A Few Photos From Our Last Trip

The first two pictures are of Mono Lake. It's significant for political and environmental reasons. In 1941 the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) began diverting water from all the tributaries that fed water into the lake. The diverted water went 350 miles south to feed the growing water needs of Los Angeles.

The lake very quickly began to dry up. By 1995 the lake level was 40 vertical feet below it's historic level. Islands were now connected to the shoreline so predators could come across to feast on nesting birds and their babies.

A committee was formed in 1978 to restore the lake, but it took until 1994 for the group to prevail in court. Since then the lake level has been steadily coming back. The islands are once again cut off from the shore. It will never come back to the 1941 level but it will once again become a healthy body of water. Sadly, the person who started the group to save the lake was killed by a drunk driver six years before the court decision. The group continued, despite the huge loss.

The bullet hole is in the window of the lodge where we stayed in Lee Vining which is on the shore of Mono Lake. The lodge has been there for quite a while so we read some of the earlier comments from people who stayed in the room. The bullet hole has been there a long time. No explanation as to how it got there.

The bottom picture is of Icelandic Poppies outside a coffee place in Lee Vining. I'm going to try to grow them next winter. They really can't handle our summer heat but they can grow in the cooler months.

That's all for now. My sister is here and we are having a great time. Shopping and eating have consumed most of our time. Tomorrow we go to look at cats and perhaps come home with some four-legged creatures.