Exploring Tuttle Creek Road...............

Our last day in Lone Pine, we explored a "new to us" area of the Alabama Hills by traveling down Tuttle Creek Road. There were a few arches to be found, which is what sent us this way to begin with. No one told us how scenic this road was,or even suggested it as a place to explore! Three miles of driving twisty, curvy, hilly roads through the incredible rock formations. I'm pretty sure some westerns were filmed here. There were some dirt roads that traveled through some of the rock formations, but we didn't travel on them with our car.

heading down Tuttle Creek Rd

what an interesting drive!

We used  our "Arches of the Alabama Hills" book to locate some of the arches, but we were really blown away by the scenery instead. Our first stop was Flow Cave....an old miner's cave that looks like lava flow was the "roof" of the cave. We just peeked inside, didn't go in. Its not recommended ;/

Flow Cave 

we just peeked in...it has 2 rooms!

Tuttle Canyon Arch...up ahead on the left

the rock formations were amazing

Next we stopped for the  the Fish and Duck Arches. I can make out a fish, but not a duck. Can you see a duck? Ach, no matter. We really had an unexpected scenic drive!

Fish and Duck Arches

I see the fish eye and scales, but I don't see a duck!

The scenery was fantastic, and we stopped at a few different spots with pull-outs so we could check out the scene a little better, and of course, take pictures!

the earth moved here!

"pop"....love the color

can't get over the geology

we stopped at every pull out to gawk

wildflowers brightened most of the rocks

Tuttle Creek Road Arch?

check out the view

The size of the rocks and the angles of some of them is just unbelievable and really makes you think about geology and volcanoes and other forces that formed the landscape millions of years ago.

interesting 

I'm pretty sure a movie was filmed here...can't you just see a bunch of horses coming down the hill between the rocks?

this was a cool pull out with a cave too!

pretty flowers brighten up the landscape

straight up rocks

Tom headed toward the cave (I knew he'd be tempted!)

more pretty flowers interspersed between the colorful rocks

nice...another new one for us

outstanding views

check out the size of these rocks

cave

The last arch we were looking for was the Tuttle Creek Arch. The directions said there was a green gate at a dirt pullout (of which there were many), about 50 feet in, and to go through the gate. Hhmmm. Who's gate was that and why was it there? So Tom decided to go up and around to see if he could find it. Sure enough, it was right there. Very cool! It went over the little creek too! We both climbed back on top of the rocks for a fantastic view of the landscape. Otherworldly!

I don't see an arch down there

going up and around to check it out

here it is!

very cool arch...with the little creek under it

great views from the top of the rocks

such cool formations - all different

We headed down the road a bit more, and decided to turn around and come back the way we had driven already. We stopped to gawk at the view from the top of the hill and the huge parking lot we turned around in. You could clearly see over the Alabama Hills again, and we spotted the Whitney Portal Road again from where we stood. The views....wow!

the view of the Sierra Nevada's

our turn around point to do it again

the views are spectacular

Whitney Portal Road...see the zig zag in the mountain?

giant boulders, and what a backdrop!

some more Alabama Hills behind me-they look so small compared to the Sierra Nevadas

such a cool landscape

As we turned around and headed back home to do some chores, we again were amazed at the scenery on this road, and were surprised no one else was talking about it! 

heading back down the scenic Tuttle Creek Road! (looks like another planet!)