On the way out of Burney Falls campground I stopped once more to take a couple of photos from the viewing overlook at the parking lot.
Mono Lake is an interesting place. Starting in 1941 the City of Los Angeles drew more water out of the lake than nature put back into it. The result was a drastic lowering of the lake level, an increase in salinity, and dust problems for areas around the lake.
Although it is being restored, the luffa formations that remain above the lake present an unusual spectacle.
I prefer the formations on the south shore of the lake, but they appear in many areas. In any case, I spent most of the day driving down US 395. After making it through Reno, I stopped at a McDonald's in Carson City to post yesterday's photos. I guess I'm going to have to do the same tomorrow since the cell connection here at the campground is too slow to upload the larger versions of the images I post at the Lakeshore Images site. I think this post will load.
Note - I did manage to load the rest of the images at Lakeshore Images Sunday morning.
I drove 277.4 miles to the campground, then added 56 more miles going to & back from Mono Lake. I'm in site 12 at the Willow Springs Motel & Campground. I pretty location about 20 miles north of Lee Vining (Mono Lake), although right on US 395.
Since it was already 8:45 by the time I got back to the campground, for the first time since getting the trailer I decided to eat in a restaurant. The campground owner suggested the one across the street - I suspected it was just because they were neighbors, but the meal was excellent. If you are ever in the area, check out The Virginia Creek Settlement. Well worth a stop.
Well, it's late, I'm tired from my various hikes from the parking lots to the lake shore, so I'm calling it quits.
Till tomorrow -
Wow, I love that shot of Mono Lake with the mountains. Amazing.
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