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.

Walnut-blasting and a blast from the past

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.

With calm weather in Lee Vining today, construction on the front of the store is proceeding … with walnut-blasting! Crushed walnut shells sprayed at the building remove layers of paint and plaster so that we can repair the facade with a clean start.

Crushed walnut shells are fulfilling the same function as sand when blasted at the building, taking off the old, crumbling layers of paint and plaster.

We covered the merchandise inside the store in plastic the other day to keep dust from covering our products. The store looks ghostly and abandoned right now, but we will be open from 9:00am until 5:00pm tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday.

Plastic sheeting covers the merchandise inside the store to protect it from wayward dust.

The Committee’s storefront has changed many times over the years. Enjoy this retrospective as we look forward to the next iteration!

The Mono Lake Committee sported bright paint in 1978 (left) and 1982 (right).
Prominent murals in 1990 (left) and 2008 (right). Photos: Elin Ljung, Geoff McQuilkin, and Committee archives.