We drove down from Lee Vining through the June Lake area to visit the Devils Postpile National Monument. The day turned out beautifully. The weather was wonderful. Sunny, yet slightly cool, with an occasional breeze.

We drove south on 395 to 158, the June Lake Loop Road. There are some interesting looking canyons along here, and each seems to have a trail that leads up into it. Most have glacial lakes. On the west side of the road are the mountains, and along the east side of the road are a string of fairly large lakes. As well as campgrounds, resorts, marinas, and in the town of June Lake, many businesses and a ski resort.

We passed along Grant Lake, Silver Lake, Gull Lake and finally June Lake. It's a very interesting and pretty area.

From there we drove south on 395 to the turn off for the Mammoth Lakes Scenic Loop. The portion of this drive, before its junction with the Minaret Summit Road, is mostly through pine stands and very little other scenery is visible. But it's a pretty drive.

We turned west on the Minaret Summit Road and drove to the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area where we had to take a shuttle bus to get to Devils Postpile.

After our hike through the Monument, we returned to the Mammoth Mountain area. Ski resorts seem to have some special energy going for them, even in the warm months. Perhaps because we were there in the autumn people were excited because the snows they longed for were not that far off, and could actually begin at any time.

The ski lifts were operating, and rides were available for a fee. There were also opportunities to rent mountain bikes and one could be taken to the top of a peak for a downward ride back to the rental shop.

On the way into the town of Mammoth Lakes we stopped at a small area called Earthquake Fault. It is mostly a glorified picnic area, with a rest room and a fenced off area around a large crack in the ground said to be the results of an earthquake early in the Twentieth Century. We took a quick walk around it and headed into town for a late lunch.

Apparently we were too late for most of the places along the main drag. It was 3:00 p.m. local time and we were getting hungry. The first two places we tried were closed. We finally drove down one side street and found a Mexican place that was open. The food was good. After that we headed back to Lee Vining.