We drove through Bridgeport, California, along 395. We headed on south, over the pass, and there was Mono Lake. It looked very blue and pretty in its desert setting. Much more attractive than I had remembered it. It may because there seems to be more water than when I last saw it.

After we set up our camp in Lee Vining we drove over to the Forest Service Visitor Center just above the lake. It is fairly new and very nice. They have a book store, exhibits, and great views of the lake. We picked up a couple of maps of the area. The Visitor Center closed at 4:30, while we were there. We then drove down to a little parking area near the lake, but only stayed briefly, intending on coming back.

Later in the Week

On our way back from a hike at Devils Postpile National Monument, we turned east at the junction of 395 and Highway 120. We went east along there until we reached the entrance to the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve. We walked around in the tufa formations for a while. It is sort of a fantasy land, with all of the tufa spires reaching up into the sky, and some reflecting off of the water. But the briny smell of the lake does not make it a completely pleasant experience. There are also millions of brine flies hovering over everything. And even though they do not bite humans, they are an irritant. The tufa, when you look at it closely, is not very pretty. It's rough and holey and really sort of a gray or dirty brown color.

But the lake, from the highways that surround it, is very pretty in a stark way. Maybe like a jewel set in drab, rough, stone.