You Gotta See This!
Haha.. He slept like a blob all the way to Mammoth after that.
Quick Mini-Hijack;
On the way back home, be sure (if you haven't already) to stop in, even just briefly at the front gate at the Manzanar Detention Facility.
I had heard of these facilities back in WWII, but had NO idea what they were like and that there was one right on the 395.
It is a perfect spot in between say Bishop and Four Points to stop and stretch your legs. Plus, from what I've read, it seems we have similar interests. And though, I will allow you to form your own gut level opinion on the way this issue was dealt with, I can say you will definitely be "moved" by the experience.
At the very least, check out the guard towers under restoration, and the amazingly preserved front gate that looks like "Checkpoint Charlie". If you have a few minutes, just do a slow roll through the facility in a self guided tour fashion. The facility is open 24/7 (at least it was a couple years ago) and there are plaques that give both descriptions and occasionally "Then and Now" pictures at various points as you roll around. I've never actually entered the nearby museum, but if you find your way to the cemetery / shrine in the far back (out West nearest the mountain range that the compound backs up to) it really is a thought provoking and "moving" location regardless of if you think the whole relocation tactic was right or wrong. Again, it was in a "different time" and the world was reeling from the shock, horror, embarrassment and anger brought on by Pearl Harbor. But, unlike the typical "eerie" feeling of a typical old cemetery visit, just as you get a sad / angry / gut wrenching feeling standing on, say the Arizona Memorial in Hawaii, with the little things that make the BIG impact, such as watching the oil bubble to the surface, knowing there are still many innocent (military) men in the hull of that ship making it their final resting place, the shrine at Manzanar is equally emotion invoking and eerie, as these were civilian men, women and children who passed away there. The scene itself lends to the heightened feeling of both beauty and despair as you stand there at the perimeter wall and listen to the wind gently blowing the hand made paper origami chimes, see the trinkets and coins left behind and soak in the beauty and absolute silence and tranquility while looking at the amazing mountain range in the background clearly visible from the valley floor of the desert, now stripped barren of most structures from the past. It can really get to you. Again, regardless of you personally think was right / wrong, justified or not. Lives are lives.
Well worth your time.
Spoiler if you want to see my visit write up from another forum from Five years ago:
http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread.php?23191-Manzanar-War-Relocation-Center
I've driven by there numerous times on the way up to Lake Tahoe, etc. and never had a clue. Watch for the signs and just pull in for a minute, an hour or an afternoon. It is time well spent.
-Brakelate-
Manzanar National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
![0726142033c[1].jpg](/data/attachments/30/30061-8a388dd8a2314d5b26ad92085b8c9727.jpg)
