Mono Lake and clouds~SkyWatch Friday~062013

As we were driving back from Bodie State Park the other day, we both noticed these clouds over Mono Lake.  The thunderheads over Bodie had blown apart and had settled here.  We always enjoy the weather up in the Sierra and, as some of you know, it can change in a few minutes.  No, it didn't rain, but it made for an interesting sky watch!  SkyWatch Friday for June 20, 2013.  To visit SWF, please go to:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/

More of Bodie state park

More photos from Bodie state park.  It really is a photographer's dream to go there!

Bodie

Yesterday afternoon hubby and I decided it would be a good day to visit Bodie state park.  Bodie is an old, abandoned mining town, which the inhabitants finally left after the 3rd time it burned down.  There are, however, some remarkable buildings which are still standing, including the church, school, firehouse (ha!), hotel, post office, and lots of homes.  And, yes, their outhouses are still there (covered over with wooden planks).  It was very cold and windy up there yesterday and it wasn't very crowded, so hubby and I were able to get photos without people in the way.  Hooray!  Bodie is 13 miles off Highway 395 and the last 4 miles are a very rough, dusty, and bumpy dirt road, so be prepared!  These are just a few of the photos I took yesterday at Bodie.

Had a few visitors yesterday

It all started at 5:30 a.m., right after I put some birdseed with corn kernels out on the porch railing.  I looked out and saw something large and brown moving around.  At first I thought it was a bobcat because of the coloration, but then I saw its snout.  It was a coyote.  The coyote was eating all the corn!  It was too dark to get any photos and it quickly moved on (thank goodness).  There are two large neighborhood dogs near here and they come visiting to our doorstep every morning.  Then a woodpecker showed up.  I finally got some photos of it that afternoon.  Then, my little squirrel friend appeared.  He/she is out there now going through the birdseed.  I already threw out about 15 peanuts for the blue jays, and they were gone in less than 5 minutes!  The raccoon even showed up last night about 8 p.m. while we were watching TV.  She just saunters up onto the porch and scavenges for whatever the birds leave behind.  I was kind of surprised to see her because all the other cabins are occupied down below and there were a few people outside.

This morning, the blue jays are out, the squirrels are out, and the woodpecker has come and gone.  And, yes, the neighborhood dog came by for her morning scratch and some lovin'.  She's a very friendly dog and we saw her here last summer, too.

Anyway, here are some photos of our new-found friends.

The June Lake loop

If you detour off Highway 395 and take the June Lake loop, you are in for a delightful surprise.  June Lake is the small town there.  It's so small that there is only one market and NO bank.  They have a tiny library and a wonderful thrift store, which I discovered on Saturday.  I bought pullovers and jackets for $2.00 and $3.00 each and some head gear for $1.00 each.

There are four lakes along the June Lake loop:  June Lake, Gull Lake, Silver Lake, and Grant Lake.  All of these lakes are stocked with fish in May, at the beginning of the fishing season and people come up here all summer to fish.  Hubby and I don't fish, but we love to take photographs in this area and spend a week here in June or August.

So, while hubby was taking his afternoon nap yesterday, I headed out with the XTerra to take some photos of Silver Lake.  Silver Lake doesn't allow big boats on it and many fishermen rent a boat for the day at the boat rental there.  I found some gentlemen fishing from rubber boats yesterday afternoon.  They were out there just enjoying the sun, the weather, and getting some fish....what a great way to spend the day!  Anyway, here are some photos of June Lake, Silver Lake, and Grant Lake.

Sunset in the Sierras~Sunday Stills Challenge~061613

There weren't any thunderheads to the west as we drove home from Mono Lake yesterday afternoon.  They were all to the east and had scattered by the time we headed back to the cabin.  However, I did catch the sun setting behind one of the peaks of the Sierras.  Sunday Stills Challenge for June 16, 2013.

Mono Lake

So, we're up in the Sierras for a few days and having a nice break from our 100+ desert temps!  It was 44 degrees up here near June Lake Friday night, but last night was much colder due to the wind moving.  We threw an extra blanket on the bed and were nice and toasty!  Yesterday afternoon we wanted to drive down to Mammoth Lakes and buy gasoline and groceries and when we did, we noticed thunderheads building up over the desert.  So, off we went to Mono Lake.  You really need some clouds in the background (I believe...) to get better pics of the lake.  They just add another whole dimension to the place.  We got there about 5:00 p.m. and stayed for about an hour and a half.  If you drive to Mono Lake, be sure you visit the SOUTH tufa exit.  The north one doesn't have these tall limestone towers.