North to the high country - Tuttle creek, Aspen campground, Mono Lake and Bodie

We bid a fond adieu to Joshua Tree National park wending our way slowly through it to the town of Joshua Tree where we stopped at the laundromat to clean some clothes then on to the market to get some provisions and on the road. We made our way to Hwy. 395 and north to the Sierras. I was thinking that maybe we could stop a Sequoia National Park as according to the map we were going right by it. Trouble is the is no entrance on the eastern side of the park. The mountains are probably to steep and there is no pass.
 So onward we went. It's beautiful driving up there going through the small towns rather than by passing them as you do on a freeway.

 The drive takes you through the Owens valley where the City of  Los Angles water company has held water rights for over 100 years. In the early 20th century they build an aqueduct down to San Fernando in order to develop that area. The aqueduct was an engineering marvel that still stands. At 223 miles it moved water to LA by gravity alone. There are no pumps.
 This sparked water wars with the citizens of Owens valley as the city of LA sucked the valley dry leaving the residents there with just dregs for their needs.  In 1924 and again in 1927, protesters blew up parts of the aqueduct, marking a particularly explosive chapter in the so-called “water wars” that had divided southern California.
 The Los Angeles Aqueduct was extended further north by the early 1940s through the Mono Basin Project, finally reaching a total length of 338 miles.

 There are no Tuttles in Tuttle Creek

We continued north until as it got into late afternoon Denise googled us a spot to camp. We pulled off near Lone Pine and drove 6 or so miles off the highway to some BLM land on Tuttle creek that' been developed as a campground. The GPS took us down a road that in places was one lane and I was a little apprehensive but it eventually widened out and the campground was nice. Right above us was Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous states.
 We weren't going to unhitch as we were just staying the night but with the trailer hitched the tailgate to the truck can't be lowered so in the end I unhitched it so we could use the generator. There are no hookups there.

 Sunset at Tuttle creek gave us lenticular clouds. An awesome sight and I wish I had set up to tripod to capture this better.

 The view to the west - Mt. Whitney is left of center. Wikipedia shows it at 14,505' but I have seen other heights listed as well

 Denise doing her sewing and Mister Zigs chilling in the evening.

 Sunrise in Tuttle creek campground

 Morning has broken

The night before the wind was blowing strongly but at dawn the air was calm and in the morning chill Denise said "Listen." "Can you hear water?". Yes, in the still of the morning the sound of running water was clear and Denise set off to find it. I grabbed my tripod and camera and followed her and Pata across the campground in search of the source of the sounds.

 Denise and Pata search for water

 Tuttle creek running through the meadow.

 Looking upward you can see that the melting snow feeding the creek is just above us. The water is ice cold!

Yerba Mansa along the creek.

Aspen Creek Campground - At the foot of Tioga Pass

We ate breakfast, hitched up and drove the short distance to Aspen creek campground just outside of Lee Vining. Aspen creek is another BLM site and although it has water it is only at the entrance. There are pit toilets and porta potties.

 We selected a site and pulled in to set up. We got what we thought was a pull through site. I was on a pretty steep slope and we ended up with the tongue almost on the ground and the back end lifted close to 3 feet off the ground in order to be level. It was only after we set up that Denise noticed that it wasn't really a pull through and that someone has torn down the fence separating 2 sites in order to pass through. We were set so we left it as it was.
Aspen Creek campground is a 7600' in elevation so was quite cold at night and in the mornings. I would take Pata for a run and one morning I just slipped my sandals on over my socks. By the time we were down my socks were white with frost and my toes were frozen. Brrrrrrrr.

 Pata running through the meadow looking for whatever critters are hiding in the grasses

 We decided to go exploring a little as it was still before noon and we had plenty of daylight. 

 We debated about making some sandwiches but Denise suggested we go to the little restaurant down at Hwy 395 where we turned in. When we had come through here last on the way to Tony and Linda's wedding it had been a chain up area. We went in there to eat and all they had were sandwiches. Bag sandwiches that had been made up earlier in the morning and sat in a cooler. Live and learn. We got them but ours from home would have been so much better and cheaper too.

Mono Lake and the Tufa

 We headed down to Mono lake to see what we could see. From up above Mono lake is emerald green, a glowing jewel in the desert. A short drive takes you to a trail head that leads of the Tufa outcropping on the south side of the lake. Denise stayed with Pata in the truck and I walked the trail checking out the rock formations and the lake.

