So we had a couple of days between work in March and decided to head up to Mono Lake.
I’d wanted to visit Mono Lake from the last time I visited Yosemite.
However, in winter, the road that connects Yosemite to Mono Lake is closed. It was spring this time, and the road was still closed. Luckily though, I was coming from Burbank.
So very quickly, we headed out in the morning and up the 395.
By the time we hit Palmdale, we were hungry and found Karen’s Kitchen. A old-style mom and pop cafe. I enjoyed my breakfast here.
Since my friend had never been to a Walmart Supercenter before, I showed her one at California City.
And then it was pretty much straight all the way to Lone Pine where we stopped by the Film History Museum, and drove up the Whitney Portal Road that leads to Mt. Whitney and drove through Alabama Hills, the location of many a movie shoot.
At the base of Mt. Whitney we discovered a waterfall.
I do not know why I don’t have a photo of Mount Whitney. Afterall, I was driving straight toward it. But I guess i never got down to it.
The photos I took of the Alabama Hills were atrocious, but here’s one anyway.
Alabama Hills has been used as a location in many movies including Iron Man. It is really quite an interesting place.
Here’s the Film History Museum that didn’t cost a lot of money to enter and we decided to go in.
Do you see Alabama Hills in the background?
We were hungry and stopped in Lone Pine for a meal. We chose Mexican food and it was a poor choice.
There were a few other interesting sights along the way, but we didn’t have time. The trout farms, for example, were of great interest to me, but we had to push on – perhaps on the way back.
I wanted to make it up to June Lake Loop for the night.
Little did I know that all the motels would be closed as they were prepping for the new holiday season/year. However, one was nice enough to give us a room. It was a basic room with shower and a little kitchen. Quite nice for a couple to spend some time.
Most of the businesses were closed and not yet open for the season – which the proprietor of the motel told me was going to start the next week with some fishing event.
June Lake Loop is a lovely drive and stay. Not to be missed. The lakes are very pretty and we spotted a deer. This was great fun for me and reminded me of the times I had fun spotting the more shy animals in Yellowstone.
At night we ate at The Tiger Bar, which seemed to be the only place to eat in town.
Again, the motel owner told us that the food was mediocre and the pies were not bad. She was right on both counts.
I have never eaten meatloaf in my life. And if this is supposed to be what meatloaf is, the next time it is offered, I pass.
On the other hand, the crust of this one, and how it’s nicely darkened on the top, was really good.
The next day, I finally got to Mono Lake. And she is a beautiful lake.
Of course I spent too much time here. And too much time looking for the Parnum Crater and doing the walk that I had to rush all the way back to LA.
And then the trout farms all closed by 4:30pm, so I couldn’t visit one on the way back.
We checked out Eric Schatt’s Bakery that offered a wide variety of sandwiches, bread and all sorts of pastries. I bought too much and also ate too much and enjoyed it too much.
We finally arrived back in LA about 9pm. It was a quick but interesting getaway.
(There were some noteworthy eats along the way, but I don’t have my travel diary with me now.)