Alabama Hills

We got an insider tip that there is spectacularly gorgeous boondocking to be had in the Alabama Hills just outside of Lone Pine. We drove out of town and into the endless boulders perfectly perched beneath Mount Whitney (the tallest mountain in the lower 48) and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We found the most picturesque campsite of our entire trip and settled in. Though we were protected by boulders everywhere we were still pummeled by the unrelenting wind that had plagued us through Death Valley. These boulders have been the backdrop for hundreds of films throughout the years including a few of our favorite cheesy Star Trek episodes. It was so fun to imagine Captain Kirk here clumsily hand-fighting with aliens. We kept wandering through the rocks saying things like, "I don't understand, that blow would have killed any mortal man". The wind, however, was kind of a major pain in the butt so we didn't spend as much time exploring as we would have liked.

The following morning we headed into town to check out the Movie Museum. I did not recognize most of the movies but I'm sure the museum would be super cool for anyone who grew up on old Westerns.

Our next stop was Manzanar National Historical Site. Manzanar was the first of ten concentration camps our country set up for 110,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. 10,000 of our own citizens, at this camp alone, were forced out of the their homes, businesses and lives and imprisoned here based solely on their race. We took everything from them, their homes, their businesses, all of their possessions. Absolutely horrifying. How could our country commit these crimes against her own citizens? Imprisoning families....men, women and children? After visiting this site, I feel like every American should have to visit one of these camps and learn what we did. Especially, when we have people like Trump spewing hatred towards foreigners that some Americans are gobbling up. Absolutely disgraceful. It goes against everything that this country stands for and our forefathers' vision. Never again.

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