Tufa, snow, and sierras!

New to me this winter is getting to visit the Owens Valley and Mammoth Lakes, California, where my boyfriend, Brian, lives.  Here are some pictures of my visits to those places.

At Mono Lake, you can see unusual tufa formations all along the shoreline.

And even islands of tufa!

Here's Brian, leaning on a beautiful Jeffrey Pine in Inyo National Forest near Mammoth Lakes, CA

And here I am.  I sure do love hiking in national forests!  I don't get to do that in Death Valley.

Brian and I pose next to what I think is a cedar tree

Hiking in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, CA

Brian, I don't think you're going to be able to push that rock over!

 

A bird's-eye view of the Alabama Hills.  Many John Wayne movies and other old westerns were filmed here.

Hiking the Mt. Whitney Recreation trail near Lone Pine.  Mt. Whitney is the tallest peak in the U.S. outside of Alaska.

The cliffs of insanity on Mt. Whitney