The Amateur Traveler talks to Doug McConnell of OpenRoad.tv about his love for the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. Doug has been going to this rugged, stark and beautiful area of California and Nevada since he was a kid. He tells us about Hollywood's love of this area, the oldest trees on the planet, the water wars of California, the tufa fields of Mono Lake, the ghost town of Bodie and more. He also tells of his friends Galen and Barbara Rowell who called this area their home until their deaths in 2002. Galen was a renowned nature photographer and Barbara was his partner and pilot.