A movie location explorer's adventures on the Iverson Ranch — and in Lone Pine, Calif.

Tyler Malone peers around the "Sliver" near Desert Tortoise on the Lower Iverson

A relative newcomer to the Iverson Movie Ranch — and I can call him that because I've been studying the ranch for more than 11 years and I still consider myself a newcomer too — is movie location adventurer Tyler Malone.

Interactive map of the Iverson Movie Ranch and nearby filming locations

Tyler came out of the chute this year with guns blazing, contributing some nice rock finds along with his terrific interactive map of the Iverson Movie Ranch and nearby filming locations.

Here's where you can always find the interactive map

I know a number of readers have already become fans of Tyler's movie location research thanks to his interactive Iverson map. You can always link to it at the right of this page under "LABELS" — it's the first item.

If you'd like to learn more about the map and how it works, you can also click here to see the post we did back in September introducing the map — and you can link from that item to the map itself.

"Mystery Mountain" (Mascot serial, 1934)

Tyler recently set out to find a rock on the Lower Iverson that caught his eye in this promo still for the old Ken Maynard serial "Mystery Mountain." His successful search made it clear that he's a skilled rock sleuth.

In the photo, Edmund Cobb, in an uncredited role as "The Rattler," has our hero "Ken Williams," played by Ken Maynard, in a stranglehold.

Because of this shot, we began referring to the rock they're standing on as "Stranglehold Rock." But the key to finding it would turn out to be the rock in the bottom left corner.

Some readers may have already figured out where this discussion was headed, but I initially didn't recognize the "unknown rock," and Tyler surprised me when he said it was the Sphinx.

Markers identified on the Sphinx, as it appeared in "Mystery Mountain" in 1934

Tyler provided this shot identifying some of the markers on the rock that can be found in the "Mystery Mountain" stranglehold shot.

The same markers identified on the Sphinx as it appears today

He also pointed out the same markers in this recent photo of the Sphinx.

Stranglehold Rock and the Sphinx in a poster for Chapter 5

Something that surfaced a little bit later was this poster for one of the chapters of "Mystery Mountain," showing more of both the Sphinx and Stranglehold Rock. The Sphinx is easier to recognize here than in the promo still.

Target area for "Stranglehold Rock" (Google aerial view)

With the Sphinx identified the search area could be narrowed way down. Even so, finding Stranglehold Rock posed its share of challenges, as I found out when I poked around the target area and couldn't find it.

On one of Tyler's visits to the target zone he found a big, messy tree where he had determined Stranglehold Rock should be located.

Stranglehold Rock in 2019

Poking his head inside the morass of tangled brush under the tree, he found what he was looking for: Stranglehold Rock, engulfed by the tree and its scrubby ecosystem.

Tyler noted a few key markers on the rock to illustrate that it's the same rock appearing in "Mystery Mountain."

The markers can be seen again here, in a blowup from the "Mystery Mountain" poster. The shot also reveals where the actors' feet were positioned during the stranglehold sequence.

A Google aerial shows the Sphinx, in the red circle, and the Stranglehold Rock tree, marked by a blue arrow. The Garden of the Gods Trail, visible at top center, will get you there from your parking spot on Redmesa Road.

Ken Maynard on the Lower Iverson (promo still for "Mystery Mountain," 1934)

Another fun promo still from "Mystery Mountain" shows Ken Maynard taking aim from behind a sliver of a rock, which still stands today on the Lower Iverson Movie Ranch.

"Mystery Mountain": Ken Maynard behind the sliver

The promo still is based on this scene in the serial. As usual, the promo still is a huge improvement on the picture quality seen in the movie itself.

Tyler Malone takes cover behind the same "sliver" of a rock.

If the shot looks familiar, it's because of the picture of Tyler that appears at the top of this post. Tyler positioned himself behind the same rock sliver to re-create the "Mystery Mountain" shot.

It's kind of obvious here, but this is the rock I keep referring to as the "sliver."

It's probably a little less obvious in the promo still, because next to the sliver rock is another rock that also has "slivery" characteristics.

We can call this one "Rock B" for the time being, as it may help get a handle on some of the more interesting rocks in that corner of the Lower Iverson Movie Ranch.

"Mystery Mountain: A wider shot of Desert Tortoise and the "Sliver" rock

This wider shot from the same sequence in "Mystery Mountain" doesn't have nearly the detail of the promo still, but what it lacks in picture quality it makes up for by showing several of the area's key rocks.

The shot includes the "Sliver," with Ken Maynard behind it, along with "Rock B," a larger rock to its left that we can call "Rock C," and of course, Desert Tortoise, which is sort of the mother of all rocks in that immediate area.

