sierra views - gannett...the boeing b-29 superfortress visiting from wichita, kansas. the plane was...

SIERRA VIEWSOctober 2019

IN THIS ISSUE: Spotlight on the 6th annual Ridgecrest Petroglyph Festival

OCTOBER 2019 SIERRA VIEWS2

Publisher John Watkins Editor Aaron Crutchfield Advertising Director Paula McKayAdvertising Sales Rodney Preul, Robert Aslanian, Gerald Elford Writers Jack Barnwell, C.R. Rae, Jim Matthews

Inside this issue:Doc’s return to Inyokern ..................................... 3Scotty’s Castle recovering from 2015 flood ......... 7Ridgecrest Petroglyph Festival ........................ 9-16Kernville events ................................................. 17Improvements at Mammoth Mounain ............... 18Tonopah: History at every angle ........................ 19Death Valley’s 25th birthday .............................. 21LADWP and Owens River Gorge fairy tale ......... 22

SIERRA VIEWSOctober 2019

On the cover:A scene from Little Petroglyph Canyon, a well pre-served site displaying Native American petroglyphs,some of which are thought to be up to 16,000 yearsold. Photo by Cheryl McDonald

To our readers:Sierra Views offers a view of the events,activities, and fun up and down the EasternSierra and beyond. In this issue, we previewthe Ridgecrest Petroglyph Festival, set for thefirst weekend in November, and from there,branch out to Mammoth Mountain, Death Valley, and Tonopah, Nevada.

3OCTOBER 2019 SIERRA VIEWS

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JACK BARNWELL/DAILY INDEPENDENTA large crowd gathers Oct. 9 at the Inyokern Airport tarmac to take a look inside Doc,the Boeing B-29 Superfortress visiting from Wichita, Kansas. The plane was originallysalvaged from the China Lake ranges and then re-located to the airport in 1998 by agroup of volunteers. The plane was later re-located to Wichita in 2000, where it wasrestored over 15 years.

Doc’s return bringsnostalgia to Inyokern

BY JACK BARNWELLThe Daily Independent

Between soaring in the openblue sky and providing hands-on experience sitting in the

cockpit and gunner’s seats, the BoeingB-29 Superfortress plane “Doc”brought back plenty of nostalgia andinsight into World War II-era historyduring its brief visit in early October.

The Wichita, Kansas-based planetouched down Oct. 8 at Inyokern Air-port after a last-minute schedulechange allowed it to visit as part of itswest coast tour. Spectators watchedthe airplane glide down into its for-mer home.

The next day, about a dozen souls

managed to snag a coveted spot dur-ing one of two flights prior to an openhouse event. The tickets came at ahefty price: $600 at the low end for agunner’s seat, and $1,300 at the high-est for a bombardier’s seat. The highcost goes to help maintain the B-29’soperational and fuel expenses.

Ridgecrest resident Michael Cash,who helped to coordinate Doc’s arrivalto Inyokern Airport following its ap-pearance at the Sacramento Air Show,called his flight experience amazing.

“I got to fly in the bombardier’s po-sition and I’m still trying to figure outthe words and adjectives to describe… it can’t be described,” Cash said,joking that his blood pressure waslikely still over 200. “I’m speechless.

I’ve been a pilot for 50 years andflown in a lot of airplanes, but Docwas beyond any expectations.”

About an hour after the plane land-ed from its second air trip, the throngof people started streaming just afternoon. Groups included students fromdifferent schools and well-wisherswho remembered the historic plane’stime at China Lake.

“It’s been a dream of mine since1957 when I used to play out on Docas an 8-year-old when it was on therange,” Cash said. “I used metal cansto build seats and pretended I was fly-ing.”

Doc, named for the iconic portraitof the Disney “Snow White and theSeven Dwarfs” character painted onits side, is one of only two B-29 planesstill flying. The only other one is FIFI,which was recovered from the bone-yard at China Lake in the 1970s and isnow based out of Fort Worth, Texas.The remaining 22 intact B-29 air-planes are relegated to museums, in-cluding two overseas.

Doc rolled off the assembly line inMarch 1945, with the assembly line

number 44-69972. Another plane ofits type, the Enola Gay, made historyfive months later when it dropped twoatomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hi-roshima, forcing Imperial Japan’s sur-render and the end to World War II.

Doc was one of 1,644 B-29s manu-factured at the Boeing plant in Wichi-ta.

Doc originally served in a non-com-bat role along with other planes nick-named the “Seven Dwarfs.” In 1955,the plane was assigned to target-tow-ing duty; the following year the wholesquadron became target practice forbomb training on the China Lakeranges.

The plane languished for 42 years,surviving its role as bomb practice.Ridgecrest resident Tony Mazzolinifound Doc in 1987 and began the am-bitious mission to remove and restorethe airplane.

It took 12 years before Mazzoliniand a corps of volunteers could takepossession of the plane and relocate itfrom China Lake to the nearby Inyok-ern Airport. In April 1998, the grouptowed Doc from the ranges to the air-


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JACK BARNWELL/DAILY INDEPENDENTBrayden Archibald, 2, crawls through the tube connecting the tail gunner position inthe rear to the front cabin of the B-29 Doc during a VIP session on Oct. 8. Doc landedOct. 8 at Inyokern Airport.

port and began restoration. Inyokern Airport General Manager

Scott Seymour, who has been with theIWV Airport District since 1992, re-membered the airplane coming to theairport in 1998.

“I was there when it was on thefreeway and from the freeway tohere,” Seymour said. “It is just so dif-ferent now than what it was. And themanhours to restore it is phenome-nal.”

Sammie Ford, one of the originalvolunteers to help Mazzolini save andmove Doc, noted the experience.

“I worked at China Lake for 32years and in the last 14 years I wastaking care of all the targets on therange,” Ford said. “Doc was sittingthere in the area where the bombsdropped, but they never hit it.”

Ford said that Doc was slated to gothrough another round of target prac-tice.

“I said we couldn’t do that, so wepulled it out of the area so it wouldnever get hit,” Ford said. “After it wasmoved, it sat out on the range andpeople were going in and out of it allthe time. A lot of people got to gothrough it.”

When it came time to move theplane in 1998, Ford said it was a lot ofwork to coordinate the effort. He not-ed the effort to tow the plane from thebase down Highway 178 and Highway395 toward the airport, where it cameto rest at the then Bud McGee Air-park.

“Once we got on the highway, ittook us about three or four days to getit to the airport, about 30 miles fromwhere it was,” Ford said.

The prep work involved building abridge across part of the Little Dixie

Wash to accommodate the plane’s141-foot wingspan 100-foot tip-to-taillength. The actual tow went about 38miles across the Mojave Desert, rail-road tracks, the Dixie Wash and thehighways.

Over the course of four days in April1998, people lined up in cars to watchthe plane as it was towed by two trac-tors at four miles per hour before itreached the airport. Once it hit 395, ittook up both lanes.

