Tag: Mono Lake

Mono Lake is a striking saline lake nestled amidst the stark beauty of the Eastern Sierra Nevada in California. Known for its surreal landscape and unique ecological significance, the lake is renowned for its unusually high alkalinity and salinity, making it inhospitable to most aquatic life forms. The lake is famous for its otherworldly tufa towers, calcium carbonate formations that rise eerily from the lake’s surface, sculpted by mineral-rich springs over centuries. Mono Lake is also a vital habitat for millions of migratory birds, including gulls and shorebirds, adding to its ecological importance and allure for nature enthusiasts and photographers alike.

Bodie and Aurora rivalry continues to this day

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Two towns located in the hills above Mono Lake maintain, the Bodie and Aurora rivalry continues even now, long past their demise.  Bodie, CA and Aurora, NV boomed with the gold rush of the 1870s and busted just years later when the gold ran out and faded into history.  Miners, merchants, and people would undoubtedly moved either direction between the two cities and with good fortune would undoubtedly talk down the previous city.  Such is human nature, but why would this rivalry continue long past the demise of both towns?

The Standard Mill, Bodie, CA. Photograph by James L Rathbun
The Standard Mill, Bodie, CA. Photograph by James L Rathbun

Bodie, CA is the crown jewel of ghost towns.  Maintained in a state of arrested decay and located just 13 miles off the 395 highway outside of Bridgeport, CA, Bodie hosts over 100,000 visitors each year.  The current site has some 100 structures, flush toilets, museum, guided tours, on-site staff, a website, Facebook presence and a gift shop.  (I own two coffee mugs and three shirts)  During a visit two Bodie, I over heard two fellow visitors joking about a StarBucks coffee located near the fire station.  Bodie, justifiably is a popular place to visit, there are many people there when you visit.

Aurora, NV Photograph by James L Rathbun
Aurora, NV Photograph by James L Rathbun

By contrast, Aurora is a forgotten intersection of two roads.  The town was raised long ago for its brick, and only two structures are not lost two the bush and those are unrecognizable monuments to the towns past.  Few visitors will reach the town site of Aurora and those who do might be disappointed in what they find.  By almost any measure there is no comparison in the quality of a visit to the two towns in modern times.  So, why would there be an active effort on the part of those affiliated with Bodie to discourage visitor from driving to Aurora? Does the Bodie and Aurora rivalry continue to this day?

On a visit in June, 2016 I walked into the museum and spoke with one of the park staff / ranger to inquire about Aurora.  I told the ranger I was planning to drive to Aurora and asked “How many miles is it to Aurora?”

The Ranger replied, “I think it is about 30 miles?”

I answered, “Well, I thought it was about 9 miles, but I don’t remember the source so I could be wrong.”  I thanked him and moved on.

Perplexed a bit, I walked around the museum and studied a few exhibits.   Once of the exhibits I saw was a hand written note / map, which noted that it was 6 miles to the Nevada border and Aurora was 10 miles past that point.  I returned to the Ranger at the front desk and told him, “Apparently, we are both wrong you have a document which states it is 16 miles to Aurora.”

He replied, “Well, it can be a rough road and I heard the bridge is out.”

Again, I thanked him and walked off towards the jeep.  Rough roads do not cause much concern, and a bridge being out is a binary concern.  We can either pass or not pass and will not know until we get there.  I loaded my family into the jeep, reset the trip odometer and sent off east towards Aurora.  We followed the road and Bodie Creek North from Bodie and soon we reached a small bridge.   As we drove over the bridge, I thought to myself, “Well so much from that bridge being out…”

As we continued down Bodie Creek there was another bridge, which was indeed out but immediately the obstacle was passable via the road to the right.    The bypass simple dropped down a few feet, crossed Bodie Creek and up the other side.  Not any issue with our Jeep JK.  We continued down the road and made a right turn to climb the hill into Aurora.  We soon reach an valley covered in sage brush with a wooden structure which appeared to be a head frame.  A moment later we reached and intersection and another concrete structure which was the remains of a building.  Surely, this must the Aurora.

Everything about the small valley was screaming Aurora.  The map told me we found Aurora.  Memories from my last visit 30 years prior told me it was Aurora.  The structural remains told me we found Aurora.  Everything told me that we found Aurora, except my trip odometer.  Since my cell phone GPS is worthless with no Internet connection, the one piece of measuring equipment told me I was 5 miles off of my destination.  After lunch we headed out again and soon found ourselves in the highlands above Mono Lake in extremely rough terrain.  We finally reached mile 16 and knew that the distance measurement found in the Bodie Museum was flat out wrong and wrong in a big way!

