Where I Live Now, Beauty All Around Me

So this is a view of the ranchhouse where I rent a loft studio off Highway 395 in the Eastern Sierra, about ten miles south of Mammoth Lakes. The shot was taken during the summer on one of my many walks out on the ranchlands - miles and miles of walking opportunities with views of the Sierra Nevada and the White Mountains (if you can squeeze under the barbed wire fences!). The ragged peak in the distance is above Convict Lake. Believe it or not, there's also an amazing restaurant out there - so I have the best of all possible worlds.



And this is a view from the window my loft, taken shortly after I moved there in late August. In the far distance are the White Mountains. Boundary Peak in the center was long rumored to be higher than Mt. Whitney.



But ever since a snowstorm on Monday dumped the first serious blanket, this is what the landscape southeast of my home now looks like! Out of view is Crowley Lake. I wake up every morning to a white winter wonderland. In the far distance of the photograph across the snow-covered ranchlands are the White Mountains.


The shot below is taken from the same spot as the one above, only I've turned around to face the house. That's the foothills of the Eastern Sierra in the background. You can see my 1987 Ford Bronco "beater car" parked in the driveway, which I purchased for snowy commute days into Mammoth. My little white Honda is half buried in snow out of view, pretty much useless until I learn how to put the chains on the front tires!



These photos were taken on a mid-September autumn hike in McGee Creek, about a five mile drive from my house to the trailhead. It's a good, steady uphill hike with quick rewards! Unfortunately, fall color was truncated this season by an early frost, so this was really my only fall-color hike. Still, it was glorious enough to create enduring memories.





Here's the view from my loft area over my bedroom to the Christmas tree and out the window that has all those amazing views. Merry Christmas!