While plans called for it to be re-stored at Inyokern, after an inspec-tion by Boeing engineers, Mazzoliniand his group realized it would taketoo much time and too many re-sources to restore at its current loca-tion, so it was shipped in pieces onflatbed trucks back to its birthplace inWichita in 2000.

According to the Doc’s Friends timeline, “Volunteers began the process ofreassembling the B-29 and drew upplans to restore the historic warbirdwhich was now sitting a few hundredfeet from where it first rolled off theBoeing-Wichita assembly line some50-plus years before. Dedicated vol-unteers spent countless hours in theearly stages of restoring the historicplane.”

In February 2013, a group of avia-tion buffs and business leaders withretired Spirit AeroSystems CEO JeffTurner at its head formed the Doc’sFriends nonprofit to manage theplane’s restoration.

The organization succeeded and in2016, Doc was restored to airworthi-ness, with its first flight in July 2016.It’s first airshow tour began in 2017and a hangar for the plane was com-pleted in March 2018.

When it touched down at Inyokern


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JACK BARNWELL/DAILY INDEPENDENTBrian McNamara lifts his 2-year-old daughter Hayden up to inspect one of the four en-gines on the B-29 Doc following its landing Oct. 8 at Inyokern Airport.

Airport in October of this year, Fordnoted it was his birthday.

“It’s the best birthday present Icould ask for,” Ford said. “I can’t sayhow much I appreciate it being here.”

“Without these California volun-teers, the restoration of Doc by theteam in Wichita would not have beenpossible,” said Josh Wells, executivedirector of Doc’s Friends, in a newsrelease announcing the plane’s arrivalto Inyokern Airport. “We are excitedto honor the team of volunteers in theChina Lake area and share Doc’s com-pleted restoration that began withthem more than two decades ago.”

Doc was not originally slated to re-turn to the Indian Wells Valley. Itoriginally was slated to wrap up itsWest Coast tour after the SacramentoAir Show, but last minute arrange-ments made by Cash and IWV Air-port District board member StevenMorgan turned that dream into a re-ality.

“Mike Cash talked with Josh Wells(executive director of Doc’s Friends)and told him how important it was forus here in the Indian Wells Valley tohave closure and see Doc completefrom what it was in 1998 … to its 15-year refurbishment to today,” Morgansaid during a Facebook Live interviewwith Desert Valleys Federal CreditUnion.

Morgan noted donations made it allthe more possible to bring the planeback. Those donors included MikeCash with Operation Family Fund,Airport Manager Scott Seymour andall Airport Staff, Jim Suver withRidgecrest Regional Hospital, JohnSmith with Tartaglia Engineering,Solomon Rajaratnam with MissionBank, Dan Spurgeon with SpringhillSuites, Jim and Karen Sattay withAVIS car rental, Steven Morgan, andEric Bruen, CEO of Desert ValleysFederal Credit Union.

“They agreed and we have had sucha fantastic time,” Morgan said. “I wasso happy that I was jumping up anddown inside.”❖


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JACK BARNWELL/DAILY INDEPENDENTRidgecrest resident Carol Ford looks down from Doc’s cockpit on Oct. 9. Ford’s hus-band Sammie was one of the volunteers to originally relocate Doc to Inyokern in 1998.

DAILY INDEPENDENT FILE PHOTODoc is towed along a highway in April 1998 after being removed from the China Lakeranges.

Repairs at Scotty’s Castle inDeath Valley National Park areprogressing as the four-year

anniversary of the flood approaches.The National Park Service (NPS)plans to reopen the popular historicsite in October 2021.

Scotty’s Castle received close to itsannual average rainfall in five hourson October 18, 2015. The resultingflash flood caused an estimated $47million in damages to roads, build-ings, and utilities in the historic dis-trict. That much funding is not com-ing from a single source all at once.The park is receiving funds from parkentrance fees, Federal Highways Ad-ministration, NPS deferred mainte-nance accounts, and donations spreadover multiple years.

Once consequence of patching to-gether funding is that Death Valley ismanaging the repairs of Scotty’s Castleas discrete projects, each focused onsingle buildings or utility systems withits own funding. There isn’t a singlegeneral contractor for all repairs atScotty’s Castle. Designs are done by ar-chitecture and engineering firms. Oth-er companies handle construction.Each project is progressing on its ownschedule, depending on design com-plexity, potential impacts to natural orcultural resources, and unplanned is-sues.

Design is beginning now to repairthe Chimes Tower, address potentialfuel leaks from five underground stor-age tanks, and to repair the water dis-tribution system.

Designs are nearly completed on

two critical projects: replacing theheating, ventilation, and air condition-ing (HVAC) and constructing bermsand flood walls to direct future floods

away from the historic buildings.Each project’s next step is for spe-

cialists to review the design docu-ments for impacts to the historic dis-

trict. The Visitor Center project is un-der review currently. During the de-sign phase, engineers determined thatthe only way to protect the historicGarage (which serves as the VisitorCenter) from side drainage flooding isto build a 2-foot-high flood wall nearthe building’s northwest corner. An-other planned change is to widen a 3-foot opening in a breezeway in the L-shaped building’s corner to allow fu-ture floods to pass through withoutgetting forced through windows,doors, and walls into the building. TheNPS and the California State HistoricPreservation Officer are on the vergeof signing an agreement on plans tomitigate these impacts.

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Scotty’s Castle eyes Oct. 2021 reopening

PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL PARK SERVICEArticulated concrete blocks at the bridge at Scotty’s Castle aim to combat the effects of erosion during any future floods. A flood in2015 has resulted in the castle’s closure, with the $47 million in repair costs meaning the fix must be done peacemeal toward a pro-jecte4d opening date in October 2021, some six years after the flood.

and other erosion-control features were installed around the historic bridge.The surrounding landscape was scoured down eight feet, exposing the bridge’sfoundation. This work will prevent damage from future floods at this pinch-point where flood speeds were fastest. About a mile of historic concrete fenceposts were reconstructed and installed. Like the original posts, they arestamped with “S” and “J” for Scotty and Johnson. Unlike the historic posts, thereproductions are also stamped with “2019” to distinguish them from the intactoriginal posts.

Construction began in September to replace destroyed components of the wa-ter system, install a new leach field and septic tank, and upgrade the electricalsystem.

Bonnie Clare Road reconstruction has been in progress for about a year. Fed-eral Highway Administration designed “armor” for the road to protect it fromfuture floods. For example, 3-foot-tall concrete barricades are buried under thepavement edge with large boulders backfilled against them. When water runsacross the road in these locations, this will prevent the water from scouringdown through the shoulder, undercutting the road, then washing it away.

Bonnie Clare Road is closed from the park boundary (where it transitions toNV-267) through Grapevine Canyon to the junction with North Highway andUbehebe Crater Road. The road will remain closed during other constructionprojects at Scotty’s Castle due to safety hazards.

During this continued closure, there are limited opportunities to visit Scotty’sCastle with a park ranger, learn about the site’s colorful history, and witness thework in progress to repair the historic district. Tours are offered on Sundaysfrom December 8 through April 12. Reservations are required in advance atwww.dvnha.org.