Remains of Aurora bricks found deep in the undergrowth. Photograph by James L Rathbun
Remains of Aurora bricks found deep in the undergrowth. Photograph by James L Rathbun

We turned around and returned to the site we believed to be Aurora.  Again we checked the maps, and everything appeared to match.  We had an intersection with another road.  We had a few limited structures.  One further investigation, we began to see flattened buildings in the over growth of sage brush.  Two structures became several.  As I walked through the thigh high sage brush, I looked down and saw bricks!  Bricks are the sure sign that we found Aurora!

Photographic landscape comparison between our trip and a historical photograph.
Photographic landscape comparison between our trip and a historical photograph.  The angles are slightly different but clearly the hillside line up.

So, how do we explain the differences in the distances.   My memory, which is fallible, was 9 miles.  The Ranger told me about 30, which I believed was way off.  The map in the museum told me 16 miles, and my odometer measured 11.5.  I reset my odometer and drove back to Bodie and duplicated my initial measurement of 11.5 miles and made a mental note of the dilemma.  Why is the distance so wrong?  I am willing the accept a slight variation in the mileage measurement of the jeep.  I have 35″ tires on the 4×4 and the gears are changed to 5.13:1.  The computer was changed to reflect these modifications.  This could explain a slight variation but not 4 miles over 16 if the program parameters are not exact or correct.

When we returned to camp that night I checked the “Bodie State Historic Park” guide purchased when I arrived at Bodie and published and revised in 2010.  On page one there is a town map with a reference to Aurora at a distance of 18 miles away!!!  Great, another number for the distance between the two towns.

When I arrived home I opened up Google Earth and check my measurement for the Bodie to Aurora Trail.  This measurement from Google Earth is 12.1 miles are more or less corroborates my measurement.  So, why would California State Parks publish an erroneous value and lengthen the distance of the Road from Bodie to Aurora?  Could the fact that California “lost” Aurora to  and its revenue to Nevada when the area was surveyed in 1863 explain this behavior?   Does the Bodie and Aurora rivalry between the two towns continue?  Could it be that the mile distances site actually describe a longer route around the mountain to the north west of Aurora.  Perhaps no one from California State Parks has checked?

I prefer to think of this is the last argument in the rivalry between two lost mining towns. An underhanded slight to history. The Bodie and Aurora rivalry continues…

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Spreading Phlox ( Phlox diffusa )

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Spreading Phlox ( Phlox diffusa ) is a perennial shrub with small needle like leaves.  This is a small white flowering plant prefers alpine, sub-alpine environments and rocky or sandy soil.  This is a low growing plant which is commonly only two to eight inches tall which probably offers survival advantages when confronted with the harsh landscapes of sub-alpine and alpine environments, in which it thrives.

Photographed in the White Moundtains, Phlox diffusa is a small white flowering plant which prefers alpine and sub-alpine environments.
Photographed in the White Moundtains in California Phlox diffusa is a small white flowering plant which prefers alpine and sub-alpine environments. Photograph by James L Rathbun

Spreading Phlox is commonly found and adapted high in the mountains and distributed throughout in the western United States and Canada. This plant employs a tap route, which is ideally suited to capture water deeper under ground and also offers an anchor to help the plant cling to the mountain in high wind conditions. The plant is short, and when in full bloom, the flowers may completely obscure the green needle like leaves from view.

The five petaled flowers range in color from a clean, magnificent white to calming understated lavender or pink color.  

The blooms are typically visible from May to August and a welcome sight to those who hike at elevation.

The Green Gopher

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Growing up in the 70’s I learned and spent a lot of time camping, hiking, being outdoors and active.  Every spring summer and fall, my parents and I would load up the truck, and later the trailer and head out.  Typically preparations would start the week before departure, and the loading process would start on Thursday afternoon with my brother and I hauling all the gear into the yard, while my mom packed the vehicles.  Friday could not come soon enough and when it did, my dad would come home from work, change is clothes, wrangle up two kids, maybe a dog, adjust the mirrors, and exclaim “We’re off” as we drove out of the driveway in The Green Gopher.  For the most part, for my family nothing much has changed much from my dad.  It is however the details that matter.

In 1972, I was one year old and to celebrate my dad bought a new truck.  Details of the vehicle back then are scarce.  From my point of view, my dad previously owned a 1964 International Scout.  He drive this car for years all over the desert south west in the late 1960s.  When my dad married my mom, my mom made him sell the Scout because the breaks were horrible, and at least three times they failed completely.  It was a wise decision considering the stakes for the family at the time, but the loss of his beloved Scout was difficult and for decades despite its faults the Scout cast a long shadow in our family.

