I woke up around dawn so I could get a couple of more shots of early morning lighting of the canyon walls, and even seeing a coyote running around the meadows near Yosemite Falls, and then headed up through Tioga Road towards Tuolumne Meadows to check out some of the amazing scenery that I heard rivals the valley itself. Suffice to say, I was not disappointed in the least when I saw sprawling fields of wildflowers that were miles long and pools of crystal water reflecting a painter's pad of colors from the mountains and skies. I stopped at several of the lakes and meadows areas and always felt that I could stay at each spot for the entire day. Alas, I am pretty limited in time and had to accept the limited exposure.
After a quick breakfast at the Tuolumne wilderness center, and listening to a lot of the animated stories from the gathered climbers and hikers, I headed my way of of the park towards the next destination. The
Devil's Postpile National Park that was right next to the famous skiing resort of Mammoth Mountain. In order to get to it, one has to take a shuttle bus because the road simply is not large enough to really carry much traffic. The driver was a wonderful source of knowledge and spent the whole time telling us of the history of the area and stories of the early explorers and protectors. The formations themselves were simply unique hexagonal-shaped balsatic columns that were crafted as the mountain range was being violently born. The columns from the top looked like an old style tile floor with nearly perfect, though weathered, shapes. I then headed towards
Rainbow Falls. The trail lead through a devastated area that was severely damaged by fire over a decade ago and still bears numerous scars. While the trail itself was a bit eerie, the prize was worth it. Like many names, even if unoriginal, would suggest, Rainbow Falls certainly lived up to expectations. The rainbow colors were quite vibrant with the overhead sunlight and the cool mist made the lack of tree cover considerably more bearable. After cooling off in the natural air conditioning of the basin area, I headed back up the trail to catch the bus back to the main parking area at Mammoth Mountains. I only stopped long enough for a bit of food before heading to Mono Lake State Park.
Mono Lake is a quite geologically unique in that it is a salt water lake in the High Sierras and is next to a volcanic crater named Panum that lies just a few miles away. Mono Lake is home to thousands of coastal sea gulls that (about 80% of the state's population each year) fly hundreds of miles to nest and feed in this environment. The lake gets it's salinity content due to the thermal vents that line the lake floor. As water is pushed up, mineral (such as calcium carbonate) deposits pile up into tubular formations. The water is much more dens that even typical seawater making swimming quite a challenge, though I didn't have time to really check it out. I really enjoyed walking through the nature trails that snaked among the formations right up to the shoreline. There were tens of thousands of alkali flies along the trail that covered the ground in a black mass that transformed into a strange visual as one walked through them. I was really impressed with the visuals and sounds at this site and was really glad that I was able to visit.
After the lake visit I drove over to the crater before it got dark and walked around the rim and dome areas of this dead volcano. The sweeping views of the plains going off into the fence of mountains was almost as alluring as the geologic history of the crater. As I headed out, I made an impromptu stop at an old house on the side of the road that was in the middle of nowhere. This thing did not look like it was inhabited for decades and was to me a little time capsule.
The house was really torn up inside with furniture, appliances, and various items scattered the broken floors and walls. I could not help but wonder who might have lived here and what would have brought them to this site as a residence. After checking out some of the shops of the small town of Lee Vining, I drove close to the state park boundaries of the old ghost town of Bodie.
I woke up around dawn so I could get a couple of more shots of early morning lighting of the canyon walls, and even seeing a coyote running around the meadows near Yosemite Falls, and then headed up through Tioga Road towards Tuolumne Meadows to check out some of the amazing scenery that I heard rivals the valley itself. Suffice to say, I was not disappointed in the least when I saw sprawling fields of wildflowers that were miles long and pools of crystal water reflecting a painter's pad of colors from the mountains and skies. I stopped at several of the lakes and meadows areas and always felt that I could stay at each spot for the entire day. Alas, I am pretty limited in time and had to accept the limited exposure.
After a quick breakfast at the Tuolumne wilderness center, and listening to a lot of the animated stories from the gathered climbers and hikers, I headed my way of of the park towards the next destination. The 
Devil's Postpile National Park that was right next to the famous skiing resort of Mammoth Mountain. In order to get to it, one has to take a shuttle bus because the road simply is not large enough to really carry much traffic. The driver was a wonderful source of knowledge and spent the whole time telling us of the history of the area and stories of the early explorers and protectors. The formations themselves were simply unique hexagonal-shaped balsatic columns that were crafted as the mountain range was being violently born. The columns from the top looked like an old style tile floor with nearly perfect, though weathered, shapes. I then headed towards 
Rainbow Falls. The trail lead through a devastated area that was severely damaged by fire over a decade ago and still bears numerous scars. While the trail itself was a bit eerie, the prize was worth it. Like many names, even if unoriginal, would suggest, Rainbow Falls certainly lived up to expectations. The rainbow colors were quite vibrant with the overhead sunlight and the cool mist made the lack of tree cover considerably more bearable. After cooling off in the natural air conditioning of the basin area, I headed back up the trail to catch the bus back to the main parking area at Mammoth Mountains. I only stopped long enough for a bit of food before heading to Mono Lake State Park.
Mono Lake is a quite geologically unique in that it is a salt water lake in the High Sierras and is next to a volcanic crater named Panum that lies just a few miles away. Mono Lake is home to thousands of coastal sea gulls that (about 80% of the state's population each year) fly hundreds of miles to nest and feed in this environment. The lake gets it's salinity content due to the thermal vents that line the lake floor. As water is pushed up, mineral (such as calcium carbonate) deposits pile up into tubular formations. The water is much more dens that even typical seawater making swimming quite a challenge, though I didn't have time to really check it out. I really enjoyed walking through the nature trails that snaked among the formations right up to the shoreline. There were tens of thousands of alkali flies along the trail that covered the ground in a black mass that transformed into a strange visual as one walked through them. I was really impressed with the visuals and sounds at this site and was really glad that I was able to visit. 
After the lake visit I drove over to the crater before it got dark and walked around the rim and dome areas of this dead volcano. The sweeping views of the plains going off into the fence of mountains was almost as alluring as the geologic history of the crater. As I headed out, I made an impromptu stop at an old house on the side of the road that was in the middle of nowhere. This thing did not look like it was inhabited for decades and was to me a little time capsule. 
The house was really torn up inside with furniture, appliances, and various items scattered the broken floors and walls. I could not help but wonder who might have lived here and what would have brought them to this site as a residence. After checking out some of the shops of the small town of Lee Vining, I drove close to the state park boundaries of the old ghost town of Bodie.
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