Geo-RoadTrip 2014

Here it is!

Geo-RoadTrip 2014: Breakfast in the Hills

We don't always post about the restaurants where we eat on these trips but occasionally we find one post-worthy.  For example, the Alabama Hills Cafe was a great find and our last stop in Lone Pine, CA.  Not just for the food but for the geologic ambience.  They are smart enough to take advantage of their namesake hills for a little educational decor:

There are some handy references on the walls to some of the more famous and unique rock formations in the area and even some artistic interpretations:

The previous day we had gotten a picture of the "Visible Man" (also known as the "Monster Rock") which you can see on the bottom row, in the middle or in this pic:

It's one of the easier ones to find since it's right along the road to the hills and, of course, the face painting.

But at this point you're probably wondering, how is the food?  The cafe has its own bakery and even the toast is handmade.  It's, hands down, the best breakfast in town.  Check out that morning's special: Shrimp, tomato, mushroom and spinach scramble with fresh fruit:

Definitely worth the drive through the desert.  Next up, we head further into California!

Geo-RoadTrip 2014: Rock Shopping

After a little minor mountaineering we headed back to Lone Pine for the night and had some time to kill before dinner.  Luckily the Lone Pine Rock & Gift store was right in the middle of the town.  It was time to do a little geo-browsing.

They had a pretty good selection of specimens ranging from local rocks to those found far and away.  Here's a sample of some of the things we found:

Next up is our last stop in Lone Pine!

Geo-RoadTrip 2014: Hollywood Road

Not too far from Lone Pine, CA is an area where you might not have been but have almost certainly seen on the big screen.  The picturesque views in the Alabama Hills have been attracting Hollywood producers for almost as long as there have been Hollywood producers.  You can see some of these famous vistas if you travel along Movie Flats Road.

The area was a natural fit for Westerns, with lots of stunning rock formations for the bad guys and bandits to hide behind.  But over the years, just about every genre has utilized the incredible look of the area including several scifi films.  Two different Star Trek films filmed here since the area seems to be a good fit for cowboys as well as aliens.

And if you find yourself in the area you'll want to take the drive up to Mount Whitney.  At its peak it has the highest elevation in the contiguous 48 states (which is great symmetry to our stop at Badwater Basin).  That height also comes with cooler weather which felt great after soaring temperatures at Death Valley.

Next up, we go rock shopping!

Geo-RoadTrip 2014: Exploring Lone Pine

After leaving Death Valley we headed down the road to Lone Pine, CA.  It's a small town but has a lot of interesting things going on and is a great access point to the Sierra Nevada mountain range including the Alabama Hills and Mount Whitney.  But before tackled the mountains, we made a stop at the Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center.

Inside they have a great interactive, 3-D model of the mountain range:

As well as a section of the Los Angeles Aqueduct that delivers water from around the area to Los Angeles:

Exploring Lone Pine further led us to a monument to a tragic natural disaster.  In 1872 the area was the site of an earthquake estimated to be 7.6 to 8 on the Richter scale killing 27 people and destroying most of the town's structures.  Today a small stone marker commemorates the event in front of the mass grave of the victims:

The plaque on the marker reads:

Next up on the trip: movie memorabilia!