Returning to 1972, my dad decided to purchase his truck.  He chose a Sea Foam Green 1972 Ford F-100 pickup sporting a 302 inch V-8 sporting with a 3.2:1 gear ratio, two fuel tanks, and a four speed manual transmission which included a “Granny Gear”.  The extra costs of a four wheel drive were not an option for my dad at that time.  So, the truck became the “ultimate compromise”.  He opted for 2 wheel drive, but to offer improved traction he chose a four speed with granny gear.  The differential was geared up to offer improve gas mileage, but the little 200 HP V-8 could not pull a grade at any sort of highway speeds.  A camper shell, home built bed, pass-through rear window and the “green gopher” was complete for the initial incarnation.

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Eastern Sierras, Fall 2002

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The Merced River flowing through Yosemite Valley.
The Merced River flowing through Yosemite Valley.

In late October I managed to get away from the office again, and again headed to the High Sierras. It is not a difficult decision to travel to the stomping grounds of Ansel Adams, Galen Rowell, and John Muir which is located just over 250 miles from my house. My brother and I again, over packed my Jeep, and set off for the Eastern Sierras early on a Saturday morning. Just over 6 hours later, we pulled into our camping site at Silver Lake campground, in the June Lake Loop.

After a very cold nights sleep, we took a short drive up to Mono Lake to a short hike to the Mono Lake Fissures, and a little bird watching. The Mono Lake fissures are found on Black Point and just of short hike over some steep and sandy terrain. No trails to be found, but a fun adventure none the less. My brother the Field Biologist went crazy over the bird populations to be found in the inland dead sea of California. After a week listening to my brother, I must admit that I am starting to develop an appreciation for our feathered friends. Mono Lake is a wonderful place for birding, as it is a major food source, and is the breeding ground for 80 – 90% of the California Gull population depending upon whom you believe.

Monday morning found another cold morning for us. We packed up our gear, and headed for a short drive over the Tioga Pass, and into Yosemite Valley. I had visited the valley the previous year, and vowed to return quickly. My first afternoon in the valley was spent exploring the Merced River, and composing reflections of Half Dome.

After a noisy nights sleep, we began our days activities. On the short list we wanted to visit the Mariposa Grove, and Glacier Point. The Mariposa Grove is a ‘small’ grove of Giant California Redwood trees. Small is a relative term, when you are describing the largest living things on the planet, but I personally was expecting huge numbers of these large trees. The scale of these trees is just amazing, and to compare them to any other thing, does not do them justice. After a quick 4 miles hike among the Giants, we drove to Glacier Point for the late afternoon light.

Glacier Point could quite frankly summarize the image of Yosemite. On on high granite pedestal, Glacier Point projects into the middle of the valley, and from a single location, one can see Yosemite Falls, Vernal Falls, Nevada Falls, North Dome, and of coarse the ever noble Half Dome. I knew what to expect when we pulled into the parking lot and took the short hike to the point, but to describe this place with words would be pointless for me. I choose to narrative this place 1000 words at a time. As the sun dropped, along with the temperature, the light on the Half Dome, yellowed and warmed the timeless granite. Just after sun down, the view of Hale Dome took a magnificent metamorphosis. The sun light shown turn the length of Yosemite Valley, through the narrow valley door and shown a wonderful pink alpen glow against the pastel blue sky!

The next day, we took a bit of a hiatus, and just wondered around the valley floor. A quick stop at the Visitor Center, and store accompanied a walk down the Merced River towards Mirror Lake.

Our time in the Yosemite Valley was unfortunately over, we headed back over Tioga Pass, and met up with a friend on Convict Lake just South of Mammoth Mountain. A small lake nestled in the glacier carved val lies of the sierra, Convict lake is a prime location for fishing, and my brother quickly caught three trout just feet from our campsite. We headed towards Mammoth to pick up much needed supplies.

We we started the next day, our newly enlarged party headed towards the Minaret Wilderness, Devil’s Postpile National Monument, and the San Joaquin river valley. On our daily hike, we jumped into the Ansel Adams Wilderness and dropped over to Rainbow Falls.

On our final full day, we again drove to Mono Lake as part of our show and tell to my friend. We spent the afternoon soaking in the Hot Springs just south of Mammoth.

** I took over 7 rolls of film on this trip. Unfortunately, during development the lab destroyed all of the images that I worked so hard to capture. I have only memories of this wonderful trip, and my galleries will not grow. **