Another way to learn about restoration efforts are through five short videosonline at www.nps.gov/deva/learn/photosmultimedia/videos.htm.❖


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PHOTOS COURTESY NATIONAL PARK SERVICEABOVE AND BELOW: Repair work is undertaken recently at Scotty’s Castle. The Na-tional Park Service aims to reopen the castle in October 2021, some six years after aflood caused $47 million in damage.


RIDGECREST AREA CONVENTION& VISITORS BUREAU

Several Ridgecrest resident joinedforces, starting with the gem of anidea proposed in 2007 by Meris

Lueck, wife of Ridgecrest Area Conven-tion & Visitors Bureau (RACVB) Exec-utive Director, Doug Lueck. She hadread a Country Magazine article aboutthe Barn Quilts of Grundy Project inIowa, an initiative for painting quiltpatterns on old tobacco barns as ameans of drawing motorists off the newhighway that bypassed their town. Al-ready a petroglyph fan who had paint-ed the ancient patterns on her backyardfence, she immediately saw the possi-bilities. A spinoff on the Grundy modelcould lead to various artists placingrock art motifs in Ridgecrest, linked bya drivable tour.

She could foresee school field tripsand maybe bus tours. She, husbandDoug, and Harris Brokke, director ofMaturango Museum, became a com-mittee named the Ridgecrest Rock ArtTour. After visiting the Tehachapi Mu-ral Project across the Sierra Nevada forinspiration, they presented the conceptto the Arts Council in April 2008. May-or Dan Clark got behind them enthusi-astically. The Arts Council endorsedthem.

The committee began to work withlocal artists, arranging in June 2008for Olaf Doud to chip petroglyph de-signs into a boulder provided by theBLM (Bureau of Land Management).Today it sits in front of the HistoricalSociety of the Upper Mojave Desert(HSUMD) headquarters on WestRidgecrest Boulevard. Then Doud wentnext door to do his magic on the exist-ing boulder at the Health Department.In September 2009, he did two boul-ders for a City Sculpture Garden atRidgecrest City Hall. Meanwhile, ScottSayre included a petroglyph picture forhis mural inside the HSUMD building;Maturango Museum had full-sized pet-roglyphs in their garden; and sculptorSkip Gorman placed pieces at severalRidgecrest locations.

The committee had grown by 2011.In 2013, with an eye on expansion

plans for Leroy Jackson Park, DougLueck and Harris Brokke approachedthe county about including petroglyphart. County Supervisor Mick Gleasonagreed. For the “Petroglyph Challenge,”Nick Null volunteered his services topaint designs on businesses and store-fronts in exchange for donations to theAnimal Shelter. When organizationshad rock drawings painted on theirwalls, the RACVB listed them in guidesand other publications.

By November 14-15, 2014, Ridgecresthad expanded the petroglyph themeinto a full-scale event. Groupon listedthe first Ridgecrest Petroglyph Festivalas one of the 10 moist unique autumnfestivals in the country, and attendanceexceeded expectations. The crowd

numbered easily 10,000, with arrivalsnot only from all over California andthe US, but also Russia and France.Among the highlights, the city openedand dedicated the long-awaited Petro-glyph Park, with pieces by Olaf Doud.

The following year, petroglyphic me-dian art cropped up on China LakeBoulevard and with one more onRidgecrest Boulevard.

In 2016, Don McCauley’s Public Pet-roglyph Paintings appeared on serviceboxes, with subjects such as “CosoFamily Welcome” and “MedicineWoman Healing.” In “Bighorn Sheep-dog Training” at South China LakeBlvd and California Avenue at the en-trance to Kerr McGee Community Cen-ter, McCauley comments, “Here we find

graphic humor with sheepdogs intraining, all excited by the bighornsheep jumping petroglyph canyon wallsabove them.” The depiction at theDowns and Drummond intersection,“Coso Stoics,” takes off on Grant Wood’s“American Gothic.” The figures, likeWood’s man and woman in the famousmasterpiece, “with all their strengthsand weakness, represent survivors.”

From a few boulders on West Ridge-crest Boulevard to paintings on thewalls of buildings to a festival, a newpark, median art, and service boxes,Meris Lueck’s gem of an idea has morethan come to fruition. Anyone canguess what the future may hold. Rockon!❖

Ridgecrest’s Petroglyph History

RACVB STAFF PHOTO



Standing vigil as they have since time immemorial, the petroglyphs of Cali-fornia’s Coso Range represent the richest collection of Native Americanrock art in the Western Hemisphere. The Coso Mountains rise to an alti-

tude of about 5,000 feet from a remote area between Death Valley and the SierraNevada, where the Mojave and Great Basin deserts converge. The largest concen-tration occupies two canyons, Black Canyon (or Big Petroglyph Canyon) andRenegade Canyon(or Little Petro-glyph Canyon).Many thousandsupon many thou-sands of these pet-roglyphs remainthree hours north-east of Los Angelesin secludedcanyons, gorges,and plateaus of theNaval Air WeaponsStation (NAWS).These awe-inspir-ing examples ofnarrative and spiri-tual artistry sit safe-ly within the con-fines of the base.

Perhaps as earlyas 16,000 years agoand as recently asthe 1800s (and therare instance,1900s) – from Pale-oindian times to es-sentially the pres-ent – hunter-gath-erers carved, en-graved, pecked, andabraded designs inthe basalt bouldersand cliff walls. These creators achieved the striking effect by using their tools toremove the dark outer layer of varnish, or patina, primarily manganese, thatcoats the rocks, exposing the lighter surface underneath. They left images ofbighorn sheep, snakes, lizards, and the animals that populated their lives, an-thropomorphic beings with bird heads and other features, shamen, weapons suchas bows and arrows, atlatls (spear-throwers), spirals, circles, and various motifs.Opinions contrast as to the purposes intended for the art, perhaps as tokens ofhunting magic, symbols commemorating vision quests, depictions of rituals and

rites of passage, boundaries to set off territories and clans, efforts to improve theabundance of game and success of a hunting expedition, and stories to transmittraditions and lore. The occasional unexpected cowboy, vehicle, and even “E-MCsquare” clearly have their roots in the last century or so.

The Navy established residence in 1943, initially cutting off public access. TheNavy has since eased restrictions. Later, the site became the Coso Rock Art Na-tional Historic Landmark. “NHL” is the federal government’s highest designationto identify and preserve significant historic and prehistoric places. National His-toric Landmarks are controlled and regulated by federal law. The landmark was

dedicated jointlyby the Navy andthe National ParkService in 2005.

Today, the publiccan visit Little Pet-roglyph Canyon byarrangementthrough Maturan-go Museum(www.maturan-go.org/petroglyph-tours/ ) on limiteddays, and must ap-ply in advance.Tours, conductedexclusively byNavy-approvedguides, fill upquickly.

