When a soldier on a World War I battlefield sends a pine cone home to his mother, he could not know that his simple gift would become a symbol of history and remembrance. Susie Brown and Margaret Warner's sensitive text is evocatively illustrated by Sebastian Ciaffaglione, and tells a story that is about both personal experience and a nation-defining event.
When Cully the cowboy, a friend and a father figure to Evan, fails to show up at the ranch on an icy Christmas Eve, Evan goes out into the night to find and rescue him.
The Alabama Hills are found just to the west of the small town of Lone Pine, California. Most people would agree that they exhibit an extraordinary beauty with unique rock formations, stunning skylines, and the backdrop of the majestic High Sierras. It is no wonder that the film industry has repeatedly chosen this location for so many movies. However, hidden within the rocks, there is another often overlooked natural treasure, the arches of the Alabama Hills. There are reportedly over 300 of these geologic structures in the area. This guidebook provides a means to locate 72 of the more accessible ones, as well as 23 other features, by providing GPS coordinates, descriptions, color photos, and maps that can be readily used in the field. The arches can be found using just the maps but a GPS device will greatly facilitate the endeavor. The color photos and descriptions also aid in identifying the structures. The book is organized to simplify its' use. The Alabama Hills are broken down into nine areas that are covered separately; each with its' own map, feature descriptions, and color photos. An index map and map key help in navigating the book. Information on the history of the area, geology, camping, suggested itineraries, and road conditions is also included.
Lone Pine's history is as dramatic and violent as the magnificent landscape in which the town is located. Long before the first white settlers arrived during the Gold Rush, small groups of Paiute-Shoshone Indians lived in the area. With the discovery of gold and silver, miners and ranchers supplying food for the mines came into violent conflict with the native inhabitants between 1860 and 1865. In the 1870s, the Cerro Gordo mines (the largest silver strike in the state) buoyed the growth of Los Angeles. At the turn of the century, the City of Los Angeles clandestinely bought up land and water rights and initiated a period of conflict with the Owens Valley. In the 1920s, Hollywood discovered the Sierra Nevada Mountains and high deserts of the area. Over 400 films and countless commercials have been filmed in Lone Pine, featuring such stars as John Wayne, Gene Autry, Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Rita Hayworth, Barbara Stanwyck, and Brad Pitt.
A distraught man retreats to the woods with a simple question on his mind: why did his last relationship end? He's soon deep in a world of cryptic messages, shadowy figures, guns and philosophical crisis. A page-turning mystery told with exciting formal invention, Lone Pine is Jed McGowan's debut graphic novel and a 2010 Xeric winner.