When you are driving on the California’s backyard highway I-395, you will notice this lake when you pass by the Great Basin area. For many, it represents a significant water source not only to the Owen Valley but all the way down to Los Angeles. It is a constant water war to control the right to this water in California. To others like me, this is a landmark not only to enter Yosemite in summer, but also a big playground to itself.

Over the years I have visited the lake countless times. In the summer you would feel rather annoyed by the massive swarm of flies on the shore. I do not generally enjoy being here in summer time for that very reason. During the winter many back country roads are covered in deep snow, which makes the access to the Tufa pretty questionable.

It was a surprised to me how friendly the road condition is in Owen Valley this winter. You barely see much snow in these under-maintained routes to the lake, which California DMV doesn’t exactly plow. Even better this is an area pretty much dead still in the winter. Two hotels, one restaurant, one grocery stores, and two gas stations still operate at closest town at this time of the year, and that’s it. Most tourists wouldn’t even bother to stop. That gives me a pretty nice window of opportunity to come to the lakeside and enjoy a few undisturbed hours in a completely sunny day. Sometimes traveling in winter is depressed enough you would just need that additional Vitamin D to boost your energy.

The windless day makes the water to be particularly still today. You can almost see a perfect reflection from the water body of these Tufa. The only thing that might still remind you that you are not the only living thing in the world are these occasional flight striking through the sky. It’s a degree of perfection that you would rarely see when you get to the other side of High Sierra.