 Tufa is essentially common limestone. What is uncommon about this limestone is the way it forms. Typically, underwater springs rich in calcium (the stuff in your bones) mix with lakewater rich in carbonates (the stuff in baking soda). As the calcium comes in contact with carbonates in the lake, a chemical reaction occurs resulting in calcium carbonate--limestone. The calcium carbonate precipitates around the spring, and over the course of decades to centuries, a tufa tower will grow. Tufa towers grow exclusively underwater, and some grow to heights of over 30 feet. The reason visitors see so much tufa around Mono Lake today is because the lake level fell dramatically after the City of Los Angles water Company began to divert water from all 4 of the tributaries the feed the lake. (Remember them?) 

The Los Angeles Aqueduct was extended further north by the early 1940s through the Mono Basin Project, finally reaching a total length of 338 miles. 

 Finally decades later some environmentalists took them to court to try and stop them after the lake fell to dangerously low levels. 

 In 1995 the California Supreme Court ruled that LA had to return the lake level to 1963 level in order to maintain the lake at a sustainable state. It's still not near that mark but they say that's because of drought. When it goes to that level many of the tufa formations will be underwater once again.

 

 Tufa (too'-fah)

 A rock wren singing it's heart out on the tufa. I would whistle a tune and it would imitate me. This went on for quite some time until I looked back and there was a small group of tourists looking on and taking photos of both the bird and me.

 At lake level you don't see the striking emerald color in the water but it's still beautiful

 A brown headed cowbird

 A osprey, I was surprised to see him there. Mono is hyper saline and the main thing that attracts birds is the brine shrimp and brine flies.

 A California Gull, there were not any other shore birds that I could see. At times there are millions of birds at the lake feeding but not when we were there

 Walking around the campground we discovered that the creek had a small waterfall. There were lots of birds but of course when I was without camera they were everywhere and would land right next to me. When I got out the camera and walked around they were nowhere to be seen or hiding in the trees where you could not get a clear shot.

 In front of the museum in Lee Vining

 The mining museum in Lee Vining

 The little cascade/waterfall in the campground

 Aspen creek

 An artist in the campground

His interpretation of the rocks at the edge of the waterfall.

Bodie - A ghost town with a history

 I have read about Bodie for years and have long wanted to see it. Legends surround it and there are stories of people who have come here and looted the artifacts that litter the town. It's said that if you take things from Bodie  bad luck will follow you unless you return the items to the town. There are stories also of the miners, saloons, prostitutes and outlaws. Bodie got a reputation as a wild place where only the strong would survive. People lived here until the late 60's when the State of California took over and turned it into a state park. 

 It's an amaing place that was far more intact than I thought it would be. The drive up is great too. Twenty two miles from the Hwy 395 and the last three are gravel. With views of the snowcapped peaks of the sierras it's a great drive.

 We do! Guard rail at the Mono Lake overlook

 Panorama of Lake Mono from the pass

 Western Fence Lizard

 

Open range land on the road to Bodie.

A Great Pyrenees shepherding the flock

Western Blue Flag

Denise in her element

A small herd crossed the road in front of us and headed up the mountain. They are still wearing their heavy winter coat. I whistled and they turned to look at me before continuing up.

 As you get towards the park you will start to see mines dotting the hillsides then you round a bend in the road and there is Bodie

 First view of Bodie as you round the curve

 One of the mines outside the main town

A steam boiler on the hillside.

After you pay your fee to get in you park in the parking lot and are free to roam the town and surrounding area. Some of the buildings are open and have old furniture and appliances still in place. Others are closed up but you can look through the windows and see what's inside. Some are in disrepair but still look as though you could fix them up and move right in. The stamping mill is closed off and can only be seen on tours. We didn't do that although I would love to have seen the machinery and things inside. There is a lot of miscellaneous stuff all over. Machinery, ore carts, metal bits of who knows what. There's broken glass from what were garbage dumps at one time. All in all a very cool place for those of us who love old things.

This pretty well concluded out exploring of the area. After we left Bodie we spent the remainder of our time in the Aspen Creek Campground with the animals. They are doing so well and really seem to be enjoying the trip. We could not ask for better traveling companions. They enjoy both the travel in the truck and the stop time when they are in the trailer.