Those Tufa formations look pretty cool! The Grave of the Unknown Prospector is a nice way to honor all of the prospectors who passed away. Always good ending an adventurous day with some soft serve ice cream. Thank you Randy for sharing this bonus footage with us!
We went there several years ago when we were camping at June Lake. It was hot on our visit too and our old Lab Lexie didn’t understand why I wouldn’t let her swim - way too salty! No place to rinse her off, so we let her go in June Lake when we got back to camp. I would like to kayak in Mono Lake - such cool geology! There is also a dry lake bed with remaining tufa spires further south of here - Trona Pinnacles. We camped there too. Safe travels Randy & Julie!
Fun video Randy! Glad you made the time to stop. Mono Lake is very unique and the tufa formations are quite beautiful. I was fortunate to have visited during a 15th anniversary trip a few years ago. We spent about half day visiting Mono Lake and town of Lee Vining before heading into Yosemite. I recall a pretty good lunch spot called the Whoa Nellie Deli. You are braver than me. I didn’t dare swim as we would be camping the next five days and didn’t have anything to rinse off.
Love the view coming down the mountain south from reno. Im a truck driver and every time Id come that way I'd pull over on the dirt/gravel turn out near the top. The view of that whole valley and lake is spectacular for just a roadside view.
Not a big Fan of Tofu but Tufa is pretty interesting...Thanks for another great video. There was a 45 acre field of Cosmo flowers near me until the frost got it earlier this week! It was amazing.
nice job getting the pronunciation right! we love Mono and often stop under similar circumstances... a little time left at the end of a trip why not stop there and enjoy the sights... good job getting into the water not many swim there wow!! beautiful scenes, love Mono lake.. /side note part of what is draining the Lake is LA/ they have agreements to not draw the lake below a certain level but when drought happens, they pull it anyway. That is how the tufas got exposed as you probably noted, LA taking all the water... Kind of an odd 50-50 though// because LA takes so much of the water from the entire valley, it can not be developed into massive suburbs// LA's water thievery has a side benefit of keeping this area rural and under populated, there is no water to support a large population... an odd silver lining... Great video thanks for taking us along!
@@AmericasParks glad you enjoy that/ yeah water wars over owens valley were a big deal.. Mono lake was a big figure in all of that too.. the movie Chinatown has some info too i need to watch that again... LADWP has a tremendous reach
The city of Las Angeles takes most of the melt water... Las Angeles water and power collects the water before it enters the lake and sends it all the way to LA
Bet you that was crazy seeing the shrimp out there swimming around! We have a mountain in the middle of Atlanta called Stone Mountain It's a gigantic granite rock protruding out of the ground No other mountains around it and on top of it you can find brine shrimp It's crazy to see!
Thanks for another great video! I visited Mono Lake a year ago on a rainy day. I love this uniquely weird ecosystem, and I was able to video a fascinating animal behavior. Birds called Wilson's Phalaropes swim in tight circles to create a vortex in the water to corral the brine shrimp that they feed on. Check it out.
Another very interesting fact about Mono Lake is that 90% of California Seagulls are born there. I've been there many times, and sunset is pretty amazing there. I heard the same thing for sunrise, but i'm not really a super early riser, unfortunately. Super cool place to visit! Nice that you guys went!
Yes indeed! Remember Lot's wife. I remember going to the Mono Lake visitor center in 2009-and it was SUPER windy. As in hearing creaks and shaking in that well constructed building. Love that area! @@AmericasParks
Hi Randy. Seeing you swim reminded me of when we went to the Dead Sea 4 or 5 years ago. The water there is so salty that you float like a cork and can't sink even if you want to. A quick internet search says that the Dead Sea is 34% salt, or about 10 times the saltiness of the ocean. I've driven by Mono Lake, but not visited the lake or the trails. I recall it as very scenic and quite unusual.
Mono Lake: The very setting where "Cinderella" shot their MTV music video for their huge 1988 hit power ballad, "Don't Know What You Got ('Till It's Gone)."
Shout-out to the Mono Lake Committee which took the LA Department of Water and Power to court to reduce water diversions to LA and and won, keeping Mono Lake from becoming a cess pool.
I need to start telling people my weight in brine shrimp from now on. Wow, the spires at this lake are very interesting! Wow, it's crazy how much water has been lost in that area. You wouldn't be Randy without a dip in the water! Good for you! God is the only one who knows us before, during and after our passing - that's for sure!
Nice job bud. I'm actually driving by there on Monday. Planning on bringing my gear to shoot something while up the amazing 395. We loved our stop here back in 2020. Make sure to check out my 2 latest Utah clips when you can!
Thank you Randy and Julie, it's always a blessing to see your excellent videos. Your narration with park details is greatly appreciated. No matter what adventure you're on, I know you'll always find time for a swim and ice cream. Wishing you both a lovely and blessed Sunday... Robin 🙏😊
