It was a gorgeous blue-sky day, without wind for a change.
The Fords planned to go up to Whitney Portal and asked if we would like to join them. We saw yet more wondrous natural marvels.
The pictures tell it all, again only a glimpse and for us a memory of the real landscape which is truly grand and magnificent.
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| driving up the switchback road to the Portal |
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| Mt Whitney's "fingers" visible |
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| sheer granite chunks up close and gigantic |
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| towering cliffs |
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| the frozen waterfall at Whitney Portal, elevation 8,365 ft on this rather cold but sunny day |
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| a frozen pond |
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| there was some new snow on the mountains this morning |
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| Mt Whitney's craggy peaks |
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| just amazing peaks |
On our way back down, we had a terrific view of the valley below, including the Alabama Hills, where the movies were shot. The Alabama Hills looked so small from this vantage point.
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strange to think that those little outcroppings are the same Alabama Hills we
drove through with their strange rock formations |
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| in the far distance you can see what once was Owens Lake |
On our way back home, we stopped off at the Visitor Center. The Alabama Hills are directly across the highway, mere mounds in front of the massive granite peaks of Mt Whitney and Lone Pine Peak.
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The interpretive exhibits were very informative. But the scale model relief map was the most interesting, showing Highway 395 as it crosses the flat Mojave Desert and continues through the narrow gorge carved between the ridges of the Sierra Nevadas with Mt Whitney to the west and the Inyo Mountains to the east. Lone Pine is the closest town to the entrance to that gorge, in the Owens Valley. Further north lie Bishop and Mammoth Lakes, where we will travel as we make our way north along the eastern flanks of this ridge. Directly across from Lone Pine on the west side of the ridge are Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, while east of here is Death Valley.
It is all very fascinating and helpful to see an aerial perspective of the terrain we are traveling through.
Thanks for another great day today, Renee and Tony!
