Mono Lake and valley~Sunday Stills Challenge 021410

Our trip to the Sierras was my Valentine's Day and birthday present (one and the same...), so instead of anything cute and pink, how about some pics of Mono Lake and the snow? June Lake was completely covered with snow and ice and the Twin Lakes at Mammoth were too, but Mono Lake, because of its high salt content, was not. All the mountains around it were covered with snow and there was even snow on the islands in the lake! The road to the visitor center, near Lee Vining, was CLOSED. However, we did find where it was plowed and we followed another truck down it to the rear of the visitor center, where we stopped and took some photos. The road to the south tufa was open and plowed, BUT...the road down to the lake was not plowed and we didn't have the 4-wheel drive RAV with us this trip, so we opted to stay on the highway, as did several other cars. I'm sure that whoever hiked down there got some wonderful photos! But, we were content to view the lake from the highway. I have never before visited Mono Lake when there was so much snow. Can you imagine the Tioga Pass? (Nah...it was CLOSED)! Or Bodie? Nah, that road was closed, too!