On Thursday, December 1, California State Parks announced that the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve is off the closure list—wonderful and long-awaited news!

Smartphones are key to working during a power outage: Arya found the State Parks' press release on her phone as Bartshe and Geoff work on theirs in the background.

In a strange twist of fate, we got the call via cell phone since we had lost power along with much of the Eastern Sierra a few hours before. Relying on the few smartphones in the office, (more…)

After high winds and snow flurries yesterday and last night Highway 120 over Tioga Pass is once again closed from Crane Flat through Yosemite National Park to three miles west of Highway 395.

Sonora Pass (Highway 108) and Ebbetts Pass (Highway 4) are also closed, but Highways 88, 89, and 50 are currently open. As you travel “over the river and through the woods” through the mountains this holiday season, be sure to check weather and road conditions for updates as conditions change quickly, and be sure to drive safely!

Since the news that The Mono Lake Story film was accepted into the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, Bristlecone Media has been hard at work putting together an official trailer to promote the film. We love this beautiful condensed version of the 27-minute film, and we hope it will make everyone want to see more!

Bristlecone Media also put together a snazzy dedicated website for The Mono Lake Story. In a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the filming process you can see a photograph of Jonah Matthewson capturing poconip—the Mono Basin’s unique freezing fog—from a precipice near Conway Summit! Check it out here.

An early-November snowstorm dropped nearly a foot of snow at high elevations, closing Highway 120 west—Tioga Pass—for several weeks. But Tioga Pass reopened again today at noon, allowing travelers to visit the eastern and northern parts of Yosemite National Park and cross the Sierra Nevada mountain range via this southerly route.

Two other routes across the Sierra remain closed: Highway 108 (Sonora Pass) and Highway 4 (Ebbetts Pass). Highways 88, 89, and 50 are open, but Highway 50 is subject to construction delays. Remember to check weather forecasts and road conditions before beginning your trip.

In a recent email from National Geographic I noticed a photo of a familiar place in a gallery called “Habitats–Freshwater Photos.”

I blinked and looked more closely, surprised to see saline Mono Lake pictured alongside places like Bow Lake in Canada’s Banff National Park, the Okefenokee Swamp in the southeastern US, and the Yellowstone River—all clearly bodies of fresh water. But the more I thought about it, (more…)

As the northern hemisphere tilts away from the sun, taking us into another winter, lengthening nights pinch the daytime shorter and shorter. With the sun disappearing behind the Sierra at around 4:00pm these days, sunrise each morning feels extra special. This short video on Dailymotion.com captures sunrise at South Tufa in a condensed, 14 seconds of time-lapse. Enjoy sunrise at Mono Lake!

The Mono Lake Committee’s new film, The Mono Lake Story, has garnered some impressive accolades recently.

The Mono Lake Story was chosen to be part of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival! The the festival’s mission is to inspire people and unite communities to heal the earth. It is considered the largest film festival of its kind, and the Mono Lake Committee and Bristlecone Media are honored to be part of it. The festival is hosted by the South Yuba River Citizens’ League each January in Nevada City.

In addition, composer Cody Westheimer was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media award for his score for The Mono Lake Story. The award ceremony is held in November—we’ll be crossing our fingers for Cody to win the category of Original Score: Indie/Short/Documentary.

Stay tuned for more updates on all this exciting recognition here on the Mono-logue.

A peaceful winter scene on Mono Lake's west shore. Photo by Rick Knepp.

The Forgotten Season: Winter Photography in the Mono Basin
January 13–15, 2012
$220 per person / $200 for Mono Lake Committee members

Registration opens Tuesday, November 1 for Mono Lake Committee members only; non-members can join to register on November 1 or wait to register until Tuesday, November 15.

Winter at Mono Lake: a lifting morning poconip fog, tufa towers jacketed in snow and reflected in the mirror of the lake’s surface, ice sculpting crystalline filigree along creek and lake banks. This photography seminar will be based in Lee Vining and will explore locations along the lake to photograph the serenity and (more…)

If you had to describe the value of California’s State Parks in only one word, what would that be? What word would you use to describe the value of the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve?

See a few answers here in Folk4Parks.org’s latest video. Former ranger Janet Carle and current ranger Dave Marquart share their words. The Mono Lake Committee’s Morgan Lindsay and Geoff McQuilkin each have a word. What’s your one word?

Check out this on-the-ground report from Retired State Park ranger and Volunteer Program Coordinator Janet Carle at Folk4Parks.org.

Janet Carle at Mono Lake. Photo courtesy of Folk4Parks.org.

Janet describes how non-profit partnerships can be so important in times of budget cuts and looming state park shutdowns. Luckily, the state park at Mono Lake has lots of non-profit partners: the Mono Lake Committee, the Bodie Foundation, and the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association, just to name a few! Janet writes that Mono Lake’s state park is “a standout among state parks as a low-cost, high-value park unit, thanks in large part to these creative cost-saving partnerships that have been fostered over the years.”