I stayed longer than planned before I drove to Death Valley and the sand dunes at Stovepipe Wells. As I had sacrificed the best light to stay at the Alabama Hills I did not stay too long at the dunes. I love the desert but I had spent several days here in 82 and to get the best pictures you do need low lighting to bring out the lovely shapes.The shot on the left was taken with a 180mm lens.
I had planned to stay in Las Vegas and move onto Area 51 the next day but expensive motels and roadwork's were factors in deciding to press on a bit further to a good motel in Glendale. In all a cracking 350 mile day- albeit a bit tiring.

Another early start ( what's new ) to reach the Alabama Hills before dawn to catch the first light on Mount Williamson. Reached the spot I had chosen the previous evening to find a John Wayne 'look-a-like' down for the movie weekend nearby. The image below has been manipulated in photoshop. JW was moved to a new position, clouds were added and the scene was warmed up.

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DAY 9

Perhaps I'll try that route another year. There was just enough time to get back to Bishop Creek for more fall colour pictures. Though I did manage a few my efforts were foiled by a holdup on a narrow dirt road by the delivery of a portable WC !!!!

If you head east from Big Pine on the 168 and then north on the White Mountain road you'll come to the Bristlecone Pines. You'll be climbing upto 10,000 ft and the road is quite narrow so take care. There are two main groves- Schulman and Patriarch. I only had time to go to the former. These pines have lived for 4000 years

The interesting shapes and patterns they provide for the photographer are well worth the journey.

Allow plenty of time for the walk around the grove which is hilly at times. The Patriarch Grove is a further 11 miles along a single dirt road which may be tough going.

I had missed first light on Mount Williamson so I spent a few hours taking pictures and searching for a good location for another attempt the following day before heading north to the White Mountains and the Bristlecone Pines

A really early start to get to the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine before dawn. The Alabams Hills- images below - used to be used as locations for movies years ago including such classics as Gunga Din and Wagon Train. My visit coincided with the yearly movie weekend so all the motels in the immediate vicinity were fully booked so I had to stay in Bishop some 60 miles away. The organizers of the special weekend had placed plaques at each film location to show buffs the exact spot of location shots. The image below right illustrates a location for Mule train shot in 1950.

DAY 8

 

 As you will see from the above map it was quite a long trip lasting three weeks with quite a few highs and a few lows. The flight via Newark from Manchester ( UK ) to SF was delayed quite a bit so combined with a wait for my hire car I set off to my first motel quite late. Luckily it turned out to be only a block away so my driving skills were not to be tested that first evening. The changeover in Newark was an opportunity for a few pictures and as you can see below you get a view of the New York skyline from Newark airport.