Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Join us for a Mono Lake field seminar this fall

Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

This post was written by Alison Kaplan, 2018 & 2019 Canoe Coordinator.

Orange and yellow aspen cover a mountain slope topped by clear blue skies.
Sign up for a field seminar to take the best advantage of fall color season in the Mono Basin. Photo from 2018 by Andrew Youssef.

Shorter days and cooler temperatures mark the changing season here in the Mono Basin. Things are starting to slow down in Lee Vining, but insiders know that fall is the perfect time to visit, and we are excited to offer six field seminars this coming fall!

Fall Color Foray (half-day) • October 4 • Nora Livingston

Watercolors in the Wild: Autumn Flora • October 4–6 • Andie Thrams

Arborglyphs & Aspen Natural History • October 5–6 • Richard Potashin & Nancy Hadlock

Fall Color Foray (half-day) • October 11 • Nora Livingston

Mono Basin Fall Photography • October 11–13 • Robb Hirsch

Mono Basin Landscapes & Moon Photography • November 8–10 • Jeff Sullivan

The Fall Color Forays, led by Lead Naturalist Guide Nora Livingston, will visit the most colorful local aspen groves to enjoy the incredible color palette and learn about aspen ecology.

Orange aspen stand behind a crowd of people looking at a guide pointing to her right.
Join Nora for two Fall Color Foray seminars this October. Photo from 2018 by Bartshe Miller.

Watercolors in the Wild is a three-day painting seminar open to artists of all levels. Participants will join visual artist Andie Thrams for guided studies focused on autumn flora, with a particular emphasis on fall’s color palette. Plan to paint in wild places and experiment with drawing and painting techniques using watercolor, gauche, and ink.

Arborglyphs & Aspen Natural History is a fascinating seminar taught by Richard Potashin and Nancy Hadlock. Join the instructors for an enchanting journey into the aspen groves at peak color to explore the historic art form of arborglyphs—tree carvings left behind by Basque sheepherders over the last century.

Photographers can capture the impressive fall foliage, stunning landscapes, and vast night skies in Mono Basin Fall Photography or Mono Basin Landscapes & Moon Photography. The October seminar is open to photographers of all levels and will be led by Robb Hirsch, a biologist/naturalist turned professional photographer from the Yosemite area. The November seminar will be led by Jeff Sullivan, author of the landscape photography guide book Photographing California Vol. 2–South. Please see the itinerary for prerequisite requirements.

A photographer crouches on the shoreline in marsh vegetation facing toward tufa in Mono Lake and sunset colors in an overcast sky.
Two different photography seminars are happening this fall to take advantage of the bright foliage and clear night skies. Photo by Nora Livingston.

Registration is currently open for all of our fall field seminars. Sign up online or give us a call at (760) 647-6595.

Come prepared for cool fall weather. These seminars will take place regards of weather or road conditions, and there will be no refunds due to weather. Cost is for tuition only; participants must arrange their own accommodations. Detailed itineraries for each field seminar are available online.