Lee Vining -- September '04
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A little of the road. In this photo, 99 North.
Here were on the way into Yosemite. At Lake Don Pedro on Highway 120.
Olmstead Point looks back towards Half Dome and provides some pretty spectacular sunsets.
I love the way these trees seem to pop out of the granite with little or no soil. A more famous example sat atop Sentinel Dome. Sadly, the tree has fallen.
This tree is at Olmstead Point.
The destination for this trip is Lee Vining. Which is also the town nearest Mono Lake. Now it's not mono like the disease but Mono like as in Moan-O.
Lee Vining is a small town with a few hotels and fewer places to eat. Here's a view from my "front door" of Bodie Mike's BBQ.
They apparently own Nicely's which is next door. Ok food at both places.
This is a block of Obsidian.
And another of Pumice.
Pumice is mined in the Mono Lake region and used in a variety of household products.
This is looking down the June Lake Loop. A spectacular ride for fall colours.
A beautiful mountain lake along the June Lake Loop.
Looking at June Lake (in the distance).
No trip to the region would be complete without a stop at Schat's Bakery in Mammoth Lakes.
Mountain Lake
Ah, the start of fall colours. Well sort of. The temperature needs to drop before they'll really start.
This lake is in the Mammoth Caldera and CO2 still off-gases near the beach. As a result, no sitting or lying on the beach. No picnics except in the parking lot :)
Looking back from the lake into the trees.
Mammoth Lakes used to be a sleepy little resort town. But now it's no different that the likes of the Lake Tahoe area or any of America's other "premire" ski resorts. Home of the Hummer crowd now.
Mammoth Mountain Ski resort. If you look at the upper left of the photo, you can see the lift.
Heading over to Devil's Post Pile, I stopped to veiw the Minarets.
A small mountain lake near the Post Pile.
Mono Lake. From the back porch of my hotel room.
Devil's Post Pile. A fine example of Columnar Jointing. Another example is near Healy Alaska.
