Mammoth Lakes John Wayne movie locations & Gold Mine

My mother lived out in back of the lumber yard ( no longer there ) in a small cabinet , in the winter there were tunnels leading to the cabins 3 as I remember. My mom worked at the Village inn restaurant ,there was the Tavern bar ,General Store and Post office,Id go swimming in Hot Creek . There was no ski lift that was down at Magee creek ,No stores Couple of ranches and pack stations. a great place to grow up.

Hahahaha! Give yourself up so Sarah can have a dog.. never underestimate your opponent 🤣love these stories thanks a bunch😀

The best movie I liked made around that river was Nevada Smith. No wonder Carl Malden tolerated the water, it had to be warm due to the hot springs. I loved that river, it just seems so serene and peaceful. Beautiful country!!! Thank you for taking me there!

I love California, she's beautiful.

I hope you are kidding, you two are so smart, you are good for each other. Sarah is worth more gold than there is in the world.

Grew up at the ski lift and Old Mammoth in the 60's, everybody used to go swimming in Hot Cr. in those days. There was nothing but a dirt footpath from the rim down to the creek. Used to go hiking up to the mines from Old Mammoth, us kids were always talking of finding the Lost Cement Mine. I seem to remember it being described as 'gold nuggets in cement like raisins in a pudding', the cement being the ore bearing sandstone. Mammoth was a dreamlike place to live back then, few people and no attitude. Used to get blocks of ice for the old wooden icebox from the side of the grocery store, they came down a chute covered in sawdust.

👋Hi Jeff. Hi Sarah. Look how clear the Spring is ! And look at how many people just love what you do here, including me. Thanks for North to Alaska clarification, too. Keep enjoying what you're doing for us all. Kind Regards Jan. Ps, still catching up !

Headed to Mammoth Lakes next month, added Hot Creek Springs and Mammoth Consolidated Mine to my list of things to see. I love the history along hwy 395 in the eastern Sierras. I'm catching up on your videos.

I'm glad I found you tonight. Thank you for taking me with you,..

Shoot, I don't have to travel to all these great places....I can just watch you and Sarah and hear the stories and listen to the great music.

I've always wondered where that scene in True Grit was filmed, and more recently wondering if it was the same place in North To Alaska. Thank you for answering both of those questions for me. Someday I'll have to take a drive up.

director henry hathaway must have enjoyed filming here,he directed NEVADA SMITH 1966,TRUE GRIT 1969 and SHOOTOUT 1971.another enjoyable outing.

Great adventure! The CP on the mining equipment is the trademark symbol of Chicago Pneumatic company formed in 1901 and still in business. Those are pretty big air compressors.

Jeff, I really enjoy your videos of places of historical value, and the places from old movie locations. I live in Georgia and I have never been to California. I would love to come out there to see many places, but realistically I doubt I will ever get that opportunity. Your videos take me to the places that I most likely will never get to see in person. Thanks so much for uploading these and sharing your excursions with us.

Sara’s discovery of the Steamin Hot Hole had me rolling!🤣 oh and Jeff .. my grandma told me that during the depression you ate anything that didn’t eat you.. maybe even a Fox. Lol I was at Mammoth maybe2 times did not know about the mine or the hot springs.. Thanks for another outstanding history lesson! 2 thumbs up

Hi! Jeff & Sarah: I worked up at Mammoth Mtn Inn 1964-5. I worked under the Chef. I can brag that I made box lunches for the cast and crew of the movie Nevada Smith. Though I don't know just who did eat my lunches. I saw Steve McQueen and his wife. On my day off one day I was sitting at the entrance to the upstairs restaurant when Brian Keith walked up and started talking with me like he was a friend. That sure made my day. I've been to most places you show in this video. I and another kitchen helper went fishing one day, and we found the road to where we wanted to go was blocked by the authorities, because they were shooting movie scenes in the area. A few years later, in the service, I got to see Nevada Smith. Wish we had dared to sneak in close so we could see the scenes being filmed. My experiences in the Mammoth area never left me. I still live 40 miles from Mammoth Lakes.

great seeing all this, without you two would never get to these places x

Great history! Also a hard life. Thank you for doing this.

In the 70's we'd camp up at Mammoth for a couple of weeks in July. Every afternoon we'd head to Hot Creek and sit in the stream. Sometimes your butt would be freezing while inches away other appendages were cooking, necessitating a vigorous swish to moderate. The similarity of the odor of Hot Creek to the VI's Anderson's Pea Soup was somewhat profound . . .

I would love to visit bucket list!! You two do great videos and history spots keep up the good work 👍🏼