Road Trip Education: Learning from US Highway 395

Gold Mining was an important part of the history of 395

The Golden State is geographically a north/south state. Route 66 may be how many of you (or your families) got to California, and how most of you visited relatives back east, but we natives have spent our lives traveling north and south. That means our three main roads go that way. The original California highway is the El Camino Real. The Mission Trail, founded by Father Junipero Serra and his fellow Franciscans. Finally paved, it was dubbed by the US Government “Highway 101.” The second of course, the main street of California’s agricultural empire, is US/CA 99. If you check Grapes of Wrath, most of the action takes place after the Joads get to California and travel up and down 99, looking for work in the fields and orchards. The last of the three is the easternmost, the desert highway, the route to the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains: US 395.

Most in SoCal know 395 as the way to Mammoth for skiing, but 395 is more. Much more. It is the gateway to Mount Whitney. It is the gateway to Death Valley. The yin and yang of the continental United States. It is the route of the water we use to make SoCal possible. It is also the route of one of the darker chapters of our history—the route to Manzanar. What most people don’t know is what is beyond Mammoth.


You can divide 395 into four parts. The southernmost section is from the Mexican border and sadly, little is extant. As a result, I won’t be covering that part. The next part begins around San Bernardino and shares the road with good old Rte 66 up through Cajon Pass. At Victorville, it veers through the high desert, through Adelanto to where it meets CA14 at the base of the southern end of the Sierra Nevadas. Our journey will really begin here.


You drive on the rim of Death Valley to the east and the Sierra Nevadas to the west. These magnificent mountains are most impressive from the eastern side. While the western slopes are tree- covered forests, the eastern crags are almost lunar in their barrenness. Mt. Whitney and her sisters are jagged teeth, taking a bite out of a stark desert sky. The towns reflect this desert heritage. Olancha, Dunmovin, Cartago, are desolate wide spots in the road. Sad remnants of motels and gas stations dot the road, testaments to travel in a different age, back when every car had a canvas Desert Cooler bag hanging from the hood ornament, back before air conditioning, so all the windows were open despite the dust. The few remaining motels seem to cater to travelers who are just too tired to drive further. There is little other reason to stop the night there.

Gus’s Beef Jerky is a must stop in Olancha!

The middle section is a quaint reminder of the outdoor recreation available in the Sierras: Independence, Lone Pine, Big Pine, Bishop. These are the gateway towns to the best trout fishing in the world. Since Bishop is an easy tank of gas from LA, it’s the obvious place to gas up.

Easter Sierra Nevada Mountains, taken from Lone Pine, CA

There are three “Must Stop” places along this stretch. The most important is Manzanar, site of one of the most infamous chapters in US History, the “internment of Japanese-Americans in World War II. Now, I’ve been to Dachau, Auschwitz, and the Famine Museum in Strokestown, Ireland. Manzanar, while certainly not a place of mass-murder or genocide by inaction, has the same feeling of unremitting sadness. No, there were no gas chambers or crematoria, and yes, the people held in Manzanar were fed decent food, but they were victims of the same kind of evil. If Japanese-Americans were‘interned’ for their ‘protection,’ why were the guards facing the insides of the camp?

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At no time was I made more aware of the impact of Manzanar, than my first visit. I was a charter bus driver back in the 70s. On one trip, I was part of a convoy of buses that picked up a large group of people from "Little Tokyo" in LA. All were former inmates of Manzanar, or their families. Each bus had at least one person who was over 100 years old (!!!). We drove them the long haul from DTLA up 395 to Manzanar. We parked near some picnic benches not far from the cemetery. It was both a solemn and joyous occasion. AT ALL TIMES, WE DRIVERS (ALL OF US WHITE) WERE TREATED WITH RESPECT AND GOOD HUMOR, AND NO SENSE OF BITTERNESS TOWARDS US! THEY FED US WELL ON GREAT JAPANESE FOOD (some of the drivers had a hard time with this, so I scarfed up theirs!) and WE WERE TIPPED MOST GENEROUSLY AT THE END OF THE DAY. TALK ABOUT ACTS OF GENEROUS "CHRISTIAN" FORGIVENESS. MAY WE ALL BE SO FORGIVING OF THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US. You owe it to yourself to spend time in Manzanar. https://www.nps.gov/manz/index.htm
 
Next is the railroad museum at Laws, just off 395 near Bishop. Great old narrow gauge railroad equipment from when the “Slim Princess” plied the 3’ rails down to Inyokern. It’s not just a rail museum. Over the years, the museum has acquired whole buildings from the Owens Valley and stocked them with the appropriate fittings and implements from the early days. There are entire doctor’s and dentist’s offices, dry goods, homes, and grocery stores and more. It is an amazing look back at a time long gone.

