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We got a late start Saturday morning. We'd been to the Eastern Sierra many times before, but never visited Manzanar. I figured this would be a good time to do so. We drove down Highway 395 through Bishop, Big Pine, and Independence before turning right to Manzanar. It was about a 75 minute drive.
Manzanar is a national historic site. There's no entry fee. We parked in the lot then walked through the 100 degree heat to the air-conditioned visitor center. It's a spacious building with lots of displays, and a small theater. We perused the displays explaining how the Japanese were sent to sites like Manzanar during World War II. A scale model shows just how large the site was. At one time there were about 10,000 people interned here (coincidentally, about the same number of people who lived in Bodie at its peak).
After touring the displays, we exited the building and took the car tour. It visits some of the few structures and areas still around. The first was a few barracks with further displays about life in the camp. And a basketball court next to it. Most of the buildings are long gone; all that are left are signs showing where they used to be.
Signs for each barracks building
Block 14 building 1
Basketball court
After that we drove to the cemetery before leaving the site.
Cemetery monument
Next, we drove into Independence for some lunch. There are very few choices, but we found a decent one in Port of Subs. After lunch we continued back up Highway 395 and then turned right onto 168 to head to the Methuselah Grove. Highway 168 is narrow and winding, with dips along the way to make it even more nauseating for anyone sitting in the back of the car.
After about 13 miles of this, we turned left onto White Mountain Road for another 10 miles of narrow winding road. Thankfully this part of the road is paved and in decent condition (but still winding).
We turned right into the large parking area for the visitor center and trailhead and started the
Methuselah Grove hike.
After the long drive back down to Highway 395, we stopped in Bishop for groceries before heading back to our rental house.
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