You owe it toyourself to see thepetroglyphs, butyou won’t drive upand breeze in.Both because oftheir location onmilitary propertyand also to safe-guard these price-less treasures, visi-tors must givetheir full names

and vital statistics; show photo IDs on arrival; and allow inspection of their vehi-cles and belongings if requested. Participants stay with the group, with theirbinoculars and cameras locked up until pulling into the canyon’s parking lot. Doyou get the impression that everything is fully protected, from bits of artifacts toobsidian chips, to vegetation, critters scurrying about, and art?

Yet the prize more than justifies the pesky logistics. A sort of outdoor-in-the-raw gallery. Breathtaking. Overwhelming. Eye-popping. And very, very old.❖

Step Back into Long Ago:What are the Petroglyphs?

PHOTO BY CHERYL MCDONALD

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The ancient artists

As far back as Paleoindian times, the hunter-gatherer people who inhabited thisregion recorded their voices on stone. They employed both petroglyphs and pic-tographs, although chiefly petroglyphs created by cutting into rock. Pictographsrely on paint or dry pigments. Three pictographs await the intrepid seekers insheltered locations in Little Petroglyph Canyon.

Artist Don McCauley observes, “Our Coso Paleo Native Americans had ourbrain power. Their ancient expressions in rock are evidence they too hoped tobring some order to the otherwise chaos of human record.” Gifted champions oftheir culture have spoken through the ages by chipping images in basalt rock.Contemporary artists Milton K. Burford, Olaf Doud, Skip Gorman, Don Mc-Cauley, Nick Null, and Mike Youngblood have heard them loud and clear.

Milton K. Burford

Milt Burford graduated 1962 in Mechanical Engineering from the MissouriSchool of Mines and Metallurgy. His career at the Naval Air Warfare Center,Weapons Division, spanned 37 years, where he held positions as a project engi-neer, program manager, head of two divisions, head of two departments, and re-tired in 1998 as Director of Corporate Operations.

His metal work began with the development and construction of custom-madeknives, followed by the design and fabrication of silver jewelry after the Hopi Indi-an style. In 2003, he began designing and building steel silhouette statues. Hisconcentration in this area has been in replicating the petroglyph art found in theCoso Mountain region on the North Ranges at China Lake.

He has donated his steel art for placement on Maturango Museum grounds, forsale at their auctions and other events, to generate operating revenue, and for useas awards to deserving volunteers. Presently the museum has situated on theirproperty, and sold at their auctions or to Kern County, over 40 such statues. Over30 statues of various sizes up to over 10 feet in height are currently on public dis-play around Ridgecrest including the median art piece “The Cat and the Kittens.”

Olaf Doud

Olaf Doud has chalked, flaked, and shaped art for over 30 years. He uses rock,clay, and local petroglyph designs. He makes bookends and other objects from therock and double-matted, framed wall hangings from the clay. He was known forhis petroglyphic interpretations when the RACVB (Ridgecrest Area Convention &Visitors Bureau) recruited him to help launch the city’s then-new petroglyph pub-lic art project. He chipped a boulder in front of the Historic USO Building onWest Ridgecrest Boulevard, unleashing a force of nature. The idea took off. Sincethen, he has created the series of petroglyph rock art for Ridgecrest’s PetroglyphPark between China Lake Boulevard and Leroy Jackson Park.

Describing his process, he has explained, “First, I find the image that I wantfrom the Rock Art Drawings of the Coso Range, a book by Campbell Grant, JamesW. Baird and J. Kenneth Pringle. I try to copy them. I can’t copy them exactly be-cause I’m making them larger. Once I have the image, I’ll chalk it in, then I chip.Once I get the outline there, then I’ll chip in the circles.”

J.P. “Skip” Gorman

A Vietnam veteran and a retired electronics engineer, “Skip” Gorman took upmetal art after putting in a full career at the Naval Air Weapons Center, ChinaLake. He owns and operates “J. P. Gorman LLC” in Ridgecrest. The sheet metaland welding shop specializes in large metal art often utilizing recycled material.He tries to keep regular working hours there and welcomes visitors. His pieces in-clude the “cliff goats” around town and the petroglyph tribute “Hunting Magic”stationed outside the Ridgecrest Area Convention & Visitors Bureau on ChinaLake Boulevard, and his unique works constructed from horseshoes have earnedhigh praise from a growing legion of fans. Ingenious as only a true visionary couldbe, at the invitation of the Ridge Project, he even devised a fitting to keep ravensfrom plaguing the trash receptacles on Balsam Street. He came up with a fowl-de-terring tube attached to a lid with – what else? – petroglyphs carved on it. He alsowrites a weekly editorial in the local newspaper, the Daily Independent.

The Petroglyph Artists, Ancient and Modern




Don McCauley

Don McCauley citesfor inspiration the“nearby Paleo NativeAmerican Coso petro-glyphs found in theCoso Mountains 30miles north of Ridge-crest” as well as desertadventure his chil-dren had.

His art furtherbeautifies much ofRidgecrest on side-walks and at intersec-tions. “Prior to ourSecond AnnualRidgecrest PetroglyphFestival in 2015,” hereflects, “my wife Judyand I were asked by Meris and Doug Lueck to spruce up and paint petroglyphs onthe 10 Ridgecrest City service boxes. At first I balked at their suggestion, since Ihadn’t painted for 33 years. But my kids said, ‘Dad, it’d be great to give back to thecity.’”

He adds, “If there’s one takeaway from [my work], I’d like it to be an art makingprocess I often use in painting: Choose an experience, or it chooses you, either realor imagined. Have an emotional reaction to that experience. Think about youremotions and form a viewpoint. Everyone, artist or not, creates viewpoints. Theartist however takes the viewpoint forward two more steps: The artist gives time,energy, desire and persistence, finding what is expressible about this specific view-point. Having found what is expressible, the artist expresses it in dance, painting,poetry, sculpture, writing, acting, music, etc.”

Nick Null

Early on whenRidgecrest first decid-ed to celebrate NativeAmerican rock art her-itage, and RACVB ap-proached Nick Null todecorate communitybuildings with petro-glyph-style line draw-ings. He generouslyagreed to paint the fig-ures on any structurein town in exchangefor donations to theAnimal Shelter. As hiswork gained in popu-larity, his authentic In-dian-Wells-Valley-in-spired interpretationswent up all over.

Gladys Merrick Garden at Maturango Museum

Thanks to a grant from the Indian Wells Valley Water District, the museum hasplanted xerriscape garden of both native and nonnative vegetation. Scatteredthroughout, sculptural pieces grace the landscaping. Milt Burford fashioned largemetal shamen and sheep based on petroglpyhic iconography. Mike Youngbloodmade others of the shamen.

Ridgecrest’s Median Art

You can hardly miss the dis-play of evocative and in spotswhimsical black metal art thatruns down the center of ChinaLike Boulevard and one ontoRidgecrest Boulevard.

Contributing artists: MiltonK. Burford, Olaf Doud, and“Skip” Gorman. John andSuzette Caufield did the cutsteel petroglyphic additions to

some of the Olaf Doud median art for the Ridgecrest Regional Hospital.

