(click on thumbnail photos to see full-size images)

day 4—
This was the final day of our wedding road trip, but we had a lot planned before heading home—including visits to Mono Lake and Bodie State Historic Park.  After having "breakfast" (Peter ate the french toast; I just had coffee) and checking out of the inn, we took off north on US 395.

mono lake

Our first stop was at Mono Lake, off 395 near the town of Lee Vining.  During our four-day trip up and down the Owens Valley, we saw constant reminders of just how devastating the water rights buy-out by Los Angeles County has been on this once-agriculturally-rich area.  But nowhere is this "desertification" more apparent than at Mono Lake.  In the 1940s, the creeks that once fed Mono Lake were diverted to the aqueduct that conveys water to LA...causing the water level in the lake to drop by 25 feet by the mid 1970s.  This drastically altered the ecosystem of Mono Lake, a water body that is especially critical for the numerous migratory bird species that maintain essential nesting habitat there, as well as for the Mono Lake brine shrimp, a species that is found nowhere else on earth.

There is hope, however.  By the mid 1990s, a committee of biologists, environmentalist groups, and concerned citizens won a Supreme Court case against LA County, which is now required to allow more water into Mono Lake.  The lake has risen by 9 feet since that court decision...but has a long way to go before it is fully restored.
 

View of Mono Lake from the visitors center

Another view of Mono Lake

See the tufa (rock-like calcium carbonate deposits that form in highly alkaline bodies of water) sticking out of the lake
More views of the tufa
We found Mono Lake to be very beautiful, and its history (both natural and political) just fascinating.  Also, the bookstore at the visitors center is amazing; I wanted to buy a copy of every book they had in stock! 

bodie

After leaving Mono Lake, we again traveled north on 395, and then turned onto Bodie Road a few miles south of Bridgeport.  We drove for about 10 miles, then 3 more on an unpaved road, to Bodie State Historic Park, the site of one of the largest and best preserved ghost towns in the west.  Over 170 buildings still remain, in a state of "arrested decay."

Back in the mid to late 1880s, Bodie was a thriving gold mining community with a population of over 10,000.  The town of Bodie had two banks, three unions (railroad, miners, and mechanics), several newspapers, a jail, a cemetery and mortuary, a brass band, a "red light district," and 60 saloons!  Bodie was quite notorious in its day, with murders, shoot-outs, barroom brawls, and stagecoach holdups occurring regularly.

As soon as we got there, Peter had me pose for the two photos below. :)
 

Me, pointing to the Bodie entrance sign
Peter thought it would be hilarious to make this sign all about Bo
Bodie was a really fun place to visit!  We spent at least an hour walking the grounds, and checking out the buildings and machinery.  We also spent quite a lot of time inside the museum, which exhibits all kinds of artifacts depicting life in Bodie during its heyday, and offers books and memorabilia for sale.
 

Monument to Bodie
Old elevator car for taking miners below ground

More mining machinery
The Bodie church building

The general store

Other side of the general store

The mill
Me, walking down a road in Bodie

A rather broken down building
Homes spread about the hill

Peter amused himself by snapping this photo of me as I exited the outhouse
  

the middle part of our journey home

After leaving Bodie, we drove the 13 miles back to 395, then again headed north.  We made a short stop in Bridgeport at a deli/grocery store to stock up on stuff to eat.  We still had a loooong drive ahead of us.

We eventually found ourselves on the Sonora Pass, which was incredibly beautiful...I mean breathtakingly so.  Even though it was a bit scary (winding narrow road, sheer cliffs) I wouldn't have missed it for anything.  It was that awesomely beautiful.  Unfortunately, I didn't use the digital camera correctly, and none of the photos I took of the Sonora Pass turned out at all.  (However, this site does have some nice photos of the pass, so you can get an idea of what we saw.)

As we drove along the pass, we saw hunters, U.S. Marines on maneuvers, and some pretty bad drivers (in fact, we even witnessed one driver hit a motorcyclist and knock him down).

As we came down the other side of the pass, the weather began turning nasty.  By the time we arrived at the Sonora/Jamestown area, the rain was coming down hard.  We took a quick pit stop at a creepy convenience store in Sonora, and then continued on our way.

the last leg

We reached Stockton, pretty much fried, but we still had one last stop to make:  Nena's Mexican restaurant.  See, where we live, you can't get any decent (i.e., authentic) Mexican food...but, thankfully, the city of Stockton (which is about an hour from home) has many many choices when it comes to this type of cuisine.  One of Peter's favorites is Nena's, and we wanted to get some take-out to bring home...not just for us to enjoy, but also for my step-daughter Layne.  However, for some reason, we ended up kind of lost in Stockton and couldn't locate the restaurant for the longest time (maybe because we were both so tired).  Finally, we found Nena's, got our food, and high-tailed it home!

When we arrived at our house, we were warmly greeted by Layne and our two cats Schuyler and Leo.  I'm sure the koi and goldfish were glad to see us as well, but they didn't say anything.

All in all, it was a fabulous trip.  The trip of a lifetime, I'd say. :)