Highway 395 Road Trip

A "living ghost town" may be an oxymoron, but the historic gold-mining town of Randsburg (pop. 200) should meet enough criteria to satisfy ghost town buffs. You've got a selection of abandoned buildings from the original goldrush era plus some thriving businesses and a museum where you can chat with locals to get the historic lowdown.

Toothy, menacing fish heads surfacing from the dry desert landscape. What's not to love? Still, these rocks have divided locals since the '30s, starting a war that would see the fish heads painted, embellished with graffiti, entirely painted over, and then (lucky for us!) repainted back on with just eyes and teeth.

If you've ever played with Magic Rocks, you'll get an idea of what tufa towers look like on a much smaller scal. SoCal's Trona Pinnacles are a good example of these natural wonders. The pinnacles' otherworldly atmosphere made this the perfect filming spot for Star Trek V, Lost in Space, Battlestar Gallactica, and Planet of the Apes.

Male fiberglass giants clearly outnumber those of the female persuasion. What gives? We're sure this gargantuan gal in Pearsonville, CA (a.k.a. the hubcap capital of the world) can attract as much attention as her male counterparts. Except for maybe Chicken Boy, who's in a class all his own.

If you're reading this in the middle of the summer season, you might want to hold off visiting until December or January when temperatures will cool considerably. A seemingly bleak landscape is a treasure trove of obsidian strewn across an odd geological formation - a parched waterfall that was formed from volcanic activity and meltwater. Bring plenty of water and a sturdy pair of shoes - hiking over the...

Sometimes, junk art looks just like...junk. Unless you head to the barren landscape of the Mojave desert and find this treasure trove of remade junk. Made with a lot of loving care, this race of metal creatures inhabit the dry desert. Overseen by their creator, Jael Hoffman, they are free to see. Don't be shy - get up close. They have messages to impart such as "Be kind, not right." Good messages to take...

We haven't got a clue as to what purpose this kooky yellowish/orange hut serves, but we like the looks of it all the same.

These odd mounds are part of the Gold Rush history. They were used to provide charcoal for the Cerro Gordo mine. Partially eroded, these giant kilns are just shells. Driving on Highway 365, you will see signs pointing you to the kilns. (Photo by Graciela Mendoza)

A museum that will make you want to shout, "Hi-yo, Silver!" has memorabilia and history of "The Lone Ranger" and other iconic westerns from the early 1900s displayed in 40 exhibits. Housed in an old movie theater, the museum is also right in the midst of the favorite film locations for Hollywood's westerns. Lone Pine is still a go-to for directors; you might have seen glimpses of the desert landscape in ...

This trail loop is located in a desolate but beautiful area in the Alabama Hills of California. It was also one of the filming locations for the Tarantino film "Django Unchained." The centerpiece of this hike is the arch itself, a natural sandstone arch that looks more like a portal to another world. Don't forget to visit its smaller sibling, the Lathe Arch, which stands about 20 feet away.

These rugged rock formations make up part of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. This spot was also the film location of Westerns such as "The Lone Ranger" and "Bonanza." Amazingly, around 150 movies and over a dozen TV shows have been filmed here. You might see a giant natural pillar jutting out from the ground; this is known as the Gene Autry Rock, named after the park's most famous visitor. 

A giant boulder in California has great bone structure so it has become a tradition for artists (or aspiring artists) to paint facial features on it. Some are scary, but many are just cute or silly. To get there take CA Rt 136 east to Hwy 395 and turn right. Drive for just over a mile and then turn left on Whitney Portal Road. Approximately two miles on your right-hand side you'll see the rock.

The beauty of this national park belies its sad past. During WWII, the American government ordered over 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry to be moved and held in military camps. The Manzanar camp incarcerated more than 10,000 of that number. You will get a clear view of how harsh conditions were in this isolated outpost - sweltering summers paired with bone-chilling desert winters. The park is usually ...

Update: The Roosevelt Tree in Big Pine, CA was sadly cut down on September 28, 2020. The tree lost its water source, a roadside creek, in the 2017-18 drought. The Big Pine Civic Club tried everything they could to save the 107-year-old Giant Sequoia, including enlisting tree experts from the University of California. This giant sequoia has been here since 1913 when it was first planted. Although Roos...

This Mammoth Lakes hot spring looks very inviting with its neon blue pools of steaming water. But beware! The springs stay at a deadly boiling temperature. 14 deaths have occurred at these springs before the park prohibited human contact with them. Fortunately, the spring and occasionally spouting geyser can be viewed from the parking lot.

The geological formations at Devils Postpile National Monument are stunning examples of columnar basalt which are 60-foot high towers arranged in incredible symmetry. The 101-foot, single drop Rainbow Falls are of course spectacular and shouldn't be missed but the other attraction here is the top of the Posts, where you can see the flattened hexagonal shape of the columns.

This national monument's crowning feature is the geological formation of the same name made of columnar basalt. The unusual and alien striations were caused by the rapid cooling of lava around 100,000 years ago. At the top visitors can see the eerily symmetrical hexagonal shapes of the column cross-sections. To get there you'll take Hwy 395 to Route 203. Follow 203 for about 15 miles (past Minaret Falls ...

Mono Lake is quite possibly the largest natural sea-monkey aquarium in existence. This wide but shallow saline soda lake formed probably 760,000 years ago and now is a living ecosystem based on the brine shrimp that exist in abundance in its waters. These little sea monkeys are food for birds and insects that live or pass by here. You can take a canoe or kayak out on the lake but activity is prohibited b...

Even California, where real estate is at a premium, has her ghost towns. Far inland and near the CA-NV border, the ghost town of Bodie rests in peace, a casualty of the 1800s search for gold. The original structures are still standing, thanks to the concern of people who cared to preserve history. A general store, church, gas station, and gymnasium are only a few of the buildings to see - and many of the...