Eastbound after Mono Lake

Our week in the Mono Lake area has come to an end. A good week it was, with a good helping of hiking, sight seeing, and even socializing. Our week was spent with the most amazing view of Mono Lake on one side, the Eastern Sierras on another, and a line of young volcanoes to another. No matter which way we looked, the view was breathtaking – my kind of camping. Our spot (see Campendium.com) happened too be the only spot in the area large enough to handle anything larger than a truck or van setup… not that we knew that right away or anything. By day-2 we had company and figured that would be the norm for the rest of the week, and it was.

IMG_8912Photo Apr 13, 7 17 24 AMWe took the week to hike at Convict Lake and visit the old ghost town of Bodie as you may have seen on the blog. We also took an early-morning hike with the dogs up Panum Crater which I had visited way back in 2011. We had planned on a morning kayak trip in the South Tufa area of the lake, but a cold snap of weather set in during our final days at Mono Lake keeping our jackets on and our feet dry.

IMG_8979 Photo Apr 13, 9 19 58 AM Photo Apr 13, 9 22 49 AMOn Saturday morning, we hitched up (it’s still weird saying that) and finally, finally, finally (!!!) drove out of California and into Nevada [insert fist-pump and cheering]. During Kerri’s research of the path I chose for us to take – avoiding Las Vegas like the plague – she found that we would pass the uber spooky (to anyone, not just the anti-clown crowd) Clown Motel which coincided with a lunch break, so off she went to snap a few photos while I played it safe at stayed behind.

The route, chosen specifically because I have never driven a portion of it, brought us through some amazingly beautiful country. Right past Area 51 – which seemed to be the safer bet then having to go near Vegas – and into the vast desert of Southern Nevada. It reminded me of how Highway 50 was back in the early 90’s when I first drove it; lonely.

We had planned to stop just outside of the cute little town of Caliente, NV for the night but we missed the turnoff and did not find a place large enough to turn around. We just kept on motoring the full 500 miles in a single day, arriving in Hurricane, Utah just after sunset where a Walmart came to our rescue for a few items and a place to stay for the night.

Lee Vining to Hurricane

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2 Responses

  1. Daniel Burejsza says:

    Right next to the Clown Motel is an old cemetery. They stopped using it in the early 1900’s. When I walked through most of the markers listed cause of death consumption. Today it is known as tuberculosis. There was also a lot of dust inhaled by people working the mines. Since the area is arid, dry washers were the most common means of separation, (very dusty).

    • Van-Tramp says:

      Yea we saw that as we were passing through but did not go take a look. Interesting background, thanks.

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