Spotlight - 14.2019

34 Spotlight 14/2019 TRAVEL

Fotos: DAvid Joun Weber; Kida/Shutterstock.com

1:40 p.m.

After lunch, we’re on the road again. An-

other 90 minutes of driving, and we join

US Route 6. An hour later, a sign declaring

the “Tonopah Test Range” displays a blue-

and-white missile much like a fast-food

place would show you an oversize bur ger.

Then we’re in Tonopah itself. The old min-

ing town serves as a gas stop where two

highways meet. I’d read that Wyatt Earp,

famous Wild West lawman, opened a sa-

loon here in 1902.

On the road out, an alien city appears:

a shining tower surrounded by a sea of

mirrors. It’s the Crescent Dunes Solar

Energy Project, where the sun’s energy is

collected to heat salt and generate power.

Very futuristic.

6 p.m.

“Welcome to California,” says the smiling

agent. She works for the agricultural bor-

der protection unit, and she’d like to check

our firewood for unwanted insects. Once

that’s done, she kindly tells us where we

can park the RV for the night. On the ho-

rizon are the Eastern Sierra Mountains,

part of the Sierra Nevada Range (Spanish

for “snowy saw range”). It looks toothy,

serrated.

We stop at the Ida Lynn Park in Benton,

California. It’s not an official RV stop, but

“nobody will bother you there,” the agent

had said. We park between the communi-

ty center and the White Mountains Bible

Chapel. In the distance is Boundary Peak,

4,000 meters high.

Day 3

8:50 a.m.

On leaving Benton, we drive a rural route

past hot springs, a Paiute reservation, a

fine hotel, and fascinating rock forma-

tions. Soon, we enter Inyo National For-

est and enjoy a broad view of the Sierras.

At Mono Mills on State Route 120, a saw-

mill site that once supplied wood to silver

mines, we park and walk a bit. The high-

light is a fine view of Mono Lake.

10:30 a.m.

A drive down to the south side of the lake

makes it easier to see its strange cone

islands: one white, one black. Beige tufa

towers, formed by springs, stand in the

water near the shore. The lake is nearly

three times saltier than the Pacific. They

alkali fly [(ÄlkElaI flaI]

, Alkali-, Salzfliege

bob up [bA:b (Vp]

, auftauchen

brine shrimp

[(braIn SrImp]

, Salinenkrebs

community center

[kE(mju:nEti )sent&r]

, Gemeinschaftshaus

cone [koUn]

, kegelförmig

conservationist

[)kA:ns&r(veIS&nIst]

, Umweltschützer(in)

divert [dE(v§:t]

, umleiten

gas stop [(gÄs stA:p]

N. Am.

, Tankstelle

gull [gVl]

, Möwe

lawman [(lO:mÄn]

N. Am.

, Sheriff

migratory bird

[(maIgrEtO:ri b§:d]

, Zugvogel

oily sheen [(OIli Si:n]

, etwa: fettglänzende

Oberfläche

sawmill [(sO:mIl]

, Sägewerk-

serrated [sE(reItEd]

, gezackt

shallows [(SÄloUz]

, seichtes Wasser

slippery [(slIpEri]

, glitschig, schmierig

tributary [(trIbjEteri]

, Nebenfluss, Zufluss

tufa [(tu:fE]

, Kalktuff

If you go

Getting there

Fly to Los Angeles (LAX) or Las

Vegas (LAS).

RV rental

Book a camper through CRD.

http://www.crd.de

Planning

Make reservations for campsites

well in advance. Some operate

on a first-come, first-served ba-

sis. Camping is also permitted

on public lands, often at no cost.

Careful, detailed trip planning is

important for this kind of journey.

Try roadtrippers.com

Kershaw-Ryan State Park

parks.nv.gov/parks/kershaw-ryan

Mono Lake

http://www.monolake.org

More information

http://www.visittheusa.de

say the water is bitter to the taste and slip-

pery to the touch. You couldn’t pay me to

drink it.

Mono Lake could be on a faraway plan-

et, but Africa, for example, has many “soda

lakes,” such as the famous Lake Natron in

Tanzania. With their weird ecology, these

pools — created by volcanic activity — are

magnets for migratory birds. Mono has

been called “the busiest international air-

port in California.” Gulls sit on its surface,

bobbing up high like ducks. Ugly brine

shrimp swim in the shallows, while shiny

black birds stand in the oily sheen and eat

the alkali flies. Keeping the water levels

high enough to maintain the wildlife here

has been a fight since 1941, when thirsty

Los Angeles diverted the lake’s tributar-

ies. Conservationists now guard the lake

carefully. After all, it’s part of a larger sys-

tem, one that nature-aware California is

certain to protect well into the future.

Camping in the

States: plenty of space

for everyone