Petroglyph Park

A new generation of petroglyphs occupy the roughly 12-acre field near LeroyJackson Park. The park facilitates self-guided tours of petroglyph history for visi-tors unable to see the originals at Little Petroglyph Canyons. The pieces take threeforms: petroglyphs (petroglyph meaning carving in rock), pictographs (paintings),and geoglyphs(rock alignments).

Olaf Doud devel-oped the rock arttribute for the in-augural RidgecrestPetroglyph Festivalin 2014, employinghand-picked stoneand, primarily,tools consistentwith those the An-cient Ones used.He chalked andchipped represen-tations based onCoso petroglyphs,giving on-site pub-lic demonstrations.Thunderbird.Shaman. Spiral. Somuch more. Withthe overall plan to have 31 boulders over time, he aimed for and finished abouthalf by the November ribbon-cutting.

Steel statues by Milt Burford accompany the rock art, as do a series of instruc-tive markers, walking path, and an abundance of brilliantly-colored blooms dur-ing wildflower season.❖


RACVB STAFF PHOTO

RACVB STAFF PHOTO

RACVB STAFF PHOTOPHOTO BY CHERYL MCDONALD



Passed down by elders for gener-ations, the cultural dances, mu-sic and art of Native American

tribes still resonate today and providea rare glimpse of an ancient tradition.

The Havasupai Guardians of theGrand Canyon Ram Dancers, per-form in traditional ram dress repre-senting the bighorn sheep that wan-der their ancestral lands. The bighornsheep is an integral figure to theHavasupai, as he protects all who in-habit the Grand Canyon.

One of the elder ram dancers tells astory of one of their own tribal war-

riors, a young man who grew tired oflife in his village and traveled far intothe canyon. The young warrior wasgone for many days, and the people ofthe village got worried and looked forhim. They found him in a cave lyingnext to a bighorn sheep, and theybrought him back to the village. Theyoung man was not content, though,and he left again many times, only tobe found in the same place, amongthe bighorn sheep. “They noticed hebegan changing,” said the storyteller,“his hair was braided and coiled likethe horns of the ram and he now hadfur and hooves. When he saw the vil-lagers coming, he ran away with theherd, leaving the people behind. He

was satisfied with what he had be-come.”

The Havasupai people, when theysing the song and dance the ramdance, are saying that we are goingto regain everything that was takenfrom us,” he said. “It is a hope thateverything we lost will be broughtback one of these days.” While thedances are an entertaining and ed-ucational experience for visitors,they offer a view into the beliefsand legends of this tribe. The mem-bers of the group performing at theRidgecrest Petroglyph Festival areamong the few living ram dancersin the world.❖

Ram Dancers Share Ancient Native Traditions

PHOTO BY ERIN OWENSBY

RACVB STAFF PHOTO


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The Kern River Conservancy willhost its second annual Wild &Scenic Film Festival on Nov. 2

at the Rivernook Campground, 14001Sierra Way, Kernville.

The event is the largest film festivalof its kind, showcasing the best andbrightest in environmental and ad-venture films.

“SYRCL’s Wild & Scenic Film Festi-val inspires environmental activismand a love for nature–through film,”the conversancy states. “Wild & Sce-nic shares an urgent call to action,encouraging festival-goers to learnmore about what they can do to saveour threatened planet.”

“Join us for an evening of inspiringmovies, food, live music and beer,” theconversancy states. “Bring a campchair or a blanket to lay on the Mead-ow at Rivernook.”

The event features a raffle, 11 shortenvironmental and nature films, food

and drinks, an envirofaire, a recep-tion and special guests. Tickets are$20 ($5 for children) at the gate and$15 for resale, available athttp://www.kernriverconservancy.org.

11 short environmental and naturefilms shown. The proceeds of all tick-et sales will go directly back to theKern River Conservancy to help tocontinue to educate, preserve, andprotect on the Kern River.

Some of the films that will beshown include “A River’s Reckoning,”“Blue” and “Carpe Diem.”

Chairs and heaters will be provid-ed. Free parking. Overnight campingavailable at Rivernook.

Call and book a campsite now at760-376-2705.

This year’s festival is possiblethanks to sponsors at Southern SierraFly Fishers, Kern Community Foun-dation and Rivernook.

The famous Cork ‘n Fork eventhosted by Starlite Lounge andWine Bar returns for a fourth

year to Kernville on Nov. 9 at theMeadow at Rivernook Campgroundfrom noon to 4 p.m.

The event is one part fundraiser,one part wine and food and one partmusic, all mixed up in an afternoon offun.

The event features some of the bestwines from California, with winemak-ers and winery reps doing the pour-ing. It also showcases some of theamazing food the Kern Valley restau-rants have to offer.

The event also features live music bybands who regularly grace the StarliteLounge on its live music Thursdayevents. Those bands include Out ofthe Blue, Kern River Band andTreacherous Edges.

Pre-sale tickets are just $40 foreight wine and eight food tastings,which includes a souvenir Cork NFork tasting glass.

Tickets are available online athttps://corknfork2019.brownpa-pertickets.com.

Tickets can also be purchased at thegate the day of the event (if they arestill available) for $50.

All net proceeds will go to support-ing two Kern River Valley stellar andhard working animal rescue organiza-tions, Strength of Shadow (S.O.S.) andFix Your Dog Organization (FYDO).

“The love of a dog is unconditional,”Starlite Lounge said in event an-nouncement. “A friendly face to greetyou every morning. A trusted friend,always having your back by your sidethrough it all. The lucky ones have aforever family to love and care for ourfurry friends. But not all dogs are sofortunate.”

That’s where the two organizationscome in, both aiming to turn KernCounty into a no-kill shelter county.

“Some dogs are neglected, abused,or abandoned,” Starlite Lounge states.“The only way to safety is our friendsat S.O.S. (Strength of Shadow) andFYDO (Fix Your Dog Organization).They do some wonderful work, be-cause when spirits are broken, theymend the heart. But they can’t do itwithout your help!”

Cork ‘n Fork is Nov. 9

Wild & Scenic Film Festival Nov. 2 in Kernville

SUBMITTED PHOTOAttendees take their seats before a film screening at a previous Wild & Scenic FilmFestival in Kernville. This year’s evet is set for Nov. 2 at the Rivernook Campground.

Coming off one of the longest skiseasons in North America,Mammoth Lakes is ready to do

it again. Despite the shortened off-sea-son (opening day is set for Nov. 9),plenty of new eateries and improve-ments will greet visitors to California’spremier mountain destination thiswinter.

During the winter months Mam-moth Lakes airport services flightsfrom SFO, LAX, Burbank, OrangeCounty, and Denver.

