For those long pent in to the bustle of urbanity, there is always a desire to escape into nature. California has some of the most unique natural beauty in North America. Having little to occupy my time, I set about with a few friends and drove up to Mono Lake, passing by the snow-capped Sierra Mountains and desert landscapes along the way. There is a certain inescapable allure of sparsely populated areas where human influence is kept at margin, where the sublime quietude of nature is left unto itself – undisturbed. One example being a lone, yellow gingko tree that we spotted in a field, glowing in full autumnal splendor in front of the adjacent snow-capped Sierra mountains – just one speck of brilliant yellow contrasting the white mountains behind it.
We made it to Mono Lake by early afternoon to see one of the most surreal natural wonders. Mono Lake, is one of, if not the oldest lake in North America. As salinity is more than twice that of the ocean, no fish can survive here. The surrounding landscape is largely barren, but the its unique ecology does host numerous species of migratory fowl. Simply, this massive lake is a strange site to behold with its amorphous calcite tufas protruding from the surface.
Its a pity we couldn’t stay to camp there, as I can imagine its remote location would afford an incredible view of the night sky, possibly even more spectacular if the water surface is calm enough to reflect all the stars.