If a quiet road with wide open spaces of grandiose scenery and interesting places, is heaven to you, then:
Go to the town of Mojave, CA. Drive north on CA14. Merge into US395: To your left, the back side of the Sierra Nevada with the highest peaks in the contiguous 48, to your right, the desolate California desert with dried salt lakes, and, not far, Death Valley with the lowest point in the Americas.
I'll show you the views from, or near the roads. After that we'll descend to 279 ft below sea level at Death Valley, climb to 14K ft to the top of Mt. Whitney and ski at Mammoth.
1) -A windmill farm in the background - Joshua trees in the foreground.
2) -An aircraft junkyard for retired planes.
3) -CA14 runs thru the Red Rock Canyon State Park.
4) -Mt Whitney, highest peak in the contiguous 48. View from US395, in a fogy day. To climb: Get a permit from the NPS. Drive up the mountain to 8000 feet. Park there. Hike 11 miles to the top.
5) -Manzanares, Japanese internment camp memorial. A museum is open to visitors. In the background the Sierra Nevada.
6) -The California desert and a salt lake. On the other side of the hills, Death Valley N.P.
7) -Early morning lights at a mountain ranch.