"Mystery Mountain": The shootout, from Ken's side

The embarrassment of riches that is "Mystery Mountain" also offers this cool shot from a reverse angle.

Again, I wish the picture quality were better, but at least we can still make out the main features.

Desert Tortoise in modern times

Desert Tortoise is this big rock located just northwest of the main Garden of the Gods area. It was situated next to an old movie road and became one of the more heavily filmed rocks on the Lower Iverson.

Desert Tortoise in "Law of the Ranger" (Columbia, 1937)

I've blogged about Desert Tortoise before, and if you click here you can see a post about some of its movie history, along with an explanation of why I call it "Desert Tortoise" — and there's a map to help you find the rock.

The key features are identified again here, as seen in a screen shot from the Bob Allen Western "Law of the Ranger." Of the four rocks identified, only two — Desert Tortoise and the "Sliver" — have survived.

"Law of the Ranger" marked one of the final shoots for Rocks B and C, which were removed around 1937 — presumably so stagecoaches and groups of riders could more easily negotiate the road past Desert Tortoise.

"Days of Jesse James" (Republic, 1939)

By 1939, when Roy Rogers filmed "Days of Jesse James" on the Iverson Ranch, Rocks "B" and "C" were no longer in place and the road had been widened.

"Mystery Mountain": Ken Maynard stands on a mystery rock

Another interesting promo still from "Mystery Mountain" is this one showing Ken Maynard standing on a rock that Tyler and I have been searching for without any success. If you happen to recognize it, please get in touch.

"Bat Masterson" episode "Buffalo Kill" (1959): Buffalo Kill Rock

Stranglehold Rock isn't Tyler's first Iverson Movie Ranch find — he also found this rock, which had me stumped for some time. I've been calling it "Buffalo Kill Rock" because of the "Bat Masterson" episode where it appears.

Buffalo Kill Rock as it appears today

The rock doesn't look much like its "Bat Masterson" photo anymore — at least not from any angles we can see today. I talked about the discovery of this rock back in September, and you can read more about it here.

Promo still for "Excuse Me" (1925): Norma Shearer on "Excuse Me Point"

Tyler also tracked down a rock I call "Excuse Me Point," where Norma Shearer was filmed for the 1925 silent feature "Excuse Me." Click here to see a discussion of this find in the same September blog post.

"King of the Pecos" tour, 2019 Lone Pine Film Festival (Don Kelsen drone photo)

Something I didn't get to do this year was go to the annual Lone Pine Film Festival in October, but Tyler attended and reported back, including sending some cool photos from Lone Pine's Alabama Hills.

Natalie Wood in "The Great Race" (1965), and Tyler Malone visiting the same spot

Above is a screen shot of Natalie Wood in the Alabama Hills from "The Great Race." Below Natalie is Tyler's recent re-creation of the scene.

Kevin Bacon in the Alabama Hills in "Tremors" (1990), and Tyler's re-creation

The campy 1990 sci-fi/horror movie "Tremors," starring Kevin Bacon, filmed heavily in the Lone Pine area, and here Tyler gets down to about one degree of separation while re-creating a shot from the movie.

"Trail to San Antone" (Gene Autry, 1947): Stunt jump in the Alabama Hills

In this shot from Republic's "Trail to San Antone," a horse jumps over a car in the Alabama Hills.

The same location as it appears today

Tyler returned from Lone Pine with this photo of the location where the stunt jump was filmed. Snow-covered Lone Pine Peak can be seen in the background of both shots, above the distinctive vertical crack in the rock.

Gene Autry Rock — in "Boots and Saddles" (1937) and more recently

Speaking of Gene Autry, one of Lone Pine's most famous rocks is named after him. Here the curved rock tower known as "Gene Autry Rock" is seen with Autry in "Boots and Saddles" and with Tyler in a modern re-creation.

"Hop-a-Long Cassidy" (Paramount, 1935) — and Tyler's contemporary re-creations

The Western character most closely identified with Lone Pine is Hopalong Cassidy, so naturally Tyler has walked in the footsteps of the original "Hoppy," William Boyd.

A Greg Parker tour at the 2019 Lone Pine Film Festival

Sometimes we get fun reminders that Lone Pine and Iverson are both part of a larger community of movie location enthusiasts. On Lone Pine tour guide Greg Parker's "Hop-a-Long Cassidy" tour at this year's festival, Tyler and Greg found out they had both been looking for Iverson's elusive "Stranglehold Rock."

Have a cowboy Christmas (or holiday of your choice), everybody!