Mono Lake

Mono Lake is a large, shallow lake located in Mono County, CA.  Formed at least 760,000 years ago, it lacks a natural outlet, causing it to be highly saline.  Even with its desert environment and salinity, the lake has an important ecosystem based on brine shrimp.  The shrimp support a nesting habitat for nearly two million migratory birds and black flies, also known as alkali flies.  Tom, Diane and I made several trips to the lake, including both sunset and sunrise golden hours.  The photographs below are a compilation of all of our trips.

Mono Lake is known for having 'Tufas'.  These calcite formations are formed below the water's surface around underground fresh water springs. When the lake's water level fell (result of removing water to be sent to Los Angeles, the tufas were exposed.

Probably the most important part of the magic at Mono Lake is to capture reflections of tufas, mountains, and golden hour skies.

Mono Lake is one place I have photographed where the color of the water seemed to change by the hour as light played with sky reflections and even the calcite of the tufas.

We did not see many birds as the main migration was over.  But a few hung around to be photographed.

To the east of the main collection of tufas is an area called Navy Beach.  Here, the remnants of tufas, worn down by weather, offer a slightly different view of tufas.

Enjoy some 'big picture' representations of Mono Lake.

A common sight!!  Mono Lake is a very popular destination for photographers from all over the world.  There are groups that go there just for night photography, groups that show up in large busses, and kids from local schools that have a field trip.  You are never alone!

Bodie

For years I have been told, "You gotta go to Bodie."  I have now been to Bodie!  So have Tom and Diane.  Bodie is a ghost town that receives about 200,000 visitors annually.  It is an historic state park, established as such in 1962.  But, its history goes back much further than that.  In 1876 it became a boom town following the discovery of gold and at one time had several thousand residents.  Today, Bodie is preserved in a state of arrested decay.  There are about 110 structures still in the town including one of many once operational gold mills.  For a small fee, visitors can roam the streets, peek into windows and in a couple of homes can even walk into a room or two.  Room interiors have remained as they were left, which certainly adds to the description of decay.  No attempt has been made to clean them up or even organize them as they might have been used by their residents.  There are many resources on the internet that tell more of Bodie's history and I encourage you to check some of them out.

When one drives over the last hill and gets parked there is one structure that can easily be seen from the parking lot.  That is the church's steeple.

This structure was once a Methodist Church.  A Catholic Church in the town burned down in one of several fires the ravaged this community over the years.

One cannot enter the church.  But, you can get a decent photograph by holding your camera such that it pokes it lens through the wired 'fence'.

Tom was nimble and Tom was quick to climb up the hill behind the town to get a different perspective of the whole community.  The road in the background is the road you drive into park.

This might be considered the Main Street.

Now it appears that the town is spread out.  But, in its heyday there were many more structures between these buildings.

The weather changed quite dramatically as the day passed, with increasing clouds and threats of rain.

Not all buildings are made of wood.

In addition to capturing images of the whole structures, we found many smaller details that gave some insight into the living conditions of the residents.  Here, a vine treacle and a tricycle.

There were a number of outhouses dotting the fields.  I am assured that one of them was operational.

A brick structure proved to be worthy of some photo-exploration.

We know how Tom is about cars.  It turns out the Diane is also interested in old cars and tractors.

A Tom classic style car photograph.

Diane was experimenting with a fish-eye lens.  I see a fish-eye lens in her bag in the future!

This hearse was found in the museum located in the central part of Bodie. I was surprised by its elegance.  The town's cemetery is up the hill away from town and it would have been a very short ride in an elegant carriage.

As mentioned, the rooms have not been cleaned up or changed since they were abandoned by their residents or business owners.  It gives the whole place a very different feel than one might expect from other ghost towns where an effort is made to preserve them as they were when being used.

There is a small museum with displays of some of the items that were used by the town's residents.

There were bird nests under several of the eaves around town.

A visitor and his dog.

In one corner of the town is the abandoned mill.

Left in a helter skelter fashion, there are pieces of mining equipment strewn around the fields.

The last three miles of the road into Bodie is an oftentimes bumpy gravel road.  While I focused on making sure I did not drop the car too far into a big hole, Tom focused on the mountains in front of us.  He had the better job!

On the way home we stopped at an overlook and below us was the beautiful Mono Lake with its blue-green water.  There was still snow on some of the taller mountains.  Perfect photographic ending of a very fun-filled day.

Gulf Fritillary

The Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) is a bright orange longwing butterfly most commonly found in southern areas of the United States. The butterfly is attracted to Lantana flowers for nectar and Passion flower vines for depositing their eggs.  The Pardoll's put a Passion flower vine on their patio and they carefully monitor and photograph the butterfly's life cycle.  The vine is eaten down to the bare earth but returns to full foliage each season to host another cycle of life for these butterflies.

The eggs are small and spherically shaped and laid one by one on the Passion flower vine. The average duration of the egg stage in the life cycle is three to five days depending on the temperature of the environment.  Eggs are initially a white or cream color and turn brown during the first 24 hours.

A newly hatched caterpillar usually eats its egg casing and then starts to voraciously feed on the vine.

The larval, or caterpillar stage, usually lasts between 11 and 16 days.

When ready to create its chrysalis, the caterpillar turns a grayish color and begins to spin a silk-like substance into a ball on top or against a malleable surface. It then attaches its rear end to the "silk" lump and hangs upside down in a "j" position. By small contractions of the muscles it begins to shed its skin and head revealing a soft pinkish tan form. The soft form hardens and becomes grayish brown. The chrysalis stage lasts from 11 to 21 days.

When ready to emerge from its chrysalis, a small crack begins to form at the tip of the chrysalis revealing the butterfly's head. It continues to slowly move down through the bottom of the chrysalis until its legs are free to cling onto the shell of the chrysalis and pull itself the rest of the way out. It begins to pump the fluids from its bulging abdomen into its shriveled wings. When its wings are fully expanded it releases excess fluids from its abdomen. For the next ten to fifteen minutes it stays still and allows its wings to dry.

Topside view.