Saturday, Oct 8

All but a few miles of today’s drive from Carson City, Nevada to Mammoth Lakes, California was along scenic byways as I was driving south along the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains. To see the route, and the scenery along the way, you can click here for today’s map/video.  The day also included visits to three fascinating places.

The first stop was right outside Carson City at the Nevada State Railway Museum. This is a small museum, focused on local railway history but they have several very old steam engines that are in wonderful condition. The first railway built across the Sierra Nevada ran from Sacramento to Carson City and transported equipment, people and silver to/from the mines from which Nevada gets its nickname, the Silver State. This line eventually connected, in Utah, to a line being built from the east and became the first trans-continental railroad. The locos are in such good condition because several were bought by Hollywood studios for filming the western movies and TV series that were so popular in the 50s and 60s and have now been returned to the State.

The second stop was to visit the “tufas” of Mono Lake. I have to confess that I had never heard of a tufa until today but they are unusual limestone columns that form in carbonated lakes where streams carrying calcium rich water flow into them. The calcium carbonate (limestone) formed is not very soluble and precipitates out of the lake water to build the towers under the surface. This happened at Mono Lake and, in 1941, the lake level was deliberately lowered to divert water for farming and so many of the tufas are now above the surface.

The third stop was Convict Lake which got its name when a group of escapees from Carson City were found in the area. This is a beautiful mountain lake with a trail around it which allowed me to take photos from all sides. The sun was not in the best position to get shots of the two mountains that tower over the lake but the sky was blue, the temperature was 72F and the walk was a relaxing boost to the spirit. To round off a great day I made sure to have draft Sierra Nevada IPA with dinner.

Virginia and Truckee Railroad engine 25 dates from1905 but is in good working order. Rides pulled by this locomotive are offered at the Nevada State Railway Museum on summer weekends.

Mono Lake with the Sierra Nevada foothills in the background and a bunch of tufa in the foreground.

The best preserved tufa are those still in the lake
Convict Lake as seen from its Marina

Two other views showing the spectacular setting and the clarity of the water in Convict Lake