Lindsey and I headed to the rain shadow for MLK weekend. It’s mid-winter, but it’s a drought and temperatures are mild. We had a great weekend.

With ice and snow at elevation, and curiosity trumping fitness goals, we did more exploring than exercising. The list of places we visited is long:

• Travertine hot spring: where we soaked and camped the first night
• Lundy Canyon: where we drove over snow and then walked up canyon just a bit
• South Tufa: where we lunched and said hi to the lake
• June Lake area: where we walked up from Silver Lake, hit ice again and played a riddle
• Mammoth: where we went to the store
• the green church: where we went to Hilltop hot spring
• Mono Lake: where we returned to disperse camp
• Pickle Meadow: near the Mountain Warfare Training Center, where we walked, crossed the river and climbed a basalt monolith

It was a really rejuvenating and grounding weekend marked by good company, asking lots of questions and comfortable nights camping.