We stopped at Olmstead Point (elevation 8400 feet) to check out the scenery, on our first stop to Tuolumne Meadows. From here, you can see Cloud's Rest and the backside of Half Dome, 2 of Yosemite's major hiking spots. The view was incredible! We spotted a Yellow-Bellied Marmot running to and fro amongst the boulders. I couldn't get a picture of him, as the critter was too fast - lol. From what I hear, Olmstead Point is prime marmot country.
The next stop was Tenaya Lake. This place was beautiful. Located 7 miles west of Tuolumne Meadows, it is a large, clear, blue lake, surrounded by granite domes. The lake is named after Chief Tenaya, who argued that the lake already had a name...Pie-we-ack, or Land of The Shining Rocks. It is a great place to stop and fish, take in the scenery, or have a picnic.
We finally reached Tuolumne Meadows (elevation around 8600 feet) in the early afternoon. And lucky us, Tuolumne Meadows Campground was open and there were spaces available. We snatched up a site for 2 nights, and set up camp. Lucky for us, this was the first night that the campground was open! The weather was beautiful...clear, blue skies, and nice and warm in the daytime, though it got to be quite chilly at night.
On the first day, we set off to explore the Tuolumne River trail. This trail was relatively easy, yet, the high altitude makes breathing a bit harder, so frequest rest stops were needed. The trail was full of trees and lush greenery. Nearer to the river, many small streams creaked their way through the terrain, making maneuvering a little more difficult, unless you wanted to get your feet wet - lol. A test of balance came when we had to cross a log to get to the other side of a bigger stream. And yes, I passed the test, crossing the log without falling in (lol). We finally made it to the river, after many mosquito bites ( I think I had over 10 bites on this trip, even with using repellant!). The river was wide, the water was cold, and the current was swift. We stopped and sat by the river's edge and, of course, I took pictures. Several people had ventured down to the river. Some were fishermen, and others, sight-seers like us.
After the river trail, we decided to check out Tuolumne Meadows. If you have never been there, I suggest you go! The meadows are beautiful. They are green and vast, surrounded by granite domes, and various streams run through them, making them a prime wildlife viewing area. We saw some Belding's Ground Squirrels and some deer drinking out in the streams, as well as many different birds. It is a lovely place to sit and watch the sun set or to just relax.
The next day, we set off early to go to Mono Lake and Bodie State Historic Park. It was quite a drive to Mono Lake, which is located near the town of Lee Vining, CA. This town was named after Leroy Vining, who founded the town in 1852 as a mining camp. Unluckily, his life came to an end when he accidentally shot himself (talk about your bad luck!). Originally, the town was to be named Lake View, but this name was already taken, so the name Lee Vining was used instead.
Mono Lake (elevation 6461 feet) is very unique. It is a large salt lake. In fact, the lake is 3 times as salty as the sea. It is a resort of sorts for various birds, including osprey and sea gulls. It was kind of odd to travel inland and smell the ocean smell and see sea gulls flying overhead. The lake is not particularly suitable for swimming, although you can swim in it. It is very salty, smelly, and there are vast amounts of brine flies along the shores. From what I have read, it is an interesting experience to swim in the water, as the large amounts of salt make you very buoyant. The average depth is around 50 feet, but it can reach up to 150 feet deep in places. There are no fish in the lake. The only creatures that can survive in the lake's alkaline water are brine shrimp, which are found in abundance.
The lake has some of the most unusual geological features, including the famous Tufa Towers. These towers are formed out of calcium carbonate, and they extend out of the surface of the lake. They are formed by the action of the freshwater streams on the lake's alkaline waters. As the area was formerly volcanically active, there are large amounts of metamorphic rock, including obsidian, pumice and rhyolite.
The next stop on the trip was to Bodie State Historic Park, elevation 8375 feet, located about 31 miles from Lee Vining, CA. The drive is pretty good, but the last 3 miles are accessible only by way of a dirt road. The sign says "very rough road," but I found it to be, well, not so rough. This park is actually the remains of an old ghost town from the late 1800's. The town was named after William Bodey who discovered gold there in 1859. Unfortunately, he died that winter, freezing to death in a snow storm, and never got to see the town take on his name (There are varied accounts to why the town's name is spelled differently from its namesake. One account says that the misspelling was attributed to an illiterate sign painter. Another account says that the sign painter didn't have enough room on the sign for the tail on the lower case "y." Another states that the "misspelling" was actually deliberate to ensure proper pronunciation). A mill was built in 1861 and the town grew from there. At its peak in 1879, the town's population was around 10,000 people. With the numerous saloons and brothels, the town gained a bad reputation as an outlaw town. With so much violence, it would be easy to say that the undertaker was probably the busiest man in town. After the gold strikes began to decline in the 1880's, the town also declined, and people began to leave. Nowadays, you can visit here and see all that is left of this once thriving mining town. All that you have to do is drive there and pay the $3 entrance fee. There is also a museum and a small gift shop in the park, but no other services, except for water fountains and bathrooms, and in the true spirit of the town, they are just outhouses - no flush toilets in the park.
After we did all of our sight-seeing in Bodie, we drove back to camp, stopping in the Tuolumne Meadows once again to relax. Back at camp, we started a campfire, which was nice since it was chilly (well it was to me! lol). Just before dark, we heard someone yell, "Bear!" At first, I thought it was someone calling their dog, as the voice sounded pretty calm. But after a few more excited shouts of "Bear!" I realized that it was not a dog they were calling for, for no more than 200 feet from me in the distance, I saw a bear coming toward our campsite! I ran to grab my camera out of my car, but it was too dark and the bear was too far away to get his/her picture. I was bummed that the picture didn't come out. The bear seemed to have no interest in us humans. It was probably just looking around to see if any of the stupid humans had left any food out - lol. Luckily for us, we had all of our stuff safely stowed away in the bear box. The people clapped at it, and shouted at it to make it leave. After a few minutes of roaming, the bear decided it didn't want anymore harassment by the people, and it ran off into the woods. It was quite a sight to see.
Sunday morning, we packed up camp and drove back to Bakersfield, stopping in Oakhurst, CA for some Taco Bell (those Crunch Wrap Supremes are yummy!), and somewhere around 3 pm, we arrived back in town, smelly from mosquito repellant and sunblock, and dying for a shower!
I don't think I am going anywhere this upcoming weekend, but Chris wants to check out Devil's Postpile in a few weeks. I will keep you posted.
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