Mono Lake, CA

There’s what you want and then there’s what you’ll settle for. Mono Lakes Tufa State Reserve was what we settled for. Not to say it wasn’t amazing, remarkable and beautiful, but it just wasn’t what my heart was set on.

I’ve been wanting to go to Bodie for the past 3 years. Something that you’d never realize from meeting me in person is that I adore ghost towns. I love the idea that people once lived in a now abandoned place and the items that they leave behind hold memories for me to uncover and make stories about in my head.

Sometimes the daily grind takes it out of you and what you need is to see something amazing to recharge. So this past weekend Bodie was that destination. We planned only 1 day before online chatting. It was spontaneous and fun, we both looked at photos online and were almost giddy with anticipation.

Then we drove to Sacramento and stayed one night before heading on our journey. 4 roads were closed due to rockslides but we persisted, happily chatting about whether we’d make it in time. Finally 13 miles from the park… the main road is closed.

Disappointment often feels like your heart drops to your stomach. It’s a really low hollow feeling, that is kind of hard to describe with words alone. Maybe it’s most akin to someone punching you in the gut. We turned around to go home after seeing nothing.

Texted CB at a road stop, and she said we should go to Mono Lake an see the Tufas. So we turned around and drove another 30 miles. Much to our surprise, it was beautiful.

Limestone dust covered foliage, saltwater lake, and clouds that parted just so when we opted for photos. It was really quite lovely. And with that a little less disappointment we turned around and went home.

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