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The locomotive was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works, and was a woodburner. The engine is a 4-6-0. She ran from 1911 until 1954. Her route was through the Owens Valley from Keeler to Laws. The following link provides a good history of the train as well as info on the efforts to restore the train.
https://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/
https://carsoncolorado.com/
http://www.sierrawave.net/slim-princess-steam-locomotive-moved-eastern-california-museum/
Geological Points of Interest
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The Inyo County Courthouse, on N. Edwards St. in Independence, California, was designed by architect William H. Weeks in Classical Revival style, and was built in 1921. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
It is significant for association with "economic and political development" of the Owens Valley and for housing county government during 1921-1947. It is the only example of "monumental, Neo-Classical Revival architecture" in the Owens Valley area. According to its NRHP nomination "This elaborately designed building represents the peak of local autonomy in the Owens Valley, before the City of Los Angeles purchased the majority of land in the valley, including most of the land within the county seat. Water development policies adopted by the City of Los Angeles after 1924 led ultimately to the destruction of irrigated agriculture, and the virtual depopulation of the Owens Valley."
The courthouse cornerstone was laid down in 1922. It was the fourth courthouse of the county, and replaced a version that was too small and was torn down after the present courthouse was built. Weeks was very experienced as an architect; he had designed more than 1,000 buildings already by 1915.
168 N Edwards St,
Independence, CA 93526
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inyo_County_Courthouse
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Situated in Inyo County on the north side of Oak Creek, about three miles from the town of Independence, in the Owens River Valley, on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevadas the post was established by Lieutenant Colonel George S. Evans 2nd California Cavalry on July 4, 1862 Never officially designated a fort, it was established to provide protection for the area's miners, who were troubled by Indian marauders. Temporarily abandoned in 1864, it was reoccupied in March 1865, due to renewed Indian depredations. The post was finally abandoned on July 5, 1877. The military reservation was transferred to the Interior Department for disposition on July 22, 1884. The building which served as the commanding officer's quarters was moved froth its original site to its new setting on Edwards Street in Independence.
Fort Independence Reservation was later establishedwhen the military left the valley, the native Paiute and Shoshone peoples of the area held various allotments of land adjacent to the fort. The Fort Independence Reservation was officially established through executive orders Number 2264 and 2375 in 1915 and 1916. This provided the tribal members with 360 acres (1.5 km2) of land adjacent to Oak Creek in the southern Owens Valley, near the Owens River and town of Independence.
https://en.wikipedia.org/
http://www.militarymuseum.org/CpIndependence.html
https://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/content/camp-independence-no-349-california-historical-landmark/sie0e3f040ccfc7ee76a
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Mary Hunter Austin - novelist, poet, critic, playwright, feminist - was born in Illinois in 1868. In 1888, she accompanied her parents when they relocated to California's San Joaquin Valley. Three years later, she married Stafford Wallace Austin and the couple moved to Independence where they designed the house that is now a California Historical Landmark.
https://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/
http://noehill.com/inyo/cal0229.asp
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If you are looking for something you have never done before, then the Reward Mine is the next stop for you. Laying in the shadows of Mount Whitney (2nd Tallest Mountain in the United States), the Reward Mine is very different than your traditional mine. The reason is that one section of the mine is large enough for you to drive inside and go farther than a quarter mile. You can explore a large portion of the mine inside your vehicle. Thus, it takes mine exploration to a whole new but scary level.
Geological Points of Interest
https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/1895-reward-mine
https://www.tripadvisor.com/
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From Highway 395 in Independence, you can look east and see the single rock spire locals call the Winnedumah Needle. The rock is silhouetted at the crest of the Inyo Mountains. The story is that the needle is a local Native American hero who directed his people to victory and was turned to stone to commemorate their victory.
Geological Points of Interest
https://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/
http://www.summitpost.org/winnedumah-paiute-monument-i-5-5/410803
http://www.mtnmouse.com/california/inyoe01winnedumah_paiute_monument.html
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This is a day long adventure or dispersed camping trip, no water or facilities along this route. Vehicles should be high clearance 4WD, portions of this road are steep and rocky. Visit Santa Rita Flat, Badger Flat and Papoose Flat, these are remote locations equip your vehicle accordingly. Never enter mine shafts, Stay Alive!
Mazourka Peak Via Mazourka Canyon Road is a 33.1 mile out and back trail located near Independence, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from April until November. Dogs are also able to use this trail.
Geological Points of Interest
https://www.fs.usda.gov/
http://digital-desert.com/route-guide/route-08.html
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The Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery, located in Independence, California, in the United States, is an historic fish hatchery that has played an important role in the preservation of the golden trout, California's state fish.
