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Snow Delay!Oct 5, 2009
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First Dusting
Snowy Peaks
A Tufa
Our plan had been to depart Lee Vining yesterday morning. But, to our surprise, we awakened to a 4” blanket of snow. After some consideration we decided to not take the chance of heading south on 395 through the more than 8000 foot pass. We decided to spend an extra day in the Mono Lake Valley.
The extra day gave us an opportunity to visit the tufa that lie on the south shore of Mono Lake. Tufa are limestone figures that were built over a long period of time due to the lakes high salinity and have been revealed by the dropping level of the lake’s water.
The snow in the valley was completely gone by this morning although it remained high in the mountains and Tioga Pass remained closed. We were able to get back on 395 and head south toward Death Valley.
We drove about 150 miles and stopped in the small town of Lone Pine at the Boulder Creek Campground where we will spend tonight before heading across Death Valley tomorrow. The peak of Mount Whitney is visible from here although it lies in the background among several other peaks and does not stand out. Sue wants me to tell you that she was actually taking a picture of the moon not the mountain.
It’s a nice campground.
