We've already started our summer trip but never posted anything else for our May Nevada trip soooo..
MONO LAKE, CALIFORNIA
This was an unexpected stop...did not realize how much there was to see and do...but we tried to fit them all in. Bodie, The Mill Town, a couple of kayak lakes, Tioga Pass, Mono Lake Tuffas, the largest Jeffery Pine forest in the world, an obsidian volcano and a mountain side of pumice.
Kim has always wanted to see the best preserved (and largest) ghost town in America, Bodie. So, we parked the coach at the Mono Lake Visitor's Center, unhooked our pickup and took a ride waaaay back into the hills to see Bodie.
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| Large stamp mill operation in the distance, of which there were several. They "stamped" the ore 24 hours a day. Can you imagine the noise? |
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| The majority of the buildings are gone, over 85%. |
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| So many of the building still have items left in them. It's as it they were abducted by aliens !! |
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| You can see that the town is allowed to "disappear" on its own without interference. |
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| Almost ready to fall but someone has propped it up. |
Then, we decided to take a day trip with the car, just to explore and found the Mill that made the wood for all the construction at Bodie!
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| This is what the mill looked like. They would slide the trees down to the valley then up to get cut and the train would take them to Bodie. |
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| This is what the valley looks like today...all that's left is some old wood. |
We also found out that the largest Jeffery Pine forest in the world is located right here so we drove into it a ways, had some lunch and just enjoyed the gentle breeze flowing through the pine needles.
Of course, we both enjoyed it in our own ways!
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| I'm not a tree-hugger but I couldn't resist this one. |
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| Kim is totally at peace with the forest. |
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| Here's just one of the views looking west towards the Sierra Mountains. |
Hope you enjoyed tis one...we'll do more in a few days.
steve/kim/katie
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| ...looking forward to visiting the Bodie... |
