Land of the Ancients
Methuselah Lives Here
High above Big Pine in the White Mountains to the east are ancient beings that have been alive for almost 5,000 years. The Ancient Great Basin Bristlecone pine trees are the oldest non-clonal organisms on this planet. The oldest and still living tree, Methuselah, is almost 5,000 years old and many individuals in this healthy, growing forest are well over 4,000 years old.
Their progenitors sprouted to life on this cold, barren, windswept mountaintop as long ago as the First People of this land settled and cultivated the valley below, about 10,000 years ago. Their descendants continue to live in this valley connected to the land with a profound respect for the ancestral memory that binds them to this place.
Glacial Action
On the other side of this deep valley, high in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the Palisade Glacier safeguards its history of thousands of years of glacial action within its icy core. This glacier drops from the cirque it has cut below four 14,000-foot peaks (4267m) terminating in a proglacial lake that is turquoise blue from the glacial rock powder it has crushed into the frigid water.
Hot Springs
This ancient and seismically active land is also known for its hot springs. Just north of Big Pine, ancient geothermal waters spring from deep beneath the earth, providing a steady supply of hot mineral water to a rustic resort that has been in existence for over 100-years. In 1919 Keough’s Hot Springs Resort was designed as a first-class health resort and luxury getaway. In its heyday during the 1920s and 30s the early stars of Hollywood were regular guests. Today this rustic resort still soothes bodies, restores souls, and engages families in fun and safe water play.
Big Ears
A modern state-of-the-art facility just a few miles from Big Pine, the Caltech Owens Valley Radio Observatory, is fondly known as “Big Ears.” The huge radio telescope dishes that are turned to the sky are tuned to listen for sounds that emanate from outer space. Scientists are studying these naturally occurring signals and analyzing data to learn about the most ancient thing we know—our early universe.
Singing Sands
Beyond the mountains that soar above Big Pine to the east is another deep valley. It is Eureka Valley and it harbors the tallest sand dunes in California, the Eureka Dunes. They are also known as the “Singing Sand” for when the sand is completely dry it avalanches down the steepest slope of the highest dune to create a sound like a bass note of a pipe organ. It is an eerie, earthly sound that stirs the soul.
Big Pine is a quiet community that is the gateway to these ancient beings and prehistoric landscapes.
Experience the ancient wonders of the natural world; a place to contemplate the past and rejoice in the future.