Mammoth Mountain improvements

Canyon Lodge Renovations: Phase 2of the Canyon Lodge renovation willsee multiple improvements this winterwith the addition of a new bar, restau-rant, 2,500 square feet of interiorspace and more than 200 new seats.The additions include:

Lincoln Bar: Bringing the outside in,Lincoln Bar in Canyon Lodge com-bines 2,000 square feet of new indoorbar space bar and a fireplace loungewith an outdoor kitchen and bar. Twooutdoor terraces will overlook theCanyon base area, serving up Califor-nia sunshine in addition to a full menuof craft cocktails and an excellent beerand wine selection. The space will alsofeature a grab-and-go coffee bar to fuelup before getting down.

Canyon BBQ: Also located inCanyon Lodge and adjacent to the newLincoln Bar, this new eatery serving el-evated BBQ staples like brisket, pulledpork and ribs will take care of yourprotein needs. Perfect for grab and go,or enjoying at the neighboring Beach

Bar.Fowl Language: New this winter at

Eagle Lodge, the Fowl Languagerestaurant will serve up hand-breaded,southern-style chicken sandwiches andtenders, with a focus on fresh prepara-tion and homestyle flavors.

Sierra Grind: Located in the Village,the new coffee shop will offer a fullespresso bar as well as freshly bakedpastries, sweets, and a selection ofhandcrafted sandwiches. The coffeeshop is adjacent to Village Gondolaand will replace the Starbucks former-ly located in the same space.

Snowmaking: Mammoth’s snow-making infrastructure will benefit

from a $1.3 million upgrade, increas-ing both the efficiency and capabilityof the system. Early season conditionsat Mammoth are routinely among thebest in the country, the upgradedsnowmaking system will help ensurethat moving forward.

FlightsSki Free: Daily service on United

from Los Angeles (LAX), San Francis-co (SFO) and Denver (DEN) continuesthis winter. For the first time guestsflying from (or through) SFO andDEN will ski free on the day of arrivalstarting on Jan 6. Just show yourboarding pass at any ticket window to

redeem.

Dining around townDos Alas CubaRican Cafe: Located

off of Old Mammoth Road with amaz-ing views of the Sherwins, this quaintspot offering tropical/Caribbean andSpanish cuisine informed by the own-ers’ Cuban and Puerto Rican heritageis a fantastic and heart-felt addition tothe local food scene. Open Wednesdaythrough Sunday for lunch and dinner,stop in and enjoy a seasonally rotatingmenu highlighted by the cuban sand-wich.

Noodle-ly: Specializing in Viet-namese and Thai noodle soup, Noo-dle-ly is set to open this fall on OldMammoth Road adjacent to Vons.

Public House Tap Room: The baropened in February 2019 and occupiesthe large corner unit next to Black Vel-vet coffee shop in the Main StreetPromenade (formerly the MammothLuxury Outlet Mall). The taproom hasa long bar, a lounge area with couches,and an old TV equipped with a Nin-tendo 64. Owner Lienne Anderten-Smith opened the establishmentspecifically with the goal of creating avenue to highlight beers from the re-gion. At the Public House it’s all aboutthe beer with a rotating selection of 50beers available on tap. With new selec-tions coming in weekly, there’s some-thing for every palate.

El Charro Taqueria: The new tacospot has been a local favorite sinceopening this summer. Serving authen-tic Mexican street-style tacos and bur-ritos made with fresh ingredients in ano-frills setting, it’s exactly what youwant in a taco joint. Located in theSierra Center Mall.

AmenitiesMinaret Cinemas: Mammoth Lakes’

movie theater is getting a major up-grade. Now serving a selection of beerand wine, and with seating upgradesincluding larger recliner-style seats.

Checkhttp://www.visitmammoth.com/ andhttp://www.mammothmountain.comfor more information and to get start-ed booking a Mammoth Lakes vaca-tion.


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SUBMITTED PHOTOA skier tears up the slopes last year at Mammoth Mountain. The popular skiing re-sort’s opening day is set for Nov. 9 this year, with a number of improvements to offervisitors.

BY C.R. RAEMore Content Now

Ajumbo jet doesn’t take passen-gers to this town, nor will youfind a major airport close by,

but flying into Las Vegas and drivingto Tonopah, Nevada, is a part of thisexperience.

The drive is about four hours. Thescenery is interesting, with desert,mountains and small towns. However,make sure the gas tank is full andthere are water and snacks on boardyour vehicle.

This adventure will take travelersthrough the town of Hawthorne, loca-tion of the Hawthorne Army Depot. Itis quite a sight, driving through milesof desert with ammunition storage fa-cilities peeking out from their camou-flaged sites. Right after Hawthorne is

Walker Lake, a beautiful area for tak-ing pictures and a great place to watchfor bighorn sheep. Stop to take in thebeauty and enjoy a snack.

Reaching Tonopah, known as “theQueen of the Silver Camps,” visitorswill find a small town with a big histo-

ry.Mining is a big part of the town’s

history, and a visit to the Tonopah His-toric Mining Park will take visitorsback in time and provide insight intothose days. Begin at the visitor’s centerand browse the information and arti-

facts while learning much more aboutthe “silver days.” An underground touris available and offers the opportunityto step into a viewing cage and lookdown 500 feet into the mine. The parkis more than 100 acres of pure history.The buildings are open to visitors and


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From the mines to the skies: Tonopah, Nevada, has history at every angle

CAROLYNN MOSTYN PHOTOTonopah Historic Mining Park in Tonopah, Nevada. A highlight of the park is a viewing cage that lets visitors see 500 feet down a mine.


offer a chance to experience what silver mining en-tailed. For hours and more information visittonopahhistoricminingpark.com.

A visit to the Central Nevada Museum takes visi-tors through the history of ranching, mining, pio-neer times and relics from the Shoshone, who firstsettled the territory. The museum offers an outdoordisplay of an old West town, ore cars, a stamp milland more. For hours of operation visit tonopah-nevada.com/CentralNevadaMuseum/default.html.

Tonopah is nestled in a valley with three wilder-ness areas to explore: Alta Toquima, Table Moun-tain and Arc Dome. Alta Toquima is in theToquima Mountain Range where visitors will findthe tallest peak in central Nevada, Mount Jeffer-son, at 11,900 feet above the desert floor. In TableMountain Wilderness Area, hikers can go for milesthrough the largest continuous stand of aspen inNevada and breathtaking scenery. Arc DomeWilderness is at the southern end of the ToiyabeRange and offers beautiful vistas, wildlife and more

than 70 miles of trails.Maybe the greatest sight in Tonopah is the night

sky. The town’s most popular attraction is found bysimply looking up — it’s been rated No. 1 by USATODAY for stargazing.

Spending the night is a must for stargazers, andan experience for any visitor. The Mizpah Hotel isa step back in time, reminiscent of the days of MissKitty and Marshal Dillon of the popular TV west-ern “Gunsmoke.” It is a beautiful and unique placewith a big bar, restaurant and Western-themedrooms. Take it all in — the pictures, the bank vault,the history — even if you can’t stay. Visit themiz-pahhotel.com.

