We arrived at Love Note and Burly’s around 9. It was decided that Kate, Frank and I would head to Manzamar but would catch up with the others later this morning at the Bristlecone Pine Forest. Frank and I of course, didn’t know much about either place, so off we zoomed with Kate in command in our rented Rav 4 SUV.
Manzamar was a camp where Janpanese American were incarcerated during WWII. In Feb of 1942 President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 which authorized the removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast military areas for national security. From 1942-1945 120,000 Japanese Americans, 2/3 of them American born, were sent to 10 relocation camps. Manzanar, being the best preserved, was designated as a National Historic Site in 1996. This camp held 10,000 detainees and even had an orphanage of 100 children during its operation.
It was weird touring this site. It was a lot like touring Terzarin, the Nazi concentration we toured near Prague only this was here in the United States. Certainly not one of our prouder moments. We watched a film about Manzamar. In it, it showed Ronald Regan in 1988 issuing a proclamation apologizing to the survivors with a monitor restitution to them.
The site has an information center that was a social hall during the time of the camp and there were restored barracks as well. One building showed what the rooms were like in 1942 when the detainees first arrived and later in 1943 when they made home made furniture from wood and material they could find to make their living area homier.
A barracks
When the detainees left Manzanar there were issued 25 dollars so they could reestablish themselves. A stark reminder of the injustice of war and war time measures!
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest was our next stop. The problem was that we had to go to the top of the mountain to see them. It was a very winding road to the visitors center. Round and round we went with me getting dizzier and sicker with each revolution. I was sitting in the back and should have moved to the front. I was thrilled when we finally got to the top. By the time we got to the parking lot, we met up with Burly and Love Note and the rest of our group from yesterday minus the Cocoa the chicken and the 8 puppies.
The Bristlecone pine trees grow at an elevation of 9,800 ft to 11,000 ft. After eating a packed lunch, we took the one mile trail through the forest. The signage along the way explained the discovery of the trees and how the scientist in 1953 established how old the trees were. Evidently with little moisture and climate here, the growth circles are very small. At the time it was determined some of the trees were 4,000 years old. In 2013, one was discovered that is 5,066 years old which means it was germinated in 3051 BC.
After we left the mountain and returned to the highway, we went to a local hot springs.
I still wasn’t feeling that great, so Kate, Frank and I decided to skip the swim and headed back to our hotel in Lone Pine.
Once her friends were home again, we dropped Kate off at Love Note’s house and ate dinner in town. Once again, I was exhausted but we sure saw a lot of interesting things today!
Those trees sure are interesting! Hope you feel better soon!