Hey all you Amazon.com holiday shoppers….

Did you know that by clicking on the shop for Mono Lake link on the Mono Lake Committee’s website, Amazon will donate 5% of your purchase to help the restoration, education, and protection of Mono Lake?

It’s as easy as that! If you are going to do your holiday shopping on Amazon, simply click this link or type “www.shopformonolake.org” into your browser, and it will take you to Amazon. From there, Amazon will track what you buy and give Mono Lake 5% of your total purchase.

When you’re done there, don’t forget to shop the Committee’s online store for all of your Mono Lake Committee logo gear!

As always, thank you for your support and have a wonderful holiday season.

Information Center & Bookstore Manager Jessica Horn shows off some of the great holiday items from the store! Photo by Morgan Lindsay.

Let the Mono Lake Committee staff play Santa for you this year! Shop online, through the catalog in the Fall 2011 Mono Lake Newsletter, call us up at (760) 647-6595, or stop in and see us in Lee Vining!

We have Mono Lake Committee logo gear for everyone in the family, pottery and prints by local artists, jewelry, toys, and books galore.

All profits from your holiday purchases go to Mono Lake, so start clicking, calling, and shopping!

Though traffic is slowing in Lee Vining, the Mono Lake Committee’s Information Center & Bookstore remains open from 9:00am–5:00pm, seven days a week.

However, we will be closed Thanksgiving Day, November 24, and for our annual staff working retreat, November 30.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving! Check back for December holiday hours the first week of December.

People continue to find Eared Grebes stranded on land around the Mono Basin. If you find one and are able to help it back to the water, you might be able to save its life.

Communications Coordinator Elin Ljung gets ready to return another errant grebe to Mono Lake.

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Early in the afternoon of 11-11-11, our friends Nancy and Ramona discovered the first Eared Grebe in town. Each fall Mono Lake harbors between 500,000 and two million Eared Grebes, which come to fatten up on brine shrimp and alkali flies before heading south to the Salton Sea and the Gulf of California for the winter. So seeing an Eared Grebe at Mono Lake is not news, but this grebe was not out on the lake, it was sitting calmly on the slick, wet pavement at Murphey’s Motel (more…)

Leaves have dropped and temperatures have cooled here in the Mono Basin this week. The arrival of snow and consecutive freezing temperatures have led to Tioga Pass closing. It has been closed since last Friday, November 4.

The road is closed three miles west of Highway 395, so there is no access to the higher elevations near Tioga Pass (Ellery Lake, Saddlebag Lake, Tioga Lake, Dana Meadows, etc.).

If you are planning a trip to the area, take this in consideration and check for updated highway information.

Welcome to late fall and safe travels to all this season!

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 arrival of winter weather this week has brought some highway closures and restrictions. As of this morning (Saturday, November 5), Tioga Pass, Sonora Pass, and Highway 89 are closed. Chains are required on Highway 88 and Highway 4 is open.

So what does this mean for your winter travel plans? If you are planning a trip to the area, make sure to check the weather forecast and road conditions before you leave and take the necessary precautions.

The fall colors in the Mono Basin have begun to peak!

A row of brilliant aspens in Lundy Canyon on October 15, 2011. Photo by Rose Catron.

Brilliant yellows, oranges, and touches of red were spotted this weekend throughout the Mono Basin. Some places to visit in (more…)

Lundy Canyon, October 14, 2011. Photo by Bartshe Miller.

Spectacular colors in the Mono Basin are emerging in Lundy and Lee Vining canyons. Upper and lower elevation stands are a mixture of brilliant color and aspens-yet-to-show. Aspens along the June Lake Loop, particularly along Silver Lake and Grant Lake, are displaying yellows, reds, and oranges, and are just beginning to reach their peak (at least one week later than normal!). Warm sunny days and cool nights have accelerated anthocyanin production. Mild weather in the coming week will help to preserve the display through at least next weekend. Overall we can expect another two weeks of xanthous, ocherous, glory.