The newest is the Museum of Western Film History (https://www.lpmuseum.org) at the southern end of Lone Pine. The area was used in countless Hollywood movies. Mostly westerns, but also such great movies as “Bad Day at Black Rock,” “High Sierra,” “The Long, Long, Trailer,” and of course, “Tremors,” were filmed there. It’s well worth a stop.
 
Lone Pine, Independence, Big Pine, and Bishop are wonderful places to stop for the night. There are several good motels in a variety of price ranges and comfort levels. I strongly suggest you stay at one of the independent places, rather than a corporate stop-over. Although they can be a bit funky, the owners are happy to see you and we’ve never had a problem (unlike some of the nasty experiences in the Big Name Places!)


One of my favorite sights in these towns are the neon signs on the sporting goods stores. There is no doubt that fishing is the outdoor sport. Not with that giant lighted trout jumping out into traffic! I remember being impressed by them when, as a Boy Scout, we’d make our annual trek to Kennedy Meadows. Is there anything better than trout out of the stream straight into a hot buttered cast iron skillet? This section continues past the Mammoth turnoff, past Lee Vining and the road up Tioga Pass, Mono Lake, and Crowley Lake. Outstanding mountain scenery. You might want to take the side trip to Bodie, an honest-to-God real-live ghost town.


Leave early enough to hit Walker by lunchtime.


The Mountain View BBQ, run by Texas transplant Jeff Hinds has some fine Que. Texas Style. Jeff and his late brother built the place, including the intricate inlay work on the bar top. The smoker is out by the roadside and guarantees that this is the real deal. By the way, he closes in the winter. Carson City makes a good overnight stop, as, of course, does Reno. The Walker River descends to Carson City and Reno, “Biggest Little City in the World.” Take the side trip to Virginia City. It’s tacky and touristy and thoroughly enjoyable. Nevadans definitely have a different take on life! In Reno, check out what is now the National Automobile Museum (aka, what is left of Bill Harrah’s massive collection). It’s worth it just to see the Thomas Flyer that won the inaugural (and only) New York/Paris race. The damn trophy is worth the price of admission. Other than that, you can skirt Reno, but tank up. Things are going to get lonely. Real Lonely!

The third section is the weirdest. This part is high meadow land. Scrubby brush and wide open vistas. Long straights and sweeping bends of two lane blacktop and hardly a car in sight. The road climbs towards the Oregon border, getting twisty here and there to keep you honest.


We finally, as night was falling checked into the Frontier Motel in Alturas. About 12 hours of driving and 14 hours on the road. We were weary travelers. If you want to take a more leisurely pace, stop in Carson City then Burns, Oregon. We were out to make time. Alturas is an odd town. Not even sure why there is a town there. Ranching seems to be the way of life. The Frontier Motel is a classic. A sadly tired classic. At $40 for the night, it was decidedly better than the $100/night Best Western down the road. It’s a family run place in need of business. The people were very friendly and the place was at least clean. Just tired. The real find was next door, what seemed like the only open eatery in Alturas on a Sunday night. Nunch’s Thai/California Cuisine! Yeah, Thai food in the back of beyond! Good Thai food too! My wife Marianne had the pad thai and I had the honey duck. Tasty, a bit spicy, proper jasmine rice. Erin, our server was helpful and really sweet, giving us tips on what was the good stuff.
 
Your next leg should start at the obligatory O’Dark-Thirty because the next stop will be in Burns, OR.The Apple Peddler has a really good breakfast. Get this, a Belgian waffle topped with apple pie filling and whipped cream. UmmGood! A funky place to stay, if you are doing the three day version, is the Knotty Pine Motel. Tiny little place but friendly and family run.


The run from Burns to Pendleton is an odd mix. Eastern Oregon is divided by a series of east/west ridges, so 395 has long open straight stretches of semi-arid country then steep mountain passes and gorges with pine forests. This repeats about five times. It certainly keeps you on your toes. Pendleton is the home of the famous woolen mills. Visit and take the tour. Downtown Pendleton is a combination of old and new. One of the oldest western wear stores in the country, Hamley’s has some amazingly fancy cowboy duds. Around the corner is a more modest Curio Shop (that’s the name of the place) with lots and lots of turquoise. There are a bunch of places to eat in Old Town Pendleton, take your pick. You can take 395 all the way through Washington to Canada. It’s a lot like Western Oregon. Instead, we bailed on 395 to head along the Columbia Gorge. It’s, well GORGEOUS!


So, is 395 worth it? Absolutely! There is an amazing array of scenery. The people were nice and rather amazed that we would drive 395 all the way. We got talking to a guy at a rest stop driving his hot rodded ‘55 Chevy panel truck down to the Bay Area for business. He loved this road and always took it whenever possible. Most of this trip is good old two lane blacktop, just like the good old days. Small towns that the highway does not avoid break up the journey and give it life and variety unobtainable on the dreaded interstate. US 395 is a look at how we used to travel...395 is a journey into the past.


Submitted By Guest Author, Steve McCarthy