Mono Lake

On the way from Yosemite to Lake Tahoe we did a detour to Mono Lake. This is a salt lake which has some fantastic natural 'sculptures' growing out of it - but for this photo I went for the little volcanic island in the middle of the Lake.

Unfortunately the water companies take water from the lake's sources to feed the local cities which is causing huge problems with the salinity. The water levels dropped to such an extent at one point that the island stopped being an island and predators got onto it destroying the bird population. There is now some form of limited protection in order, but that is under pressure due to budget cuts. Its such a unique place & it would be a huge shame if it was damaged irreparably.

I should probably say at this point that today's drive gave my vertigo a real workout! We crossed the Tioga pass which is around 9600 feet and the road seems to drop off into nothing. Rob stopped at a view point to take a photo and when he turned round he found me crouched in my seat finishing all the chocolates in a bit of a panic. He kept commenting on the amazing view when we were driving down until he realised that really wasn't helping me!!