– Doug McConnell

I grew up in California. When I was little, and we lived in Santa Monica and west Los Angeles, I knew I was very lucky. I had the beach just to the west and 10,000 foot mountains and the desert not far to the east. On Saturdays, I could go to see the latest western movie and sometimes the cowboy stars themselves would even show up to meet the kids and introduce the show. I met Hop-a-Long Cassidy, Hoot Gibson and had Jay Silverheels’ autograph. He, of course, was the Lone Ranger’s side-kick and guide. Those were the thrilling days of yesteryear.

So you can imagine my good fortune when I had the chance to spend a day following in their cinematic footsteps and horse tracks in one of California’s most dramatically scenic spots, the Alabama Hills. The Hills, really a maze of rounded rocks, are located in the shadow of Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the lower 48 states. I found out where the Lone Ranger got his name and Roy Rogers was first photographed with Trigger. You can, too, right here: Alabama Hills Movie Memories.

And if you don’t care about western movies, we’ve also got James Dean in Mendocino and Clint Eastwood on Alcatraz. California and the West are big and beautiful movie sets. Send us your favorite movie locations out this way. We’d like to know about them.