Mono Lake Area - Lee Vining, CA

 

An aerial view of Mono Lake (By Ron Reiring - Mono Lake)

^Lora capturing shots with her animal friends. Sometimes it's funny to catch her setting up the photos. :)

The Mono Lake area is a beautiful one - it's another of the terminal lakes of the area (meaning no water outflow, only inflow). The limestone columns are called "tufa", and these were formerly underwater hot springs. They were exposed via water level drop from diverting some of the inflows.

As the water level in the lake has dropped, the portion of solutes left behind has risen (a more familiar example for many Americans is the Great Salt Lake). The effect on shorelines is white deposits.

A few shots from the trip to Mammoth, down US395 toward Mono Lake.

Inyo Craters and Obsidian Dome - Mammoth Lakes, CA

 This day started out weird. We tried to catch the ski gondola to the top of Mammoth Peak, but that was a fail due to the operators shutting down for weather, so...on to Inyo Craters and Obsidian Dome. Obsidian Dome was very cool, full of neat rocks and big views. :)

Gondola ride at Mammoth

Inyo Craters Trail (accessible by dirt road)

Obsidian Dome (also dirt road, but less bumpy)

Yosemite, Day 2 - Lee Vining, CA

On day two after Crystal Lake we went back into Yosemite about 4:30pm and visited Tuolumne Meadows, Pothole Dome, and Olmsted Point. A beautiful afternoon and evening, with short hikes and scenic stops all along the way.

Tenaya Lake
On the way back from Olmsted, we stopped at Tenaya. We might go back just to hike the short couple of miles between the two. Clear water backed by lovely mountain views at twilight.

Olmsted Point
This area yielded spectacular views of the back side of Half Dome. One of the better vantage points is only ~300 yards from the car, down a short trail leading from the steps at the parking overlook.

A view of Half Dome from the north.

Tuolumne Meadows and Pothole Dome
This was a lovely short hike (probably just under a mile) with only a couple of hundred feed in elevation gain. It was easy, but the views were as though a much larger mountain had been climbed. It was a fantastic vantage point from minimal investment of time and effort.