movies and television programs.

This sweeping mural adorned the side of their film museum.

How many movies, characters and actors do you recognize?

For more murals see Oakland Daily Photo's Monday Mural

Why I Like That Camp Spot

Right behind us.  I can just take off and explore.

A forest of Joshua Trees.

You sure don't want to run into one of these.  It'll poke your eye out!

Changes at Red Rock

Having decided to not continue on we took the right hand fork in the road towards the town of Mojave.  We stopped at Red Rock State Park my usual place for a stop-over when going or coming back from the southern deserts of California.  I was kind of surprised to find no one else there. Cool!

The Park Service went and converted my favorite spot into a handicap access campsite now.  Bummer.

Up ahead is a walk-in campsite then next is the site

 we always used when we tent camped which was many years ago.

 This is our old tent camp spot.  Lots of good rock scrambling for the kids.

So I backed up one spot and it now will become our new favorite camp spot at Red Rock Canyon.

What I Got for Christmas

Best gift ever.
It's all I wished for.

We hope your Christmas day is all that you wished for too.

Merry Christmas from both us us.

What to do?

Sinbad was acting odd and I wasn't feeling like driving on to the deserts further south all that much.  Should we continue on or head for home?  With this decision to be made on mind my that morning, I just kind of went through the motions of touring the museum.  Inside the lighting was not all that great for picture taking as you can tell from this photo of the Hopalong Cassidy bicycle - blurry.

One of these sold at a Bonhams auction for $4750

I think this stagecoach was in a John Wayne movie.

I stood here for quite awhile imagining Humphrey Bogart sitting behind the wheel.

I left the museum and returned to Sinbad asleep in the Little House on the Highway.
We decided to just head for home taking our time in doing so.
As it turned out that was a good decision.

Lone Pine Film History Museum

When we got back into town - Lone Pine - I took the time to walk through their film museum.

The museum centers on the films and programs shot in the nearby Alabama Hills.

I think the admission was $5 and well worth it for they had a ton-load of stuff to look at.

Next Stop, Movie Flats

It was then, after we cooled our brakes, that we moved on to the Alabama Hills

which I've already showed all the pictures from.

Our camp was off the map to the right.  

I guess no movies were made there except those done by myself and you've already seen them.

Goodbye High Country

We left the Scossa Brothers Cow Camp and 

began the descent down the eastern side of the High Sierra.

This is looking back from the way we came at the above view point turnout.

We now entered Mono County where the road steepened with numerous switchbacks in the road

that caused warning lights to flash on the instrument panel - over heated brakes!

After allowing the brakes to cool down we continued on our merry way.

I don't think I'll go that route again.

The sun is directly behind the 89 sign.

The Scossa Brothers

This "trailer" was setting off to the side of the cabin, perhaps for the hired hand at one time?

A zoom-in of another shot so you can better see the trailer itself.  

Pick this up and place it in the desert someplace and I'd call it home.

 Yesterday's green door was on the side of the cabin.  This was their front door.

I love the screen door latch.  How many times had it been turned is a wonder.

 It is not apparent at first but to the right of the door...do you see it?  This is where they shaved each day with the morning light reflecting off the mirror onto their face, a small rack to hang a towel or wash cloth, a water basin sitting on the shelf to their right.  Any idea why they would want the shelf canted on an angle like that?

I re-inserted a photo from the other day so you can once again see the front in it's entirety.

I took no pictures around back for it was heavily shadowed and just a plain blank wall.

I Googled the Scossa brothers and came up with this short history about them.

Click here.  Seeing where they were from no wonder why they got along just fine living here.

It's in the Details

Just consider as you look at these photos, all of this is probably buried in snow as the altitude there at Ebbet's Pass is 6300 feet (1920 meters). 

Maybe this swallow nest isn't snowed under.

Old Ghost Camp

It didn't appear to be a working camp but it had a this great old weathered fence.

No cows or people were around.

There was an old bed, table and chairs inside but really didn't look to have been used in many a year.

If you cannot make out the sign made from beer bottle caps it reads SCOSSA BROS. COW CAMP

This is linked to TexWisGirl's GOOD FENCES
There is another Good Fence shot on yesterday's post also.