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South shore of Mono Lake and tufa deposits |
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After viewing the tufa deposits, we took
CSR-120 east and saw some amazing landscape on the other side
of Mono
Craters. There's quite a forest back there, growing out
of gray pumice ash. We made our way over to 395 via Indian
Summit Road (1S06) and Logging Camp Road (1S05), a dirt road
that runs from south of Mono Mills back to US-395. It was
soft in some spots. We reached US-395 at Glass Flow Road which
goes up Glass Creek. We followed that road west to the Obsidian
Dome pumice deposits. Care must be taken while climbing. The
rocks are very sharp, and cell phones don't work!
We then went to the Hot Creek Geologic Site
in an attempt to see an underwater fumarole "up close
and personal" with a mask and snorkel. Hot Creek, which
is near the Mammoth Lakes Airport past Hot Creek fish hatchery,
lives up to its name. It's a very unstable and unpredictable
area. The fumarole was covered by creek sediments this year
and not as dramatic as it was in 2004. The site is a little
crowded on weekends but still worth a visit. Take a dip with
care -- the hot waters swirl around a bit and sometimes need
to be dodged. Be advised that volcanic activity in the region
is inevitable and could either shut it all down or pump up
the action -- especially the poisonous gases. Additional
information about Hot Creek is available here.
We proceeded south down US-395 to just south
of Sherwin Summit to another well-placed pullout. I call
it the "Range
of Light" scenic point overlook. It has a similar
view of the Sierras as the famous Ansel Adams photo. It's
also close to the end of the Bishop Tuff Formation, a huge
flow of hot ash frozen in action. We tried to make it to Bishop
in time for really yummy chili cheese bread, but got there
too late for Schat's
Bakery, another recommended culinary experience:
We were getting road weary and decided to start looking
for a campsite. I like Keough's
Hot Springs, but the pool was closed for the night. We
wound up driving down a dirt road and parking in a wooded
box canyon tucked up against the foothills just south of Keough's
Hot Springs.
Next morning, we blasted south on US-395.
We passed through Independence, site of one
of California's strongest and deadliest earthquakes. Then
we zipped by Manzanar,
known for its role as a Japanese internment camp during World
War II. It hasn't opened as a park yet, but it's being fixed
up nicely. I remember when it was an abandoned and nearly
forgotten place. Lone Pine is a cute town and forced to remain
so because of water rights. However, there is an effort to
increase tourism. Up in the foothills to the west is a location
immortalized in many classic Western films: Movie Flat in
the Alabama Hills. Here
are some stories from that era.
Next:
Owens Lake & Death Valley>
Mark
Helmlinger
August 7, 2005
