Desert 395

California, USA (35mm) Highway 395 travels north/south. On one side is Death Valley, and on the other, the eastern face of the Sierra mountain range. From here, one can hike up to Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States. The beauty of the vast valley in between comes at a cost. The unforgiving heat of Alabama Hills (named after racist enthusiasts), the memorial for the Manzanar internment camp, the sound of recreational gun shots, and the shattered beer bottles in every corner of a dispersed campsite are all reminders of that. Yet the seasoned desert is utterly generous with its beauty. 395 will take you past Mammoth Mountain to Mono Lake, where a west turn onto Tiago Road will lead you into a less trafficked area of Yosemite National Park.