Saturday, July 5, 2008

Mono Lake


We all went to Mono Lake today and had a great time.  We had a one hour tour from a forest service guy, and the tour was good.  Kevin and Zach held up pretty well and wanted to go into the lake themselves.  Dodger also went into the lake a few times, but she didn't like that the water was salty.  Mono lake is a very unique place, 95 percent of all california sea gulls are born in an island in the middle.  Also the lake contains so much salt and alkali that no fish can live in it, in fact the only life there is brine shrimp, and alkali flies that hang out on the edges.  

In the early part of the century William Mullholland diverted the source of the lakes water to fuel Los Angeles Water demand.  Subsequently the Lake began to drop, and probably would have died had not a group of fisherman sued the city of LA and won.  In 1994 they agreed to raise back the level of the lake, and by 2014 it will be back to a good level, but still not as high as it once was.  The lake is a favorite haunt of photographers, as it looks almost otherworldly, it photographs best during magic hour in the evening.

2 comments:

Grandma Dee said...

Such an awesome place. I don't see any tufas in the pic. Looks almost like a regular lake. Yes, some of the most beautiful sunset pix around are from there. On my photo shoot classes, we went there at the end of the day and it was magical, as you say. What great memories for the boys. Kevin looks taller and older in this pic. Time flies.
Love, Grandma Dee

Sailing Vessel Serenity NOW said...

I LOVE this picture of Tasha and the boys. It looks like a beautiful watercolor painting. So glad you had such a super vacation. Love you all, Susan, Namie and Mennis