Them Alabama Hills

"You need to be here before your go there"

the BlaNicS...(but I want to be everywhere)

For months we had plans to explore some of the magical gems in Arizona en route to en eventual birthday celebration for my mom in Southern California. Our fellow bloggers raved about the beauty of Kofa and Cibola National Wildlife Refuges and the dramatic peaks of Saddle Mountain near Tonopah, Arizona. So we sketched our itinerary, made some loosey goosey plans...and then within days of departing...we changed them. It became a priority to make time to visit a dear friend who just suffered the sudden loss of his wonderful soulmate, our dear friend and a gift to many.  He was on his way to Palm Desert so on our way there we decided to detour via Hwy 395. 

For 48 years I have left my footprints somewhere within the Eastern Sierras. And to both of us, their magical valleys, peaks and hidden wilderness have become our Camelot, our sanctuary, our temple. A year without a visit is like a drought in a desert, a sky without the sun or an ocean without the surf. So to start this adventure, we chose to make a short trip to Lone Pine, CA and those magical Alabama Hills. 

The Eastern Sierras, is where slashing peaks, many over 14,000 feet, rush abruptly upward from the arid expanses of the Owens Valley. Visualize a world of pine forests, lush meadows, ice blue lakes, simmering hot springs and glacier gouged canyons...and then imagine the power of nature to uplift this range 4 million years ago. Now cup your hands together...the bowl created by your palms is a metaphor of the sanctuary offered by the Alabama Hills under the watchful eye of a mighty sentinel aptly named Mount Whitney. And I am still awed that my kid sister hiked that peak up and back in one day....damn there are Warrior Princesses.  

As a young boy, John Wayne was one of my idols and many of those old television western heroes my role models. So getting a chance to walk upon the sacred ground where some of these movies and shows were filmed was a bonus. But the foremost reasons for boondocking in the Hills was the majestic beauty, miles of hiking, the solitude, the solitude and the solitude. We had to search for "neighbors", as rigs can easily be hidden within the multitude of rock cul-de-sacs, so we knew that within a 50 acre plot we were alone. Each evening we were hypnotized by a stunning sunset and then the writhing dances of flames from our campfire. We fell asleep at night listening to the wind, distant owls serenading each other from the rocky precipices beyond and the ever soothing sound of our beating hearts.

A big thanks to two of our favorite bloggers, Tim and Denise, of Gone With the Dogs  and Paul and Nina, of WheelingIt, for sharing their own experiences and making our research of the area easier. For many, many years we have driven through the Hills en-route to our backpacking trailheads looking forward to the time that we would camp here ourselves. If you hadn't written about your own special experiences boondocking here, our Alabama Hills celebration during this Leap Year may have been a longer time coming.

At Waypoint 36.608100 -118.126730

Umpqua and Cape Blanco Lighthouses

"Actuality is when the lighthouse is dark between flashes: 

it is the instant between the ticks of a watch: 

it is a void interval forever slipping through time: 

the rupture between past and future: 

the gap at the poles of the revolving magnetic field, 

infinitesimally small but ultimately real."

George Kubler

During our return to our "Central Coast Hidey Hole" we got a chance to experience a few days of torrential downpours, with wind gusts that toppled trees around us and huge winter swells that pounded our local beaches. As we watched the bountiful rain cascading down our windows it led us to dwell on those "Lighthouses" in our lives. Moments or individuals that have been either guides to a safe and snug place or ones that have warned us to go in another direction. How many times can you recall that welcoming porch light, a familiar beacon signaling that you made it home, or the flashing lights of emergency vehicles prompting you to be vigilant and seek a detour?  Either way, we continue to pay attention to the flashes, as well as those moments in between.

It is with little wonder that mother nature joggled our memories of a couple of beloved Waypoints...those unique Oregonian Lighthouses. One, whose beacon flashes a welcoming light (2 white and one red) guiding towards a safe harbor. Another, whose bright beam flashes white every 23 seconds through dark, foggy skies as a stern warning to steer clear of Oregon's most Westerly shoreline.

The Umpqua River Lighthouse, built in 1894, guides maritimers to the mouth of the Umpqua River and a safe harbor. Our first visit to this awesome lighthouse was in July 2007. We experienced great summer time weather and were treated to a spectacular view of Winchester Bay. We did tour the adjacent Coastal History Museum in the historic Coast Guard Station, but the big excitement back then were the perfectly situated Lighthouse Host RV pads. Perched on the cliff in front of the museum, hosts are treated to that awesome 180 degree view of the bay. Someday, we mused that we would be hosting here. 

Forward time to 2015 and we are now nomads. Once again we toured the museum, but we also had time to go on the lighthouse tour...and we were quite happy we did. This tour is normally led by the lighthouse hosts, but on this particular day we had the official lighthouse keeper, "MJ", who is a wonderful guide and naturally extremely knowledgeable and passionate of her historic landmark. Her tour was great!! Those host sites with the awesome views are still there and our hosting and docent background made us a "first round" choice to volunteer here but we quickly realized that large school groups would be among the many visitors to the lighthouse. And it made Imkelina wonder, why would a recently retired educator want to jump right back into that??  Per chance, in the distant future.

Cape Blanco State Park...the site named after one of my seafaring relatives, features another Oregon gem...

Cape Blanco Lighthouse, built in 1870 due to the many shipwrecks at this point, warns maritime navigators of dangerous waters. It's light is visible for 22 miles at sea. Cape Blanco is the most southern of Oregon lighthouses and is the westernmost point in Oregon.

As we walked the bluff and climbed down to the beach below, the fierce winds, white caps and off-shore rock formations validated this dangerous point of the Oregon coastline.

As we reflect back over the last 20 years, we realize that there are many wonderful individuals that are able to be a welcoming lighthouse, a symbol for spiritual strength and emotional guidance. We know that to be true, for some of those gifted souls have become part of our pack. We will always be a beacon of joy...radiating a light to those in darkness and a harbor of tranquility for those seeking a safe harbor. May the guiding lights of this world never diminish.