Speaking of unique, the Clown Motel sums upthe word. It is interesting and for the braver visitor,as it has been featured on TV paranormal shows.Stay or not, it is up to you, but for sure visit thegraveyard next door. tonopahnevada.com/clown-motel.❖

CHRIS ENGLISH VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONSThe entry to Tonopah is seen at night along Highway 95.

CAROLYNN MOSTYN PHOTOTravel back in time at The Mizpah Hotel.


Death Valley National Park ishosting special programs andevents in celebration of the

park’s 25th birthday Oct. 26 throughNov. 2. On Nov. 2, the park will waiveentrance fees.

Death Valley was first protected as anational monument in 1933. On Oct.31, 1994, President Bill Clinton signedthe California Desert Protection Act,which created Death Valley NationalPark, designated over 90% of the parkas wilderness, and added 1.3 millionacres to the park. The Act also redesig-nated Joshua Tree as a national parkand established Mojave National Pre-serve.

Geologists, biologists, astronomers,and other specialists will share theirknowledge of desert ecology, darkskies, and natural history Oct. 26through Nov. 2.

A ranger-led sunrise hike will meetat Zabriskie Point at 7 a.m. on Oct. 27.Astronomy programs will be offered atHarmony Borax Works from 7 to 9p.m. Oct. 26 and 28.

Park entrance fees will be waived onSaturday, Nov. 2. The public is invitedto join Superintendent Mike Reynoldsfor a 5 kilometer fun run/walk at 8a.m. at Furnace Creek Visitor Center.Wish the park happy birthday withcupcakes at noon in Furnace CreekVisitor Center. Neighboring organiza-tions and partners will have expositionbooths set up at the Visitor Centerfrom noon to 1 p.m. and 3-5 p.m..

Former Death Valley superintend-ents will answer questions and speakabout the California Desert ProtectionAct from 1-3 p.m. in the auditorium.

“This is one of the largest celebra-tions Death Valley National Park hashosted,” notes Superintendent MikeReynolds. “We are fortunate to have anumber of knowledgeable guest speak-ers who are coming to the park specifi-cally for this series of events. It’s aunique opportunity for the public tolearn about this incredible park.”

All programs are free and open tothe public. Closed-toed shoes are rec-ommended for hikes, which are on un-even terrain. Bring sun protection andwater for daytime programs, and aheadlamp, warm clothing, and a chair

for evening programs. For the fullschedule, visit nps.gov/deva/plany-ourvisit/anniversary.htm.

For those going to the iconic park,here are plenty of spots to visit. DeathValley contains millions of acres ofwild and scenic land. Tucked into thatsprawling landscape are more than afew truly stunning sights, as outlinedbelow.

Badwater Basin Badwater is the site of the lowest

place on land in North America, at 282feet below sea level. The scene is muchmore than an elevation marker. Seepscreate small pools of water that dra-matically reflect the nearby blackmountains.

Telescope Peak, the highest point inDeath Valley, looms majestically,11,000 feet above and across the valley.Located 17 miles south of FurnaceCreek.

Dante’s View Located at an elevation of 5,758 feet

directly above the Badwater Basin isDante’s View. This extremely scenicview spot provides vistas of almost allof Death Valley. One can look straightdown to the Badwater Basin and di-rectly across to the Panamint Moun-tains and Telescope Peak. Far off to thewest are seen the Sierra Nevada Moun-tains, and to the east, numerous desertmountain ranges of Nevada. Located

25 miles east and south of FurnaceCreek. The last few miles of roadwayare steep and narrow.

Zabriskie Point This viewpoint is accessed by a short

drive and a steep short walk on a pavedtrail. The scene overlooks the beauti-fully eroded and colorful hills referredto as the badlands. Telescope Peak canbe seen in the distance as well as thesoaring peaks of the Funeral Range.Zabriskie Point is a favorite of photog-raphers, providing perfect opportuni-ties at sunrise and sunset. Located 21/2 miles east of Furnace Creek.

Golden CanyonPenetrating deep into Death Valley’s

Black Mountains is aptly named Gold-en Canyon. Especially in the morninglight, the canyon walls glow magicallywith a flaxen hue. Golden Canyon is ahike, but one can get an intimate feelfor it by walking just a few feet past itsmouth. More adventurous trekkers canchoose among a number of longerhikes. Located two miles south of Fur-nace Creek.

Salt Creek One of the few places on the actual

floor of Death Valley where waterflows, Salt Creek meanders along thesurface on and off for several miles.This unique environment also provideshabitat for Death Valley’s only nativespecies of fish, the Desert Pupfish. Vis-

itors can follow a wooden boardwalkalong the banks of this desert treasureon a self-guided half-mile nature walk.Located 13 ½ miles north of FurnaceCreek, then a one-mile graded dirtroad.

Mesquite Sand Dunes Just a few miles west of Stovepipe

Wells Village lies one of Death Valley’smost popular attractions, the MesquiteSand Dunes. Covering over 14 squaremiles, the dunes provide some of themost dramatic scenery in the park.Sunrise and sunset are both greattimes to catch just the right shot.Watch for the signed turnout about 23miles north and west of Furnace Creek.

Ubehebe Crater Most visitors are taken aback when

they approach the yawning expanse ofUbehebe Crater for the first time. This“Maar” Volcano was created by a steamexplosion as recent as only 300 yearsago. It’s 600 feet deep and over a halfmile across, and visitors can take asteep path to the bottom (and backup), walk around its rim and simplystand at the edge of the parking areaand take in the overwhelming scene.Located 57 miles north of FurnaceCreek. The last five miles are on a nar-row roadway.

Wildrose Charcoal KilnsThe Death Valley area has a rich

mining history. Silver, gold, borax andtalc are just come of the minerals thathave been mined here. The 10 Wil-drose Charcoal Kilns are located at7,000 feet high up in the PanamintMountains in a Pinion Pine Forest.These nearly perfect pieces of architec-ture were built in 1877 to producecharcoal for nearby silver smelters.About 62 miles from Furnace Creek,the last three miles on a graded dirtroad.

Artist Drive This scenic one-way, semi-loop

paved road twists, winds, climbs anddips its way through some of the mostcolorful scenery in Death Valley. High-light of the nine-mile trip is the ArtistPalette, where hues of greens, purples,oranges, browns and yellows blend to-gether in a kaleidoscope of color. En-trance to Artist Drive is located about10 miles south of Furnace Creek.

Death Valley celebrates park’s 25th birthday

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PHOTORanger Sarah Carter leads a Dante’s View hike in Death Valley National Park.


Northern Mojave Visitor Center andDeath Valley Tourist Center

Maturango Museum and Gift Shop100 East Las Flores Ave. • Ridgecrest CA 93555

760-375-6900 • Fax 760-375-0479 • www.maturango.orgOpen 10am - 5pm Daily Except Major Holidays

BY JIM MATTHEWSwww.outdoornewsservice.com

All good fairy tales begin onceupon a time….

