Friday,October
24.
We
stayed Thursday night at the Shamrock RV Park in Reno, NV. Linda did laundry and I blogged and cleaned
the trailer some and walked the dog.
You can start to see our division of responsibilities. Then later we drove down Virginia Street
into downtown Reno.
We
walked along Virginia Street and went in a few casinos to see what the
restaurants were serving then picked one.
We went to the Cal-Neva. I had
salmon and rice and Linda had steak and lobster. Then we played a few games of Keno and lost a few dollars.
I
like Reno. We were here once before,
about 40 years ago. It has grown,
sprawled really. It used to be just a
little gambling mecca but I guess they have more industries here now along with
improved highways. But you still get
the intimate feel of the little city walking downtown. You can go from one casino to the next in a
short distance. They still have the old
famous Reno sign across the street and a new one too. See the pictures.
We
left this morning heading south on U.S. 395 to Yosemite National Park. There’s a 6-lane highway linking Reno and
Carson City. I remember Carson City as
being a little town with a few casinos and a historical district downtown that
showcased their western and gold prospecting past. It has its own sprawl now with the typical fast food businesses,
etc. That pained me just a little. I liked it better as I remembered it.
We’re
camped tonight in a Forest Service Campground just west of Lee Vining, Ca. on
Highway 120, about 10 miles from Yosemite East Entrance. We’ll go into the park tomorrow.
As
we climbed the last mountain pass to Lee Vining, we came upon a scene of a
great big lake with islands and white material around the water’s edge that we
couldn’t make out. One of the pictures
shows that high view. When we got down
the mountain we turned into a pullout and walked out to the water. It turns out this is something pretty
phenomemal. This is Mono Lake. It is in the western most geographic basin
against the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Mountain
streams from melting snow flow into Mono Lake but nothing flows out. Evaporation maintains lake level. But because no water flows out the lake
gains minerals and salt and so it is a brine lake. The salinity is 3 times ocean water. There are no fish in it but there are brine shrimp and brine
flies. Migrating birds feed on both of
these so Mono is a feeding stopover for them on the migrations. I don’t think Mono is the only brine lake
formed this way. Somebody might look it
up and comment on that. I’m wondering
if the Salton Sea in California isn’t the same.
The
white around the lake is calcium carbonate formations. They are formed in the water and exposed
when the lake level is low.
New Reno Sign on Virginia Street
New Reno Sign on Virginia Street
Old Reno Sign a couple of blocks off Virginia Street
Mono Lake from a distance and elevation
Mono Lake and its Tufa
Mono Lake Sign
Mono Lake and Tufa
Interesting. I've never heard of Mono Lake either.
ReplyDeleteDoes Mono lake have a smell?
ReplyDelete