The Other Cali II~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS

(click/tap to enlarge)

Mono Lake in California,

is a pristine,

paradise,

in winter.

There is no one here,

but the lake,

the tufas,

and you!

Tufas are delicate limestone structures formed over thousands of years,

by the interaction of fresh and alkaline water.

Cheers to you from Mono Lake in the winter~

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248 thoughts on “The Other Cali II~”

    1. In the wake of such chaos and catastrophic changes, the calmness of such visual culture is rebirth in rebirth in the Pure Land. Thanks for sharing presence of Paradise !

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  12. This is a delight Cindy. Those Tufas with the white and the mountains and snow as a backdrop ‘belong’. They just stand out and speak. In fact those individual spires you can almost see shapes in them. Great catch kind lady, thank you for sharing 🤗❤️🙏

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    1. Thank you Mark. It is a land of such contrasts, as you mention. The Mono Basin is high desert, The Sierras and White mountains surround you, and the lake itself is the preternatural silent mirror. I love the place ⸙🏞

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    1. So relate! We are talking about flying in next year, although the drive, after you get through LA is pretty spectacular. Someday I have to stop and photograph the town of Red Mountain. We are always dead-heading it ⸙🏞

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      1. Oh I used to read stories about mustangs as a child. I was amazed to discover that horses were not native to the Americas but brought over by the European “settlers”.

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        1. Yes. The Spanish initially brought them, in the late 1400’s and early 1500’s first to Mexico, and then The British, French and other Europeans brought more to the west and east coasts. They started to escape in Mexico, creating the first feral herds, and escapes continued over time. Wild horses and burros are mistreated by Bureau of Land Management helicopter and other culling practices except in Mono Lake where mountain lion predation keeps the herds in balance with nature. It is a quite special isolated place, in the White Mountains where Ancient Bristlecone Pines, the oldest organisms on earth, live unmolested with the feral herd:

          https://cindyknoke.com/tag/ancient-bristlecone-pines/

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          1. I think the wild horses in Australia get culled too. As an animal lover I think that’s terrible. I love the idea of them roaming free. If mountain lions eat them I guess that’s OK better than being shot (badly) from a helicopter.

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  32. To live to be almost 80 and never hear of Mono Lake and the Tufas shows a remarkable lack of American geography taught in my Texas educational system. We dedicated an inordinate amount of time to the Big Bend country in our classrooms but nothing as interesting as your California Tufas. Thanks so much for this fascinating piece, Cindy!

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  35. Dear Cindy
    Thanks a lot for taking us there. We love this clear water and this landscape. Well photographed 👍 👍
    Wishing you a wonderful weekend
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Reply

    1. Sadly, no. The lake is still shrinking due to Los Angeles continuing to siphon off too much water. It is currently 8.2 feet below state mandated water level. Efforts to protect the lake are failing ⸙🏞

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    1. Yes! You may have noticed the fault uplift. The Mono Lake Fault runs through the basin, part of a larger fault called The Walker Fault. The Mono basin itself is part of the Long Valley Caldera, formed by the eruption of a giant super volcano about 760,000 years ago ⸙🏞

      Reply
  48. Anonymous

    Wow that’s beautiful and to find a place where no one is.. hat a gift, I love to just listen to how nature sounds when no other sounds are around.

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    1. Wonderful. Try to visit in winter to have the place to yourself, but it can be tricky depending on road conditions. Just don’t drive in during a blizzard! ⸙🏞

      Reply

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