Reno/Lake Tahoe Trip

I'd always wanted to see Mono (pronounced "mow-no") Lake so we detoured on the way back to see it. It's 3 times the salinity of the Pacific Ocean! When you walk down to the lake the smell really hits you. It smells like low tide at the ocean. Besides the birds there are millions of Alkali Flies on the shores. The Gulls feed on them. The lake is also full of brine shrimp. A very unique place!

90% of the California Gulls in the area are hatched at Mono Lake.

The famous Tufa formations.

Karen on the boardwalk at the lake.

Reno/Lake Tahoe Trip

On the road to Mono Lake.

It was beautiful!

Reno/Lake Tahoe Trip

Karen on an alpine meadow hiking trail near the summit of the road to Incline Village on Lake Tahoe.

Crystal clear water of Lake Tahoe.

Karen on the beach near South Lake Tahoe.

Karen on a bike path near South Lake Tahoe.

One of many huge bike sculptures we saw around South Lake Tahoe.

Reno/Lake Tahoe Trip

Reno sign.

Now THAT'S a climbing wall!

The Truckee River flows right through downtown Reno.

Slow shutter speed photo of the river.

Reno/Lake Tahoe Trip

Death Valley scenery.

You can get gas in Death Valley - at a very high price!

It was only 105 degrees at the visitor center at around 11:00 am. Felt like home to us.

T-shirt at the visitor center.

Rhyolite Ghost Town on the way back to the highway.

Reno/Lake Tahoe Trip

We just got back from a trip to Reno/Lake Tahoe. On the drive there we made a side trip to Death Valley. At the turn off is a gas station/store with an alien theme.

Karen and some friends.

The store.

Another Thorn...

...another flat. This time it was the front tire on my Long Haul Trucker. I replaced it with a patched tube. After several days it's holding up well.

Seen On Today's Hike

The Superstition Mountains from the Vista Trail at Usery Park on a rare cloudy day.

Today's Hiike

Today we hiked the Pass Mountain Trail from the Meridian trailhead to the saddle. As I started the climb to the saddle (I had gone ahead of Karen) it started to drizzle. That was actually kind of nice but just as I got to the saddle it started raining. And then it started raining hard! I put my iPhone in one of the waterproof bags that I carry. Then my thoughts turned to the steep trail down over lots of "slick rock." Happily I discovered that it's just a name; the rock wasn't slick at all. We ended up hiking back in an almost non-stop rain. It let up at times but never completely stopped. We were soaked and our hiking boots were covered with mud. A very unique desert hike!

Near the trailhead. The morning light made for a nice photo.

Comfortable Cat

Hiking in Prescott

We made a day trip to Prescott on Wednesday and hiked trails on the east side of Willow Lake.

Slow Shutter Speed

I found an app for my iPhone which allows control of the "shutter speed." I'm sure it's using a stacking technique but the results mimic a slow shutter speed. Here are 2 pictures I took during a recent trip to Las Vegas using the app.

Las Vegas

We're in Las Vegas for a couple of days. Here are a couple of pictures from the Flamingo's courtyard.

Moth

This huge moth was on our front door this morning.

Prescott

This area of the granite dells had standing water, a rarity in the desert. I'm guessing it was water that     was seeping through the rocks from Willow Lake.

Water seeping through the rocks.

A standing pool of water.

The trail passes right through this gully with the standing pools of water.

The dam that forms Willow Lake.

Prescott

The Willow Lake Shore Trail turned out to be one of the more aggressive hikes in the granite dells. I did the hike mostly by myself because Karen didn't want to climb up one exposed ridge. I actually got lost and ended up having her pick me up on the other side of the lake. I can't wait to get back and see where I went wrong.

Algae at the water's edge made for a nice picture. 

The ridge that Karen didn't want to climb.

One of the "slots" the trail passes through.

Bridge on the trail.

Prescott Petroglyphs

At the end of the new Centennial Trail are a group of petroglyphs. They're also accessible right off a road. We, of course, hiked to them.

Prescott

We were in Prescott again on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday we hiked along the west shore of Watkins Lake.

Flat Tires

I had 3 flat tires in a row this week! These are the culprits.

One Of Today's Hikes

Heading up Spook Hill.