Thursday 31 October 2024 - Day 2 would begin a familiar pattern of getting up very early to drive somewhere for the sunrise.
Today we were headed back into the Alabama Hills to Mobius Arch for sunrise. We were early allowing us to capture
the stars along with the lake.
The stars are fuzzy due to the lingering smoke from the forest fire.
Lathe Arch is right next to Mobius Arch. The sun was just about to break the horizon while I shot this
picture. If you look close, you can see the stars.
Mobius Arch with the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background.
Alabama Hills has been used in a number of movies - easy to see why. The area is very photogenic with the
round boulders and the sharp high mountain peaks.
Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, with an elevation of 14,505 feet.
Beautiful in the early morning light.
First light on Lone Pine Peak.
A black and white of a sage bush which did not make it.
In the late afternoon we headed out to Mono Lake, which is a salt lake with no outlet.
Many columns of limestone rise above the surface of Mono Lake. These limestone towers consist primarily
of calcium carbonate minerals such as calcite. This type of limestone rock is referred to as tufa,
which is a term used for limestone that forms in low to moderate temperatures.
The towers, tufa, were formed when springs in the lake bottom hit the alkaline water and calcium
formed around the opening. It took centuries for the large towers to form.
