Doug McConnell

Since I was a little kid I’ve been traveling to and through Nevada on a reasonably regular basis. The state has changed quite a bit over the years. Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City have all grown like mad. And yet the old Nevada of wide-open and wild spaces and unvarnished western history remains pretty much intact.

Unfortunately, most people who go to Nevada don’t actually see it. Millions of people every year visit the pleasure palaces of Las Vegas and stroll the strip past clever imitations of Italy, Paris and New York and never venture into the authentic Nevada right nearby.

That’s too bad. They’re missing one of the West’s most fascinating and accessible regions. We’ve got some stories here on OpenRoad.TV that you might want to watch. If you’re thinking about visiting and then leaving Las Vegas. Here they are: Las Vegas to the Snow, Las Vegas with Elvis, Las Vegas’ Extreme Adventures, Leaving Las Vegas Introduction, Southwest Adventures Introduction.

Have a good trip.

– Doug McConnell

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and the weather here in the Bay Area is nothing short of spectacular. Bright blue skies, a gentle warmish wind and fabulous visibility. I’ll get outside a little bit today but too many chores will keep me from adventuring around the neighborhood the way I’d like. I’d love to be on foot, on a bike, on a horse, in a kayak….somewhere….anywhere….exploring and enjoying the outdoors. But in that responsibilities call and I’m chained to imposing tasks, I’ll have to simply imagine the outdoors and plan for another day. We’ve got a pretty good menu for imagining in the column next to this blog. Click on the active adventure category, for example, and it’ll take you to a host of stories from around the West. Join me and go for a virtual video adventure today and a real one tomorrow.

– 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.