Our route took us around the “backside” of the park, and our first major stop was Mono Lake.
Mono Lake is 2.5 times saltier than an ocean. There are calcium rich springs under it and when the calcium combines with the carbonate in the water, it forms a type of limestone, called Tufa. 
The Tufa only actually grows under water, which begs the question- why is so much of it on land then? Well, many years ago, the city of Los Angeles diverted the rivers that feed the lake, seriously lowering the water level and drastically increasing the salinity.
The lake has been protected since the 1980s, and the water level is very slowly recovering.
There is a one mile long interpretive trail that we walked- but we almost had to run. The skies were very threatening, with loud thunder and lightning nearby. We didn’t dally too long, and we still got rained on!
I have never driven on Tioga Road in Yosemite- its a beautiful drive but it sits at an elevation of almost 10,000 feet, so its closed a good portion of the year.
In fact, we spent the night at a campground along the road, and found out afterwards that the road had actually closed after we traveled it.
By the time we got on the road the next morning, it was 37 degrees out, and half sleeting, half raining. I felt really bad for the tent campers. It had rained most of the night.
There was plenty of leftover evidence of the cold temperatures mixed with precipitation!
We stopped for lunch in the shadow of the massive formation known as El Capitan.
The views are amazing, but no hiking for us this time around- with all the rain, the trails were a mess, and it was still darn chilly!
Fresno was a brief stop, on our way to Kirk and Karen’s cabin by Shaver Lake, in the Sierras.
We spent a couple of days catching up on everyone’s news…
And going for walks. The rules say dogs must be on a leash- they don’t say that the dog shouldn’t be the one holding the other end!
Of course the guys had to find a few projects to work on, so the heater was pulled apart, examined, fixed, and put back together….
Eating is always high on our list of “must do”s when we’re with friends and we had some extra special treats this time:
Bill and Nancy own a farm so we had buckets of peaches, tomatoes and almonds.
and Kevin volunteered to make Aebleskivers for breakfast. They are a Danish pancake, and way too yummy!
We always have a great time with Paul’s fraternity brothers and look forward to being within a day’s drive of them!
House Update
All of the cement has been poured…
and the wood has arrived. At 5 am tomorrow, they start building.