Once upon a time, the OwensRiver Gorge was considered one of thefinest brown trout fisheries in the entirecountry. This was a long time ago, mindyou. It was before the Los Angeles De-partment of Water and Power (LADWP)purchased most of the land in theOwens River drainage. It was beforeCrowley Lake and before the Los Ange-les Aqueduct was built, siphoning theflow of nearly every drop of stream waterflowing out of the east side of the SierraNevada into Los Angeles taps.

From the turn of the 20th Centurythrough the 1930s, the Owens River be-came a near-mythical place where an-glers could catch giant trout. In 1952,there was a 22-pound brown trout docu-mented out of the gorge, and a lot of fishtopping 10 pounds. The place was a tro-phy brown trout fish factory.

In the 1970s, I spoke with the lateChick Reed of Pomona who had floatedthrough the gorge in the 1930s in oldmilitary surplus rafts and wooden boats.They used crickets and nightcrawlers forbait most of the time, but switched overto live mice when they wanted big fish.His stories were also the first time Iheard of using old wood shingles to floatbait into the backs of big pools and thenslide the bait off the shingle into the wa-ter.

“The average fish was from 1 1/2 to 2pounds,” said Reed. “There was an awfullot of feed in there. But you put a mouseon your line, and you’d be into a troutthat’d weigh 12 or 14 pounds. They’d bereal tackle busters.

“We’d put the mouse on a shingle andlet it drift downstream and then [yank]it off — if there was a big fish aroundhe’d have it. You’d know there was goingto be a heck of a lot of splashing andthrashing around when they took it.

“It’s really all true. Those were goodfish in there then,” said Reed.

By 1941, when the Crowley Lake Damwas completed, the death knell startedringing, and the lower part of the gorgewas completely dry from 1953 through1991. Reed emphasized the stories weretrue because he knew the river – as heknew it – had been long dead.

My old friend John Higley, a well-known writer from the Redding area,grew up fishing the gorge in the early tomid-1950s, working at Tom’s Place.While the lower gorge was dry by 1953,the upper portion of the river was main-tained by springs right below the rela-tively new Crowley Lake dam. A lot ofthe big browns were still living in the bigpools, even though the flows had dimin-ished to nearly nothing. One of Higley’sfishing mentors in Tom’s Place was JimKirkwood, who caught a 30-inch browntrout in 1954. That fish was so skinny bythen that it only weighed 7 1/4 pounds.When cleaned, that brown had 11 fieldmice in its stomach. Kirkwood hadcaught the trout on his fly rod and ahuge mouse imitation. Higley wrote

about his experiences on the gorge in theMay-June, 2018, issue of Outdoor Cali-fornia, the Department of Fish andWildlife’s magazine.

This is the true part of fairy tale. TheOwens Gorge fishery was a dream livedand breathed by a generation of anglersin the Eastern Sierra. And that dreambecame a nightmare when LADWP di-versions dried up the gorge.

In 1991, the LADWP was forced bylaw to restore flows to the dried up por-tion of the gorge, and the entire gorgenow receives a small flow of 36 to 55 cu-bic feet per second flow of water – a pit-tance of the Owens River flows beforeCrowley Lake Dam was built. Most ofthe water was and is still divertedthrough pipes and penstocks throughpower plants in route to Los Angeles.However, since the rewatering, theOwens River through the gorge becamea spot where an occasional adventurousangler would hike in to fish the smallstream. Not really out of any hope ofcatching a giant trout like those that

LADWP and the Owens River Gorge fairy tale


lived there in the 1930s, but it was a nicesmall stream that was remote, littlefished, difficult to access, and held a lotof small brown trout.

Now the Department of Fish andWildlife is telling anglers the next step inthe gorge’s restoration process is under-way. From Monday, Sept. 9, throughOct. 13, the LADWP sent a burst of wa-ter known as a “Channel MaintenanceFlow” down the 10-mile stretch of riverbetween the Upper Gorge Power Plantand Pleasant Valley Reservoir to benefitfish habitat.

During the last week, the flowsjumped from the normal 35 to 55 cfsflow to a peak of 680 cfs before graduallyramping back down. The gorge has beenclosed by LADWP during this seven-day“pulse flow” event for public safety.

The DFW says the “high flows are ex-pected to breathe new life into theOwens River Gorge ecosystem and itsonce-storied brown trout fishery.” Thecourt settlements that mandated mini-mum flows also stipulated that pulseflows continue almost annually for thenext 20 years.

“The flows are intended to replicate

seasonal scouring that occurred natural-ly in the Gorge long before dams, powerplants and water diversions were con-structed in the last century. In fact, thesealterations dried up the Owens RiverGorge from 1953 to 1991 until years oflitigation restored some minimal flowsand attempts to restart a once-fabledbrown trout fishery,” says the DFW.

The DFW suggests that these pulseflows will somehow restore the OwensGorge fishery to pre-1941 levels.

This is the fairy tale’s happy ending,according to the DFW. But the real end-ing to the story is not a happy or uplift-ing.

The pulse flows won’t and can’t restorethe brown trout fishery to what it waswhen my old friend Chick Reed fishedthe river.

It is a simple problem. There will sim-ply not enough year-around water in thegorge to restore the fishery. Day to dayflows will not go above 55 cfs.

There is no water in the West withflows in that range that produces troutbigger than about 12 or 14 inches, andmost streams that size produce smallerfish. Realistically, the pulse flow will help

the fishery produce trout bigger than itscurrent top size of about eight inches.But not much.

Without higher, year-round flows,there will simply not be enough biggerand deeper pools and the bigger foodsupply that comes with that higher vol-ume of water. The trophy fishery willnever return.

The LADWP and DFW know this.This is public relations pandering. Thepublic will accept this new lower stan-dard instead of holding the DFW andLADWP to the 1930 standard. All theold data, all the old black and white pho-tos, all the journals and stories of howgood the fishing was in the Owens willbe discounted as mythology. “The troutwere never really bigger than 12 inches,and we have that again.” That is whatthey will tell us, trying to suggest this is ahappy ending.

That is mythology. The LADWP andDFW are attempting to rewrite the fairytale. The DFW and LADWP have donethis with Rush Creek – effectively sayingthe historical scientific data and photoswere somehow wrong and that thisstream wasn’t as good as reported for

decades. Now, they are doing the samething with the Owens River gorge.

The only way to really restore theOwens River Gorge fishery is for theLADWP to forgo all of the power gener-ation income from the Owens River be-low Crowley Lake that passes throughpipes and turbines instead of the flowingin the gorge. If they put ALL the OwensRiver water back into the gorge, thegorge fishery could be restored.

It would take all of the flow of the Up-per Owens River, along with the flowsfrom the tributary streams that join theOwens via Crowley Lake in that basin tomake this a real fairy tale with a realhappy ending.

Undiverted, the Owens River flow intothe gorge would be about 300 cfs rightnow at the end of summer. It would havebeen twice that much through the earlysummer and spring. Peak flows probablywould have pushed well over 1,000 cfsduring this big runoff year. Yet, we areexpected to believe a week-long event ofup to 680 cfs is going to restore the fish-ery. This is just bad story telling.

Once upon a time …❖

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