The facility was built and operated by the California State Fish & Game Commission, now known as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Starting in 1915, the citizens of Independence began a local fundraising drive to purchase a site for a proposed state fish hatchery. $1,500.00 was raised, and an ideal 40-acre site was purchased on Oak Creek, just north of the town. Fish and Game Commissioner M. J. Connell instructed the design team led by Charles Dean of the State Department of Engineering "to design a building that would match the mountains, would last forever, and would be a showplace for all time." [1] The architectural style they chose is Tudor Revival. Construction began in March, 1916, with a final budget of approximately $60,000.00. The walls of the building are constructed using 3,500 short tons of native granite collected within a quarter mile (400 m) of the site. The walls are two to three feet (600 to 900 mm) thick. The roof is red Spanish tile made in Lincoln, California. - Wikipedia
https://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/
https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/
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The Eastern California Museum was founded in 1928, and has been operated by the County of Inyo since 1968. The mission of the Museum is to collect, preserve, and interpret objects and information related to the cultural and natural history of Inyo County and the Eastern Sierra, from Death Valley to Mono Lake. The Museum collection is held in public trust, and a computerized database with over 15,550 records is used to manage the Museum's extensive collections. In addition to those artifacts, the Museum also houses about 27,000 historic photographs of the Eastern Sierra region, the majority of which date from the late 1800s through the 1950s. The Museum is also an outstanding resource for researchers, and typically handles about 200 requests for information or photo reprints per year..
http://www.inyocounty.us/
Geological Points of Interest
Slim Princess steam locomotive moved to Eastern California Museum
http://www.sierrawave.net/slim-princess-steam-locomotive-moved-eastern-california-museum/
New Rail Exhibit at the Eastern California Museum
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Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, led the United States into World War II and radically changed the lives of 120,000 men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry living in the United States. The attack intensified racial prejudices and led to fear of potential sabotage and espionage by Japanese Americans among some in the government, military, news media, and public. In February, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorizing the Secretary of War to establish Military Areas and to remove from those areas anyone who might threaten the war effort. Without due process, the government gave everyone of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast only days to decide what to do with their houses, farms, businesses, and other possessions. Most families sold their belongings at a significant loss. Some rented their properties to neighbors. Others left possessions with friends or religious groups. Some abandoned their property. They did not know where they were going or for how long. Each family was assigned an identification number and loaded into cars, buses, trucks, and trains, taking only what they could carry. Japanese Americans were transported under military guard to 17 temporary assembly centers located at racetracks, fairgrounds, and similar facilities in Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona. Then they were moved to one of 10 hastily built relocation centers. By November, 1942, the relocation was complete.
https://www.nps.gov/
https://www.nps.gov/manz/learn/historyculture/japanese-americans-at-manzanar.htm
Geological Points of Interest
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https://en.wikipedia.org/
Geological Points of Interest
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Ground Zero @ Foot of Alabamas ( 7000" to top, 7000' to bottom of original valley floor)
Geological Points of Interest
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_(U.S.)
http://www.mikereyfman.com/Photography-Landscape-Nature/Alabama-Hills-Eastern-Sierra/photos/03-picture.html
http://www.sierrahistorical.org/geology-of-the-sierra-nevada/
http://www.geologictrips.com/sn/snttlp.pdf
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https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g32646-d117177-i45923801-Alabama_Hills-Lone_Pine_California.html
http://www.eugenecarsey.com/camp/alabamahills/arches.htm
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You may have seen countless old black and white movies with cowboys on horse backs riding amongst rounded rock formations with majestic views of Mount Whitney in the background. These rock formations are in a vast area known as Alabama Hills. Cattle Pocket is where the movie companies corralled their horses and cattle between scenes.
Cattle Pocket itself is a broad flat area surrounded by rock formations with only a couple of escape routes, if you are of the four-legged variety, of course. Nowadays, however, there are no signs of horses and cattles anywhere near the area. The rock formations known as Cattle Pocket were named after the general area, although they are located a few hundred feet before reaching the actual pocket itself
http://www.summitpost.org/cattle-pocket/610999
https://www.mountainproject.com/v/cattle-pocket-and-corridors-area/105876846
Lat/Lon: 36.60476°N / 118.12771°W
Explore Inyo County Outdoor Guides for Camping and Fishing
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swansea,_California
See Also Swansea Petroglyphs
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http://noehill.com/inyo/poi_alabama_gates_marker.asp
http://noehill.com/inyo/poi_alabama_gates.asp
http://www.historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HM1R7V_alabama-gates_-CA.html
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Owens Lake is a mostly dry lake in the Owens Valley on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada in Inyo County, California. It is about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Lone Pine, California. Unlike most dry lakes in the Basin and Range Province that have been dry for thousands of years, Owens held significant water until 1924 Much of the Owens River was diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct, causing Owens Lake to desiccate. Today, some of the flow of the river has been restored, and the lake now contains some water. Nevertheless, in 2013, it is the largest single source of dust pollution in the United States.
https://www.lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org/Traveling-in-Lone-Pine/owens-lake
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/geology/owens/
http://grist.org/article/maisel/
SE ALSO: Owens Lake Trails
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The 1872 Lone Pine earthquake struck on March 26 at 10:30 UTC with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.4 to 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of X (Extreme). Its epicenter was near Lone Pine, California, in Owens Valley. Historical evidence detailing the damage it caused in settlements, fault scarps, and the geographic extent to which noticeable movement was felt led researchers to the high magnitude estimate. It was one of the largest earthquakes to hit California in recorded history and was similar in size to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
https://en.wikipedia.org/
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http://www.eugenecarsey.com/
http://www.naturalarches.org/BobsArches/AlHillsUnnamed10.html
LATITUDE: N 36°36.966
LONGITUDE: W 118°07.001
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