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2 0 1 5 T R A V E L G U I D E T O C A L I F O R N I A 79 Francisco; Point Reyes National Seashore; artsy Mendocino; Redwood National Park. A few tips: Allow far more time than you think you need; besides the frequent diver- sions, the road is so winding in places it's hard to average more than 30 miles per hour. If you're prone to carsickness, this isn't the trip for you. Keep your gas tank full and your bladder empty. In some areas, particularly Big Sur, it's more than 40 miles between gas stations—and restrooms. Cowboys & Indians East of the Sierra Nevada the green, popu- lated West Coast ends and the brown, sagebrush-covered West begins. This is the Old Frontier of our imagination, a realm of real cowboys and real Indians (and also, as we shall see, of cinematic cowboys and Indians.) Highway 395 hugs the state's eastern border, and the 264-mile stretch of high desert from Reno to Lone Pine, which passes tumbleweeds, swinging-door saloons and ghost towns beneath the breathtakingly sheer eastern wall of the Sierra Nevada, is one of California's most iconic drives. The northern stretch traverses ranch- land that was once—and sometimes still is—the domain of Basque sheepherders, and in the town of Gardnerville, just over the border in Nevada, you have your choice of excellent Basque restaurants. As you drive south, keep an eye out for cowboys, although these days they're as likely to be riding an all-terrain vehicle as a horse. Far- ther south, as you approach Mono Lake, you'll probably encounter members of the Washoe and Paiute tribes. Highway 395 grazes the shore of enor- mous Mono Lake, which is so alkaline Mark Twain once joked he could do his laundry merely by dragging it behind him in a boat. In Bishop, the studio of the late photogra- pher Galen Rowell has become a major attraction. Stop at Manzanar, just off the highway, for a poignant visit to the site of a relocation camp for Americans of Japanese heritage during World War II. In Lone Pine, the Indian Trading Post sports autographs on the wall from Gary Cooper, John Wayne and other cinematic cowboys who filmed Westerns in the nearby Alabama Hills. A few tips: Springtime, when the Sierra is still clad in snow, is the prettiest time for the drive, although some side trips may be limited. For an overnight stop, the town of Bishop offers the largest selection of motels and restaurants. McWAY FALLS in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Big Sur, leV; Avenue of the Giants, Redwood National Park, middle; tufa formations at Mono Lake, boXom; 17-Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula, opposite.