A very unusual tree for us over this side of the water.

They're not all that common here, either, Roger! It takes the right environment. These Sierra junipers can persist in places where other trees can't, and they can get very gnarly as a result. I have a collection of pics of these trees, and the really spectacular, twisted ones occur in very stressed environments--open slopes, ridgetops, and such, where they have to deal both with the brunt of the winter winds, _and_ with scant water in the summer!