CALIFORNIA

North Lake, Bishop CA

A spur of the moment idea came to us Wednesday, September 24 to spend the weekend, September 27- 28 at the Sierra Nevada. I wanted to do some hiking at Tuolomne Meadows in Yosemite National Park,

The Evergreen Forest @ Tuolomne Meadows, Yosemite National Park

while my hubby wanted to photograph (we are both hobbyists in photography, very much amateurs) Mono Lake at different lights.

Mono Lake @ Dawn

And since Tuolomne Meadows and Mono Lake are only several miles from each other, it was an easy plan. From San Diego, we drove North first to pick up my cousin in LA area ( also enjoys hiking and photography, but marathon and running is her present hobby and passion), and from there, we drove North East to the Sierra Nevada. As we reached the higher elevation, we noticed the early fall foliage dotting the granite walls of the Sierra. My husband was all excited to reach Mono Lake (probably his favorite place in the Sierra to photograph), but I delayed his excitement by asking him to take a side trip to Bishop Creek Canyon .

Bishop Creek Canyon

Either my hubby trusts my instinct to find nature’s beauty, or he does not have a choice but to oblige every directed detours I would suggest . Anyway, we had a grand time at the Bishop Creek Canyon. We had been to this beautiful canyon a few times, but we only get to see its snow covered slopes and frozen lake. But last weekend, we were right in time to enjoy one of Eastern Sierra’s favorite season, when the aspen trees are ablaze in hues of yellow and gold, mingling with the evergreen pine trees and contrasted with stark granite walls.

Evergreen Pines, Golden Aspens and Granite Peaks at Bishop Canyon Creek

Bishop Creek Canyon is West of Bishop on Highway 168. We made stops at South Lake,

South Lake, Bishop Creek Canyon

North Lake,

North Lake, Bishop Creek Canyon

And Lake Sabrina.

Lake Sabrina

All the three lakes lie above 9000 ft in elevation, with Lake Sabrina at 9,800 ft. We took the loop trail that meanders around North Lake,

Meadow near North Lake

Groves of Aspen along the trail that meanders on North Lake’s Shore

Trout, Caught by those Fishing Along the Lake

and while enjoying the pristine alpine lake, my hubby kept on asking “ what time is sunset?” Hehehehe, he was afraid to miss the sunset at Mono Lake. And as usual, we were late for sunset but we had enough time to enjoy the dusk.

Mono Lake @ Dusk (1)

Mono Lake @ Dusk (2)

Mono Lake @ Dusk (3)

We stayed in Lee Vining for the night, the small town right next to Mono Lake and is 11 miles East of Yosemite National Park East Entrance on Tioga Road. If the September night at Lee Vining was close to freezing, the early morning was at freezing temperature (our car’s thermometer showed 32 ^oF), I was caught unprepared , thinking that it is still early fall. But how could I forget that in the desert, the temperature could suddenly plummet. My cold went back, suffered terrible stuffiness and runny nose at Tioga Pass the next day, but nevertheless, was able to make some short hike along Pothole Dome and Tuolomne River in Yosemite. It was a wonderful weekend, and I am thankful for the gift of enjoying outdoors always.