Mono Lake and the tufa towers

To me, that almost sounds like something exotic somewhere in Africa… but it’s not!

Mono Lake is right here in California on the other side of the Sierra, right by Yosemite National Park near the town of Lee Vining. I’ve been there four times, I believe. The first time, however, was just incredible. I had never seen anything like it, and I was just amazed. I stumbled upon it by chance, and I couldn’t help but think it was my first and last time there. I always feel that way about places I really want to see again. I don’t know why.

But fortunately for me there was a second time and a third time and even a fourth time. The second time was with my then-best friend who was visiting from Belgium. He was really stunned too. The third time should never have happened. Let me explain.

I used to work at night and could never fall asleep when I’d get home, so I told my wife (then  girlfriend) that we should leave and go somewhere. I hadn’t slept in over a day and had worked a full shift, but I still felt like doing something out of the ordinary. We drove all the way to Mono Lake from San Francisco and back. That was the only time in my life where I felt like I might actual;y have fallen asleep at the wheel. Young and stupid. 🙂

The fourth time was in the summer of 2012 with my cousins and my aunt who were visiting from Switzerland. That time, I made a point of going in the evening and in the morning so we’d get both kinds of sceneries.

Mono Lake is special because its unusual rocks formations -the tufa towers. It’s extremely hard to understand, but I’ll let the pros tell you all about it right here. Mono Lake is now super protected because the water level is lower and lower every year due to natural and unnatural causes.