Moe No
June 27, 2017

Here in Mono County (who knew all these years I was pronouncing the famous lake's name incorrectly - it's Moe No, not Mah No), we find there is much to see and do and that we will make not a dent in the sights.

There are hot springs, reservoirs, mountain lakes, ghost towns and abandoned mines galore, hiking trails and back roads, and of course the incredible scenery of the eastern Sierras.  Chris has declared a return is in order and I cannot fault his reasoning.

Bodie . . .

The original draw to the area was Shanon's desire to visit Bodie, an old mining town that has been preserved to an amazing extent.  Because of two devastating fires, only about ten percent of the original structures remain; however, that constitutes a staggering number of interesting buildings with much known about their previous inhabitants, adding to the fascination of the place.

Bodie is blanketed with many feet of snow through much of the year.  It is incredible how much remains, thanks is large part to the efforts of a few individuals who resided there long after its heyday.

The four of us spent the best part of a day strolling from place to place, reading about the history of each house or commercial establishment and peering through windows to exclaim about the contents.  It seemed there was very little staging of furnishings - some places were little more than jumbles of the leftovers of everyday life and others appeared to be as they were left, only with a hefty layer of dust over all.

Chris has been with the clan plenty long enough to adopt the Kelley stance: peering through windows into abandoned abodes and/or trying the door to seek entrance.

Bri demonstrated the danger of unprotected sawmills.

Chris lectured on the workings of something or other.

The stamp mill for the Standard Mine is in the large metal buildings in the background. 

Wondering why visitors felt compelled to toss coins onto this bed . . .

Awesomest pool table I ever saw!

U.S. President Herbert Hoover's brother lived in this house.  He was the Standard Mine superintendent.

The bank vault still stands and the safe remains inside although the bank itself is no more.

The jail consists of several barred cells to restrain what was said to be numerous law-breakers.

A large proportion of the structures displayed embellishments and creativity far beyond pedestrian construction.

The necessity for a two-hearse house illustrates the difficulties of life in Bodie - illness, accidents and violence - that sent many a resident, young and old, to an untimely death and burial in the graveyard on the hill above town.

We encountered a "Stop, go back" situation on the way out to Bodie - a herd of sheep out to pasture in a green grassy valley below sage-covered hills.  The shepherd and his dog were comfortably ensconced in the shade of a juniper tree until our arrival when the canine emerged to insure that we were not a danger.

Mono Lake . . .

After being nearly dried up by the water demands from the City of Los Angeles, Mono Lake is now recovering, although still below historic levels.  Its fascinating uniqueness is in the tufa stalagmites that tower up from the surface.  Those limestone structures are formed when spring water precipitates out specific minerals into the lake water.

Lake ho!  Brianna spots our first view of Mono Lake.

Chris insisted on a shot of the gazillions of alkalai flies that congregate at water's edge.

What!? A handbell choir at Mono Lake visitor's center?  One never knows quite what one might run across.

June Lake loop . . .


Out of numerous possibilities, we opted for a drive on the June Lake loop and a perfect choice it was!  The extreme snow pack of last winter has resulted in all local lakes being filled beyond capacity for the first time in years.  As the snow caps melt, we were treated to the sight of ribbons of water cascading down from the heights.

Bri was greeted by a pair of mallards on Gull Lake. 

June Lake was quite a fascination with its extensive swimming beach in sight of and just below snowy peaks.

The total blow-away on the loop drive was this incredible undescribably cascade far above us.  At one point, we were able to view its length from top to bottom, but there was no place from which to photograph it.  We did get numerous shots of the major thundering fall high up on the mountain.  It was unlike anything I've ever seen; we later discovered it is known as Horsetail Falls and of course at that time, it was far over its usual size.

We were fascinated with a length of guard rail on which a whole bunch of folks had affixed their identifying bumper stickers.

We even found a couple from fellow Arizonans.

Shannon added a Mono Lake sticker as our contribution to the collection.

Birds added to the trip list include: cliff swallow, violet-green swallow, California gull, western grebe, robin, green-tailed towhee, western bluebird, pinon jay, brown-headed cowbird, rufous hummingbird, black-chinned hummingbird, broad-tailed hummingbird, Canada goose, pied-billed grebe, mallard, northern flicker and white pelican.  A Bullock's oriole appears to have a nest somewhere right by our trailer and was very active in awakening us one morning by clinging to the bedroom window and calling repeatedly.  We have been enjoying watching a pair of red-tailed hawks feeding their baby that is perched high up on a rocky cliff by the RV park.

Best business name.

Butterflies enjoy the RV park's landscaping, too.