November 5, 2015

     I arrived in Lee Vining (at the edge of Mono Lake on highway 395) late afternoon yesterday.  After stopping in at the local visitor’s center, I proceeded to find a place to set up camp for the next two nights.  Finding a spot with great views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains proved to very easy just south of the lake.  This morning I woke up to a frozen pipe leading from my water tank so cranked the heat and opened utility panels to heat up the pipes.  I had planned on going to the south beach of Mono Lake to try and capture the mornings glow over the Tufas, but I wanted to get the pipe thawed out so it would not cause any damage.  I opted to snap a few photos of just outside my RV of the sun kissed Sierras.  Soon after sunrise the dense fog and clouds rolled in slowing down the power generation of my solar panels charging my battery system.  Can’t afford cloudy days when the days are short for charging the system. Storm loved the down time opportunity to chase the ball around for an hour.    As noon approached, I finally had thawed pipes and the clouds went away so off to exploring the area with Storm.

     The day cleared up and we were treated to a warm and calm afternoon.   Although the midday sun was lower in the sky there were still some strong shadows making for not the best of photo opportunities.  As the day was shortening, we ventured up the North entrance of the June Lake loop.  I was happy to find some still colorful groves and trees along Rush Creek.  As the light was fading I came across Silver Lake and set up for the sunset shot over the lake.  What I really enjoy about my travels are people you meet.  As I was set up for the coming sunset, I struck up a conversation with a gentleman who was shore fishing with his family.  Jared and his family come up to that particular area several times a year from their home in southern California.  We talked briefly of the journey I was on and he mentioned that they had been wanting to do a family portrait up in that area for a Christmas card.  I offered to give them a nice family memory.  They were fun to photograph and such a great family.